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Salmon and Other Fish

Umpqua Basin Fish Species

The Umpqua Basin is home to a wide diversity of fish species. Most of these species are native to the Pacific Northwest and the Umpqua Basin, but some are introduced species.

Biological differences within each of these species and subgroups of species contribute to the complexity of the salmon issue. Different forms of many of these species have adapted to different aquatic environments.

The most distinctive difference in form is the anadromous versus resident forms of the same species. Native rainbow trout, for instance, are considered "resident" forms of the steelhead species, as they remain in fresh water throughout their lives. While the anadromous steelhead trout migrate to the ocean to feed and live out part of their lives, the native rainbow trout are content with their freshwater habitat in the upper North Umpqua River (Copeland Creek and upstream to headwaters) and the South Umpqua River (Jackson Creek and upstream).

There are more than a dozen species of native anadromous fish and nine species of native freshwater fish in the basin. Non-natives now calling the Umpqua Basin home include another 12 or more species. These three groupings are addressed separately below. The Umpqua Basin's largest freshwater lake, Diamond Lake, is also discussed in this section.

Anadromous Fish

There are approximately 2,600 stream miles of anadromous fish habitat in the Umpqua Basin. Read on to learn more about the ocean-going fish that call this watershed home!

Of all the fish in the Pacific Northwest, migratory or otherwise, the anadromous salmon are by far the most important. Salmon have been a cornerstone of human survival for thousands of years. Salmon were the foundation of coastal and Columbia River Indian diets, whether prepared fresh, smoked, dried or salted. Native American cultures and spiritual beliefs were also enmeshed with this great silver fish. In fact, the chinook salmon takes its name from a Northwest Native American tribe.

Chinook Salmon

Chinook Salmon

Oregon State University

Four species of salmon are native to the Umpqua Basin and the Pacific Northwest. This group includes many subgroups with very different biological characteristics. The species of salmon most commonly found in the Umpqua Basin include the chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch), steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), and cutthroat trout (There are anadromous and freshwater versions of the cutthroat trout, but both are Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkia.)

In addition to these most common fish, there is a great diversity of other anadromous species that call the Umpqua Basin home. Chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) are rare, but can be found in lower Umpqua River tributaries such as Dean Creek and Mill Creek, both of which are upstream of Reedsport. A handful of cavalier chum do make it up the North Umpqua and South Umpqua rivers every year, too! Sockeye (Oncorhynchus nerka) and pink (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) salmon are also found in the Umpqua Basin as strays from other basins. Neither sockeye nor pink salmon return to Oregon streams in significant numbers, although a major commercial offshore harvest of pinks occurs during alternate years as they spawn. A landlocked version of sockeye, called kokanee (again, Oncorhynchus nerka), thrives in many Oregon mountain lakes, including Lemolo Reservoir and Hemlock Lake, both of which are tributary to the North Umpqua River.

Coho Salmon

Coho Salmon

Oregon State University

As further evidence of the complexity of the basin's finned inhabitants, some groups of anadromous fish travel from the ocean into fresh water at different times of the year. Thus, there are "spring chinook" and "fall chinook" in some rivers. Sometimes these are called different "runs." The spring run of adult chinook salmon enters the Umpqua Basin in late February and continues through September. Spring chinook juveniles stay in fresh water for one year before migrating to the ocean. The North Umpqua and upper South Umpqua rivers are home to spring chinook.

Fall chinook, on the other hand, enter the main Umpqua River in August and continue through December. Juveniles emerge from their gravel nests and immediately migrate to the ocean. Fall chinook are found primarily in the South Umpqua and main Umpqua rivers.

Steelhead

Steelhead

Oregon State University Extension

Similarly, summer steelhead migrate from the ocean into the Umpqua River from late March through October. Winter steelhead migrate into the river from November through April. Summer steelhead are found in the North Umpqua system only, while winter steelhead occupy both the north and south rivers.

Other ocean-going fish species present in the basin include white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus), green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris, less common than white sturgeon), Pacific lamprey (Lampetra tridentate), and American shad (Alosa sapidissima).

