FISHWATCH 2021 MONTHLY REPORT
OCTOBER 2021
by Edward Kikumoto
Again this year, the U.S. Forest Service and The North Umpqua Foundation (TNUF) is asking the public not to visit the Big Bend Pool (the Pool) due to Covid19 concerns, and to protect the health of the FishWatch Caretaker.
The opinions in this report are strictly my own, and do not reflect the views and opinions of the U.S. Forest Service, the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife, or The North Umpqua Foundation.
Greetings from the Big Bend Pool FishWatch 2021 Caretaker,
BACK TO THE BIG BEND POOL
On Saturday, October 16, Ron McMullin, the Umpqua National Forest District Fish Biologist, and The North Umpqua Foundation’s primary contact regarding FishWatch, informed TNUF that FishWatch could go up to the Big Bend Pool although the Steamboat Creek Basin was still officially closed to public access.
On the following Monday, October 18, I went up to the Big Bend Pool for the first time since the start of the Jack Fire on July 5, and after moving the Airstream from the Pool on July 9.
What I saw from the Pool was very little observable fire damage to the surrounding forest.
The Little Bend Creek Fire did burn to the intersection of Steamboat Creek Road (Forest Service Road 38) and Homestead Creek Road (FSR 3818), which is within 100-yards of the Big Bend Pool.
The fire damage I could see, for the little way I went upstream, was almost exclusively understory burn, saplings burned, and larger trees burned up their trunks about 2 to 4 feet.
The occasional large coniferous tree that appeared to have burned completely had all of its needles burned but the trunks were not burned except for their lower extremities.
The area immediately around the Big Bend Pool was untouched by the recent fires.
I counted 27 steelhead in the Big Bend Pool, as the water was only slightly above summer low, and “gin” clear, which is typical this time of year.
Ron McMullin stopped to chat as I was looking for steelhead at the Little Bend Pool, which is about a quarter mile downstream.
He told me that during the entire summer he saw no more than 30 steelhead in the Pool at one time.
I counted 7 steelhead in the Little Bend Pool.
Steelhead often move back and forth between the Big Bend Pool and the Little Bend Pool.
Water temperatures are excellent (using two fisherman’s thermometers).
- Big Bend Creek at 13:40 was 44/46oF.
- Steamboat Creek above Big Bend Creek at 13:55 was 47/49oF.
- Steamboat Creek below Big Bend Pool at 14:26 was 45/48oF.
Steelhead are stressed when the water temperature exceeds 64oF, as oxygen levels in the water begin to drop with rising water temperatures.
BIG BEND POOL
Between October 18 and 31, I visited the Pool on 7 days.
On October 22 there was a significant rise in water levels in the North Umpqua River and Steamboat Creek.
I was not able to count any steelhead in the Pool because visibility was pretty much zero.
I was not able to get a good count of the steelhead in the Pool for the rest of the month.
On October 31, I was able to see 13 to 15 steelhead in the bottom corner of the Pool.
On November 3, the water level had dropped sufficiently to see into the bottom corner where the steelhead have been holding.
I was able to count 18 steelhead.
I estimate that there are no more than 20 steelhead in the Pool since the high water on October 22.
The water temperature out of Big Bend Creek has remained a constant 44/46oF throughout the latter part of October.
There has been one steelhead parked in the Little Bend Pool since just after October 22.
POST FIRE RESTORATION WORK
During October, contractors worked on clearing slash and debris resulting from the fires and the firefighters suppression activities.
Their primary focus has been along roads in the basin in order to make them safe for public use.
There remain many slash and debris piles throughout the burned areas of the forest that may or may not be cleared in the future.
This activity ended, for this year, at the end of the month.
STEAMBOAT CREEK BASIN REOPENED TO PUBLIC ACCESS
On October 22, the Umpqua National Forest (UNF) lifted its emergency fire closures for the three major fires in the UNF, and replaced it with an order that closed specific roads and trails within the UNF.
The Steamboat Creek Basin was reopened to public access on October 22, except for certain roads and trails.
Here’s the link to the new order: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd963835.pdf
POST FIRE ASSESSMENT
“The Soil Burn Severity maps for the three fire incidents have been finalized, and less than one percent of any of the fires resulted in high soil burn severity. Overall, the maps depict a mixed severity burn of moderate, low, and very low/unburned severity.” (Umpqua National Forest Press Release, October 3, 2021, BAER Teams Release Rough Patch Complex and Jack Fire Soil Burn Severity Map, 10/11/2021)
The arrow points to the Big Bend Pool.
Link to The Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) Rough Patch
BAER Soil Burn Severity, Umpqua Nation Forest 10/01/2021 (https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/photos/ORUPF/2021-07-06-0031-Jack-Fire/related_files/pict20210911-123658-0.pdf)
INFRASTRUCTURE
The Airstream is on its pad at the Sawtooth Garage on the USFS/ODOT Maintenance Compound, and checked regularly.
I will be winterizing it shortly after the FishWatch season ends at the Pool.
The batteries are maintained on a trickle charge.
The generators are run once a month, as part of regular maintenance.
BIG BEND POOL FIELD NOTES
Historically low return of wild summer steelhead to the Big Bend Pool troubling.
On July 4, the day before the Jack Fire started, I estimated that there were 50 steelhead in the Big Bend Pool.
FishWatch was absent from the Pool from July 5 to October 17 because of emergency fire closures.
On October 18, I counted 34 steelhead in the Big Bend Pool and Little Bend Pool combined.
On August 10, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife closed the North Umpqua River to fishing through November 30 because of historically low initial counts of returning summer steelhead at Winchester Dam.
The return was estimated at 20% of average.
On October 18 of 2018, I ball-parked the steelhead count at 125 to 150 fish
in the Big Bend Pool, the recent average for this time of year at the Pool.
In 2018 the official high count (Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife) was 225 steelhead on August 25, with a few fish holding downstream.
I estimated 250 steelhead in the Pool in September, before the count started dropping in late September and October with the first Fall rainfall.
This year’s 34 steelhead fits with the ODFW’s 20% of average, which means the Big Bend Pool steelhead are reflecting what we are seeing on the North Umpqua River, and the low returns reported throughout the Pacific Northwest.
On October 22 there was a significant rise in water level from the previous day’s rainfall.
Since then the number of steelhead in the Pool has dropped, to no more than 20 steelhead.
There has not been any increase in the number of steelhead in the Pool since it began to rain in October.
Historically, the steelhead in the Big Bend Pool begin to move out of the Pool as rainfall raises the water level in Steamboat Creek at this time of year.
Steelhead may move into the Pool from downstream at this time but they are transient fish heading upstream and do not linger.
If the steelhead currently in the Pool follow a normal pattern, then I expect the number of steelhead in the Pool to continue to drop over the next month.
End of the FishWatch Monthly Report for October 2021.
