Supplemental Site Photographs
Fish Passage Exemption Request –
Unnamed Tributary of Quedo Creek
David Shotwell (landowner)
Greg Apke, ODFW Passage Program Leader
March 10, 2017
Project site location
Project Information:
• New in-channel reservoir proposal
• Landowner recently purchased property (9 months ago)
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~ 6’ tall earthen dam (< 9 acre ft. pond)
2.75 ac ft proposed storage capacity
private landowner (Tim Payne)
ODFW contacted in October 2016
staff coordinated with landowner
• recommended passage exemption
• cooperative landowner
• Water right Certification Process with WRD is the next step for the applicant
• ODFW staff worked with landowner to consider off-channel pond but topography (narrow
valley) and landowner was not interested
Project Location
• Unnamed Tributary of Quedo Creek Illinois River Basin
• Josephine County (near Selma)
• Quedo Creek, tributary of Lake Selmac, drains into McMullin Creek which drains into
Deer Creek, a tributary of the Illinois River (near 8-Dollar Mtn.)
• South East of Selma, Oregon
• New instream pond proposal in an ephemeral stream
• ~ 0.40 miles of available habitat above site location (based on site visits, surveys
and mapping exercises)
Species Composition
• Unnamed tributary of Quedo Creek was determined to have historical NMF
use
• Two ODFW separate site visits and electrofishing surveys
• Fall 2016 and January 2017
• Electofishing surveys at multiple locations in 2003 and in January 2017
• No fish were found in Quedo Creek Proper or the Unnamed Tributary
where the project is proposed
• Lake Selmac, downstream of Qudeo Creek, does not provide passage and
is a complete fish passage barrier
• Lake Selmac Dam is not on the 2013 ODFW Statewide Priority AO list
Habitat Conditions
• ½ watershed under BLM ownership ½ private land ownership
• ~ .40 miles of habitat above proposed dam location
• Downstream of Dam:
• Wetted stream width ~3-6 feet
• Active channel width ~ 3-8 feet
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Channel is mainly unconstrained
Low gradient stream through the proposed project reach
Riparian vegetation (small to medium confiers, willows, small deciduous trees
Upstream of Dam:
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Incised channel (3-5 ft wide) for several hundred feet
Stream gradient increases
Perched BLM Road Culvert (partial barrier conditions if fish were present)
Step pool channel configuration as gradient increases
ODFW NET BENEFIT ANALYSIS
CONCLUSIONS
See handout: (ODFW District Benefit Analysis)
ODFW Rogue Watershed Assistant District Fish Biologist (Peter Samarin)
recommends approval of exemption request 02-30-2017
Exemption approval provisioned on standard exemption language that “if
conditions change, from which the exemption was evaluated, fish passage
would need to be provide at a future date” (OAR 635-412-0025(6), standard
exemption review every 7-years.
Questions?
Memorandum
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
DATE:
February 3, 2017
TO:
Greg Apke, Fish Passage Coordinator
FROM:
Peter Samarin, Rogue Assistant District Fish Biologist
SUBJ:
Net Benefit Analysis for Unnamed Tributary to Quedo Creek Privately Owned
Barrier Fish Passage Exemption Request
The Rogue Watershed District has reviewed the request to exempt from fish passage requirements,
a proposed in channel pond on an unnamed tributary to Quedo Creek. Quedo Creek is a direct
tributary to Lake Selmac in Josephine County. The pond is proposed to be impounded by an
approximately 6-foot high earthen, channel spanning dam located on private property. The
proposed reservoir would be approximately 2.7 acre feet in size. The impacted creek, an unnamed
tributary of Quedo Creek, was determined to have had potential historical fish use based on
basin/channel characteristics and known fish use in neighboring McMullin Creek. Habitat
characteristics and conclusions are based on a site visit conducted by ODFW district staff on two
separate site visits, one in the fall of 2016 and one in January of 2017. Quedo Creek flows into
Lake Selmac which is a permitted reservoir (R 27051) and does not provide passage for Native
Migratory Fish (NMF).
Basin/Channel Characteristics:
Based on ODFW site visits and mapping, there exists approximately 0.9 miles of NMF habitat
within the subject stream. The proposed pond is to be located at approximately river mile 0.5.
Therefore, fish passage would be eliminated from the upper 0.4 miles of the watershed. The
tributary is a small watershed measuring 0.63 square miles (USGS, StreamStats Version 3.0), with
a maximum elevation of 2,550 feet and a minimum elevation of 1,460 feet. According to USGS
StreamStats maximum peak flows are 60 ft3/s (2 year recurrence), 86 ft3/s (5 year recurrence),
and 104 ft3/s (10 year recurrence). Minimum flow for this watershed is 0.0 ft3/s.
The tributary stream flows through mixed woodland land use with approximately half of the
watershed managed by BLM and half of the watershed privately owned by rural residents.
Downstream of the proposed reservoir, at medium to low flows, the creek is about 3-6 feet wetted
width, with an active channel width of about 3-8 feet. The channel is mainly un-constrained
through historical land use practices. Based on observations from several locations, maximum
depth varied considerably based on pool type. The creek is low gradient through this section. The
riparian vegetation is dominated by small to medium conifers, willows, and small deciduous trees.
Above the proposed dam, the unnamed creek is very small above and habitat becomes limited. An
incised channel about 3-5 feet wide was observed during the site visit for several hundred feet
upstream of the pond. A BLM road crossing has a perched culvert that would pose problems for
fish passage at this location. The gradient then begins to increase significantly as the channel
becomes more constrained. Steps of 2-4 feet become more common as the gradient continues to
increase.
Fish Presence:
This stream was electrofished for fish presence at multiple locations in 2003 and again in January
of 2017. Fish were not found during either sampling event. Additionally, Quedo Creek was
electrofished at multiple locations in 2003 and no fish were observed. It is the ODFW Rogue
District’s opinion that fish are currently not present within the project area due to the combination
of Lake Selmac and drought. Three years of drought have caused smaller tributaries such as this
one to dry up repeatedly and with the downstream source population blocked by a dam it is not
likely fish will be present in this stream until passage is provided at Lake Selmac. Historical use
was likely limited to the 0.4 miles of habitat upstream of the proposed pond.
Conclusion:
The Rogue Watershed District recommends granting an exemption as requested by the applicant.
Due to the presence of Lake Selmac and current absence of fish, the Rogue Watershed District
does not see any appreciable benefit to native migratory fish by requiring fish passage at this site.
However, the Rogue District would recommend language within this exemption stating if fish
passage at the Lake Selmac Dam is addressed in the future, passage at this structure must be
provided.
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