FISHWATCH 2024 MONTHLY REPORT
JULY 2024
by Edward Kikumoto
DISCLAIMER
The views and opinions in this report are strictly my own, and do not reflect the views and opinions of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW), or The North Umpqua Foundation (TNUF).
Greetings from the Big Bend Pool, Steamboat Creek, in the Frank and Jeanne Moore Wild Steelhead Special Management Area (established March 12, 2019).
HEATWAVE, WILDFIRES, CHANGE IN PLANS
The latter half of June was unseasonably warm. The trend continued into July, setting up the Umpqua National Forest for wildfires.
On July 16, Tuesday, a dry lightning thunderstorm passed over the eastern half of the Umpqua National Forest including Steamboat Creek Basin in the early evening. It eventually resulted in over 27 wildfires in the eastern half of the Umpqua National Forest, and seven wildfires in Steamboat Creek Basin.
On July 20, the Umpqua National Forest was closed to public access from Steamboat Creek Basin to its eastern border with the Fremont-Winema National Forest, due to wildfires.
You might recall that wildfires closed Steamboat Creek Basin last year on August 28, and mostly reopened to public access on September 20, with a few exceptions for areas in close proximity to the fires. All of Steamboat Creek Basin was reopened to public access on October 24.
On July 23, FishWatch was informed that its request for a waiver to the public access closure was denied, and was ordered to remove all FishWatch infrastructure at the Big Bend Pool as soon as a temporary waiver was authorized to do so.
All of this has resulted in a radical change in plans, from quietly watching the Big Bend Pool and the forest change through the seasons, to monitoring the wildfires from home, and not knowing what’s happening at the Pool and its wild summer steelhead.
As of July 31, I am waiting for permission to travel to the Big Bend Pool to dismantle and extract FishWatch infrastructure.
