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The headwaters of the McCloud River drain the southeast slopes of Mount Shasta and its foothills in northeastern California. Tributary streams north of the mainstem McCloud infiltrate into the area’s porous volcanic geology and are typically disconnected from other surface waters. The mainstem McCloud and its southern, moderate-gradient tributaries are isolated from the larger Sacramento River basin by the Upper and Middle Falls.
These natural features have isolated populations of redband trout in less than 60 miles of the Upper McCloud River system from the Sacramento River for millenia. This collection of distinct rainbow trout is generally regarded as the McCloud River redband trout Oncorhynchus mykiss stonei, part of a complex of Northern Sacramento River redband trout first recognized by Livingston Stone in 1885. Its distinctive coloring and form, tolerance for low-flow streams, and history of isolation make this unique subspecies a conservation interest.
Beginning in the early part of the twentieth century, stocked hatchery fish hybridized with the McCloud River redband. By the early 1970s, the distribution of pure, native fish was reduced to headwater tributaries, with the most distinct form limited to a one mile section of Sheephaven Creek. In 1972, California Trout, Shasta-Trinity National Forest, and California Department of Fish and Game initiated conservation efforts for the subspecies, beginning with transplanting Sheephaven Creek fish into Swamp Creek. Following the eradication of rainbow trout, redband were also transplanted to Trout Creek. Restoration activities continued, and by 1996 putative McCloud River redband trout existed in about 40 miles of habitat. The subspecies is designated Sensitive by the U.S. Forest Service and is a California State Species of Special Concern. The latest planning efforts culminated in the Draft Redband Trout Conservation Agreement (2007).
Hybridization with introduced rainbow trout still poses the largest threat to the McCloud River redband. Other threats include sedimentation and passage issues associated with extensive logging within the watershed, habitat alteration associated with livestock grazing, accidental harvest associated with the popular McCloud River trout fisheries downstream, and natural factors that threaten any species with a limited distribution.
Our CSI analysis incorporated data from the 2007 Draft Redband Trout Conservation Agreement, the 2008 SOS: California’s Native Fish Crisis report, and additional information from Steve Bachmann, Shasta-Trinity National Forest. We are grateful for these contributions to our understanding of this species. A complete list of data sources is provided separately. This analysis for McCloud redband trout is summarized at the catchment scale (1,000 – 25,000 acres), a finer scale than the typical CSI.
Key CSI Findings
- The current distribution of McCloud River redband has been reduced to tributaries in the McCloud River headwaters.
- Multiple population groups of McCloud River redband exist, several isolated populations north of the mainstem McCloud River and a loosely connected population in the mainstem and southern tributaries. Those populations occupying the disjunct tributaries north of the mainstem have greater genetic purity and are isolated from rainbow trout.
- High population integrity scores of the “pure” redband in the tributary streams are decreased by the limited extent of those populations.
- Habitat integrity scores are degraded by an extensive road network in the riparian zone and by timber management across the ownership mosaic.
- Many other sources or indicators of low habitat integrity are absent, including urban and agricultural areas, 303(d) listed streams, and canal and dam structures.
- McCloud River redband are at low risk to the future threats of flow modification from new dams, winter flooding, or altered fire regimes.
- Stream temperature changes associated with potential climate change, resource extraction related to timber harvesting, and genetic introgression with non-native trout species represent the greatest additional future risk to this subspecies.
Our CSI analysis shows that the range-wide conditions related to species distribution are high for extant populations of McCloud River redband trout. Because of introgression levels beyond the 20% threshold commonly used to designate conservation populations, McCloud River redband are considered extirpated in Blue Heron Creek and the lower and upper portions of the McCloud River. Ongoing research by the Genomic Variation Lab at University of California-Davis will further clarify the presence of introgressed individuals across the system. Translocations have allowed the subspecies to occupy most tributary catchments that it is speculated to have historically occupied while restoration efforts allow it to occupy high order streams.
The streams in the upper McCloud support an impressive density of redband trout. These densities and isolation from rainbow trout and diseases associated with hatchery fish bolster the population integrity scores for the catchments north of the mainstem McCloud. Nonetheless, these populations persist in precariously short segments of stream; this limited population extent serves to mitigate the positive effects of isolation. Based on the Hilderbrand and Kershner criteria, the McCloud contains at least 3 populations that meet the persistence threshold – Trout Creek and possibly Dry and Bull Creeks. High scores for life history diversity reflect that there is no evidence that a life history strategy has been lost within the watershed – the mainstem McCloud is suspected to be too disconnected from its tributaries to allow for fluvial life histories, which are common in other forms of redband trout.