Two species of smelt make their way into the Umpqua Basin as well: eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus) and surf smelt (Hypomesus pretiosus). Both species journey into the Umpqua estuary, but don't travel much further upstream. Runs of smelt in the basin are sporadic.

Freshwater Fish

Some species of fish are content to stay in fresh water and steer clear of the long journeys to and from the ocean. In the Umpqua Basin, native freshwater species include Umpqua chub (Oregonichthys kalawatseti), long-nosed dace (Rhinichthys evermanni), speckled dace (Apocope oscula carringtoni), red-sided shiners (Richardsonius balteatus balteatus), large scale suckers (Catostomus macrocheilus), rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), brook lamprey (Lampetra planeri), northern pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus oregonensis), and various sculpin species (Cotidae spp.). Of these species, the rainbow trout is the only recreational game fish.

While these resident fish may not be ocean travelers, they are not sedentary creatures, either! Freshwater fish travel a wide area in response to environmental conditions. For instance, many fish will seek out cooler waters to relieve the physical stress of water too warm for their comfort zone. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife have radio tagged cutthroat trout in the North Umpqua River, tracked them as they traveled to the South Umpqua, and then watched them move back to the North Umpqua when water temperatures in the South became too warm! This is true of all salmonids, including migrating adults in the mainstem Umpqua.

Cutthroat trout

Cutthroat trout

Oregon State University Extension

Non-native Fish

For better or worse, the Umpqua has its share of non-native fish species, too. This group consists of German brown trout (Salmo trutta, found in the upper North Umpqua River, Toketee Lake, and Lemolo Lake), Eastern brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis, found in the upper North Umpqua River above the Soda Springs Dam hydroelectric project and in numerous lakes throughout the basin), smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu), largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), striped bass (Morone saxatilis, also known as "stripers"), black crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus), white crappie (Pomoxis annularis), bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), warmouth sunfish (Lepomis gulosus), brown bullhead catfish (Ameiurus nebulosus), yellow perch (Perca flavescens), and mosquito fish (Gambusia affinis). All of these immigrants to the Umpqua Basin are recreational game fish, with the exception of mosquito fish.

Diamond Lake

Diamond Lake, a 3,031-acre lake near the Cascade crest, has historically been very popular for recreational fishing. In fact, its rainbow trout fishery is just one of the reasons Diamond Lake has been referred to as the "Gem of the Cascades"! This fishery is now in trouble, due in no small part to the introduction of the live bait fish, tui chub (Gila bicolor). Since its introduction in the early 1990s, the prolific tui chub has out-competed rainbow trout for zooplankton, the trout's microscopic food source. An estimated eight million adult chub and 90 million juvenile chub now populate the lake.

Chub - Diamond Lake Resort

Diamond Lake Resort

Besides the drastic impacts on rainbow trout, tui chub have also compromised water quality in Diamond Lake. The loss of zooplankton to the aggressive-feeding tui chub has resulted in the uncontrolled growth of several forms of algae, normally a source of food for the zooplankton. One of the algaes, a blue-green algae called Anabaena flos-aquae, can release a neurotoxin harmful to humans and pets. Algae "blooms" during the summers of 2001, 2002, and 2003 resulted in temporary restrictions on boating and swimming in the lake. As the algae blooms die and decay, they degrade water quality and use dissolved oxygen, a key requirement for fish.

Diamond Lake no longer meets Oregon's water quality standards because of the problems associated with tui chub and the algae. The U.S. Forest Service and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) have started a project to eliminate the tui chub and restore the lake's popular fishery. Rotenone, a naturally-occurring chemical derived from the roots of several tropical and subtropical plant species, will be used in the fall of 2006 to eradicate the tui chub. Rotenone was previously used in Diamond Lake in 1954 to reduce tui chub populations.

Plans call for ODFW to re-stock the lake with rainbow trout in the spring of 2007. Scientists will continue to monitor water quality in the lake after the rotenone treatment and fish stocking.

Sources

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Oregon's Migratory Fish. [Portland, Or.]: Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, 1989.

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Resetting the Diamond: The Diamond Lake Restoration Project. 2004.

Personal Communication: Sam Moyers and Bill Cannaday, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Roseburg, Oregon.