WRIA 30 - Klickitat County Home

Klickitat River BasinWatershed Management Planstocked by the trout hatchery or escaped from trout ponds (both of which have beendocumented through communications with residents).qqWest Fork Klickitat River Falls (RM 0.3 and RM 4.6) is a 15 to 20 foot falls located0.3 miles upstream of the confluence with the mainstem of the Klickitat River. The fallsis likely a passage barrier.Tributary Falls: Numerous tributaries in the WRIA, such as Outlet Creek, BowmanCreek, Canyon Creek, and Blockhouse Creek, have falls that block passage into upstreamhabitats.In addition to the naturally occurring barriers, several culverts have been identified as total orpartial barriers to fish passage in WRIA 30.2.9.3 HABITAT CONDITIONSMiddle Klickitat Subbasin: There is little specific information available regarding habitat inthe Middle Klickitat Subbasin. Much of the Klickitat mainstem within the Middle KlickitatSubbasin flows through the Klickitat Wildlife area. Habitat quality in this subbasin is largelyunaffected by land use. Habitat quality in the subbasin is generally in excellent condition. Anadjacent road and grazing in the area may have some unquantified effect on habitat associatedwith sediment inputs and local reductions in shading. The river in this subbasin is rather wideand small reductions in shading are unlikely to have measurable effects on temperature. In acouple of locations, the road has cut the river off from a small section of the floodplain, but inmost areas, the road is located upslope of the floodplain. Some minor residential developmenthas occurred along the lower reaches of the subbasin. The Klickitat hatchery is also locatedwithin this subbasin. The highest density of O. mykiss (steelhead and/or rainbow trout) isreportedly found in the Middle Klickitat area.Little Klickitat Subbasin: The Little Klickitat Subbasin is on the drier side of the Klickitatwatershed. Here there is less snow pack for runoff and streams tend to have lower flows.Additionally, water temperatures tend to be warmer. Summer low flows are such that there areareas of intermittent flow preventing fish movements through the mainstem Little Klickitat Riverduring portions of the year. Downstream of the Little Klickitat Falls (river mile 6.1), the river isgenerally low gradient with a cobble bottom. The dominant habitat in the lower reaches ispool/glide habitat. Further upstream, near river mile 9.6, the stream gradient is roughly 0.8percent and gravel and cobble dominate the substrate. Some diking and channelization hasoccurred in the Little Klickitat River between river miles 10 and 18. Grazing occurs in someareas along the mainstem Little Klickitat River above river mile 12 and more extensive ruralresidential developments are present above river mile 17.4, including the City of Goldendale.These land uses may affect riparian conditions and floodplain function. North of the town ofGoldendale, Highway 97 parallels the stream for short distances. In these areas, some localmodification of floodplain function may have occurred.Information regarding the tributaries downstream of Goldendale is sparse. Blockhouse Creekhas a 56-foot falls between river mile 0.1 and river mile 0.2. A canyon extends upstream for adistance of 1.8 miles. Bowman Creek runs through a canyon from the mouth to river miles 2.6.Existing Conditions 29 May 3, 2005