CSI analysis scored upstream tributary catchments high and moderate for habitat integrity and lowest in the Lower McCloud catchment. Land stewardship and the extensive road network in the Upper McCloud are the primary determinants of high and moderate scores. Public lands within the ownership mosaic in the watershed are managed by the U.S. Forest Service (Shasta-Trinity National Forest). Active timber management occurs on portions of the public and most of the private land, although public land logging has decreased in recent years and some areas of Late Successional Reserve have been set aside for lighter management. The road network was constructed to facilitate timber management; the topography of the watershed means that many of roads follow stream courses. All but Cow and Swamp Creek catchments have between ¼ and ½ miles of road in the riparian zone for every mile of stream, which indicates that decommissioning and/or relocating roads away from riparian areas should be a high restoration priority.
Current watershed connectivity in the McCloud, always historically limited due to dry stream segments and steep gradient tributaries, is affected by the presence of many culverts and other anthropogenic barriers. Though they lower the overall watershed connectivity scores for some catchments, some barriers, such as the structure at the mouth of Moosehead Creek, function to isolate populations of McCloud redbands from rainbow trout.
The watershed is lacking many sources or indicators of stream habitat degradation, including 303(d) listed streams, extensive canal networks, and agricultural and urban areas. Only a minimal canal network and one structure – Lakin Dam, near the downstream extent of the species distribution - alter the flow regime. The CSI lacks a specific indicator for addressing one of the major stressors to the Upper McCloud, livestock grazing. As a result, some habitat integrity scores may not reflect instream conditions: the lack of acute anthropogenic stressors across the watershed may inflate the habitat integrity scores of degraded catchments in need of restoration from grazing impacts.
The CSI analysis of future security suggests the McCloud River redband is at high to moderate risk. The Upper McCloud River occurs within a mosaic of U.S. Forest Service and private ownership. Acquisition of remaining private lands along Sheephaven Creek by the U.S. Forest Service or conservation buyer are a high priority. The majority of private lands in the watershed are vulnerable to conversion from woodlands to exurban residential development due to their flat topography and proximity to existing roads. This potential threat is lessened from the Blue Heron/Whiskey Creek drainages downstream by a conservation easement held by The Pacific Forest Trust. The resource extraction threat in the system is associated with timber management on public and private lands, though large portions of several catchments are designated as Late Successional Reserves within Shasta-Trinity National Forest. The legacy of earlier introductions of rainbow and brown trout continues as an additional threat to all catchments, especially those connected to the mainstem McCloud. The extensive road network across the system may facilitate future introductions of other invasive species, including the New Zealand mud snail.
The CSI considers the effects of a + 3°C climate change scenario on the species. Our analysis suggests that the McCloud River redband is not at risk to increased winter flooding associated with rain-on-snow events or the effects of altered fire regimes associated earlier spring warming in mid-elevation zones. Although our analysis of the risks from drought suggest the subspecies is at minimal risk relative to perpetually stressed regions across the west, the persistence of McCloud redband trout in low-flow streams place them at risk to even small changes in flows associated with drought. Based on the current distribution of the species relative to air temperature, the species is at high risk to increased summer temperatures. However, the McCloud River redband may possess a resiliency to temperature stress, given its ability to persist through seasonal low-flow, higher-temperature events.
Total CSI scores are highest for the northern, disjunct tributaries with the largest isolated populations of McCloud River redband (particularly Swamp Creek) and lower in catchments with small populations (Edson Creek) or catchments connected to the mainstem McCloud (Lower McCloud). Across scoring groups, our CSI analysis suggests that continued protection and restoration efforts are warranted across the northern catchments, especially to mitigate the effects the small population size and riparian roads in Swamp, Trout, Sheephaven, and Edson Creeks. Continued restoration efforts are warranted for the Upper McCloud River and its southern tributaries, particularly the Cow, Raccoon, and Bull Creek catchments, which score high for habitat integrity.
Trout Unlimited strongly supports the continued restoration efforts of California Department of Fish and Game, the U.S. Forest Service, and California Trout. These entities have made great strides in the conservation of McCloud River redband trout since coordinated efforts began in the early 1970s. Consistent with CSI findings related to habitat and population integrity, ongoing projects should address the effects of riparian roads and stream crossings while attempting to manage the connectivity of existing populations. Providing large interconnected habitats will increase the persistence of existing populations to both natural and anthropogenic disturbances, but as long as non-native rainbow trout persist in the mainstem McCloud these benefits must be weighed against the potential effects of introgression. Ongoing habitat restoration on grazing-degraded streams will also improve McCloud River redband trout habitat.
Although the redband trout in the McCloud River has not been listed under the Endangered Species Act, several government and private organizations, including Trout Unlimited, realize that its genetic identity is unique, should be conserved, and cannot be replaced with individuals outside of the McCloud River basin. Conserving the existing genetic diversity and improving populations of McCloud River redband trout should remain a future priority.
Prepared by Kurt Fesenmyer, TU, 1/27/2009
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