One of the possibilities within a flowing winter/ spring side channel is the use by adult fish like Coho Salmon and summer and winter steelhead as spawning grounds. The lower water velocities and large wood placement are advantageous for them as well. We are happy to report that we have found redds (nests) of adult fish, likely Coho Salmon, during our recent monitoring survey on January 3rd, 2023! Check out the graphs below to learn more about how streams’ flow changes during rain events!
Example of when juvenile fish seek refuge in secondary (side) channels. This is actual instantaneous flow data from the Oregon Dept of Water Resources stream gage on South Fork Little Butte upstream of the restoration project (12/22/2022 – 01/04/2023). The current flow is at 28.5 cubic feet/ second (CFS) at the farthest right side of the blue line.
