Due to a dearth of current information on the population
status of steelhead in the Gualala River, a northern
California coastal stream, in 2001 annual spawning surveys
of steelhead (counts of adults and their redds) were
initiated on the river. These surveys, now in the seventh of a
planned 10-year study, focus on an 18.3-mile reach of the
Wheatfield Fork selected as a population-indexing reach.
Also, to complement the spawning surveys, in 2004
snorkeling surveys of juvenile steelhead (JSH) were
initiated at selected study sites in the watershed. These
surveys focus on summertime rearing and production of
JSH in relation to stream flow and water temperature.
After each spawning and snorkeling survey, a diary-type
File Memo (FM) of activities and findings is prepared. In
addition, each December, a more comprehensive annual
report is written, covering the entire year’s study progress.
The main purpose of this web site is to share this
preliminary work (in advance of publication) with various
agencies, groups and individuals involved with
management and recovery work on steelhead–a State and
Federally-listed threatened species. And the goal of my work in general is to help ensure that a healthy population of steelhead (and coho salmon) will still be swimming in the river decades from now for future generations to enjoy.