Publication Summary

Stream temperature monitoring and spawning gravel sampling were conducted on non-glacial tributaries to the upper White River in the summer of 1995. The purpose of this monitoring was to provide information on selected habitat parameters in support of plans to improve spawning habitat conditions for the only remaining spring Chinook salmon stock in south Puget Sound.

Stream temperature monitoring and spawning gravel sampling were conducted on non-glacial tributaries to the upper White River in the summer of 1995. The purpose of this monitoring was to provide information on selected habitat parameters in support of plans to improve spawning habitat conditions for the only remaining spring Chinook salmon stock in south Puget Sound.

Water temperatures monitored in the Clearwater River, Huckleberry Creek, the Greenwater River, and tributaries to the Greenwater River revealed that some reaches of these streams exceeded water temperature criteria established in the state Water Quality Standards, while other reaches met the criteria during the summer of 1995. Sampling of stream substrate within salmon spawning habitat revealed that 93%, 71%, and 42% of the 1995 gravel samples collected from the Clearwater River, Huckleberry Creek, and the Greenwater River, respectively, had fine sediment levels characterized as "Good" according to the Watershed Analysis resource condition index, with the remainder characterized as "Fair" or "Poor." The results of additional water temperature monitoring, conducted during the summer of 1996, and streambed scour monitoring over the 1995/96 winter period, will be reported on in a later report.