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PUYALLUP TRIBAL FISHERIES
2005 - 2006 ANNUAL SALMON, STEELHEAD AND BULL TROUT REPORT.
WRIA 10: PUYALLUP/WHITE RIVER WATERSHED
Clearwater River continues to support a substantial numberof chinook, coho, pink and steelhead spawners.It’s important to note that all adult salmon and steelheadthat spawn in the Clearwater River were captured at theUSACE fish trap in Buckley, and transported above MudMountain dam. Since precise escapement numbers for theupper White River drainage are known, surveys areconducted to determine fish distribution and spawningsuccess. This is especially important regarding springchinook, since adult production monitoring is part of theWhite River spring chinook recovery plan. Puyallup tribalfisheries biologist survey the Clearwater for chinook, cohoand pink salmon. Coho, although present in the Clearwatersince surveys for began for chinook 1991, were not surveyedfor until 2002. The first pink salmon surveys were conductedin 2003 and 2005, since prior to 2003 few or no pinks were captured at the Buckley trap.Biologist with WDFW survey the Clearwater for steelhead in the spring.The substrate throughout much of the river consistsof small cobbles and flat angular stone, with smallerspawning size gravel in the many of the lower gradientriffles and tail-outs. The riparian area is primarily secondgrowth conifer forest in the lower river with recent clearcutting evident along portions of the upper and lowersurvey reach. The Clearwater host several tributariesincluding; Falls Creek, Mineral, Byron, Lyle, Lilly, andMilky Creeks. There is some limited coho and pinkspawning in both Byron and Mineral Creeks. MineralCreek is also the water source used for the spring chinookacclimation pond located along the Clearwater River. Aspart of the spring chinook recovery plan, the PuyallupTribehas operated a spring chinook acclimation pond locatedat RM 3.2 since 1995. Approximately 200,000 plus Springchinook from the Muckleshoot White River hatchery aretransported to the Clearwater pond in early spring, thenreleased in late May. All fish are mass marked with left orright ventral fin clips. Odd brood years are marked withleft ventral clips, and even years with right ventral clips. These acclimation pond fish are easily identified in thefuture when caught as adults or jacks at the USACE fish trap in Buckley, and can be passedabove the Mud Mountain dam to spawn. Limited amounts of LWD are present in the channel,and much of what is present is undersized or hardwood in origin. There are a series of cascades just above Lyle Creek at approximately RM 4.5, these cascades are likley a block to further upstreammigration. However, much of the spawning takes place in thelower 2 miles of the river,although fish and redds areoften observed and documentedin the upper reaches later in theseason.
Pink salmon spawning in the ClearwaterRiver. Large numbers of pinks wereobserved in the Clearweater during the2003 and 2005 seasons.One of the limiting factors with theClearwater River is the low flows oftenencountered during the late summer andearly fall. Chinook are often limited tothe lower 1 or 2 miles of the river. Chi-nook and coho are often seen holding inpools in the lower river, such as the oneabove, for extended periods of time, before flows allow further upstreammigration.
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