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Klamath River Redband Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss newberrii)
The Upper Klamath is famous for its trophy size redband trout, which often weigh in at 20 lbs. or more. Though they are technically the same species as rainbow trout and steelhead, redband trout are genetically and morphologically distinct, meaning they have their own unique natural history, and their physical form reflects it. Klamath River redbands are descendants of inland trout that migrated via interior passages to Pleistocene era Lake Modoc, which encompassed the Upper Klamath basin between 2 million and 15,000 years ago (Behnke 1992).
Threat status: Klamath River redband trout are considered by the state of Oregon to be a "vulnerable" species, and are currently classified as "at risk" by ODFW. Redband populations in the Lost River sub-basin, the Upper Williamson, and in the tributaries immediately west of Upper Klamath Lake are most at-risk from degraded habitats. Redband trout in the Upper Basin may be threatened by one or more of the following: high water temperatures, poor water quality during summer months, dams, logging and road-building, migration corridors dewatered by agricultural diversions, grazing impacts, presence of non-native brook and brown trout, and stocking of rainbow trout (ODFW 2005). The proposed Pacific Connector LNG pipeline would cross Spencer Creek, a Klamath River tributary and key redband habitat, and is expected to cause longterm sediment pollution issues on this stream.
Distribution: Klamath River redband trout are part of the Great Basin redband trout subspecies of rainbow trout, ranging from southeast Oregon to parts of California and Nevada. The only other redband trout subspecies is the Columbia Redband Trout which lives in Montana, Idaho and Oregon. On the Klamath, redband trout are present in the entire upper basin, including the Klamath River, major tributaries of Upper Klamath and Agency Lakes, and headwater sreams of the Gearhart and Cascade mountains. Particularly abundant populations in the Wood and Williamson Rivers may be the largest in any of Oregon's interior basins (ODFW 2005).
Ecology: Redband trout are adfluvial, meaning they live mostly in lake settings but prefer to spawn in tributary streams. At least 10 separate populations of redband trout have distinct life histories in the Upper Klamath.
Links & References:
2005 Oregon Native Fish Status Report - Upper Klamath Basin Redband Trout SMU SUMMARY
2005 Oregon Native Fish Status Report - UKBRT Methods (Vol 2)
Native Fish Investigations Report - Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife
National Academy of Sciences, 2004. Threatened and Endangered Fishes of the Klamath Basin.
Behnke, R.J. 1992. Native trout of western North America. American Fisheries Society Monograph 6. Bethesda, Maryland.
Jacobs, S.E., S.J. Starcevich, and W. Tinniswood. 2008. Effects of impoundments and hydroelectric facilities on the movement and life history of redband trout in the upper Klamath River: A summary and synthesis of past and recent studies. Pages 67-75 in R.F. Carline and C. LoSapio, editors. Sustaining wild trout in a changing world. Proceedings of the Wild Trout IX Symposium, Joseph Urbani & Associates, Bozeman, Montana.