Weir Case Study: Williamson River, Oregon

Location:	Southern Oregon
Application:	Population counts; species composition
Client:	U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Mark Buettner - funding source) USGS (Brian Hayes - monitors project)
When:	2005
Equipment:	Passage chute Live trap PIT tags
Species:	Sucker (Catostomus spp.)

DESCRIPTION:

In 2005, CFS was contracted by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) to construct, deliver, and install a resistance board weir on the Williamson River near Klamath Falls, Oregon. The USBR recognized our novel application of using this type of weir on the Stanislaus River in California's Central Valley and wanted to acquire the same monitoring capabilities to enumerate multiple species of sucker (Catostomus spp.) using PIT tag technology.

The weir was custom designed for their site and was fabricated in our Central Valley shop. Upon completion of construction the weir was subsequently delivered and installed in the Williamson River by CFS staff. Weir operations are maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) out of Klamath Falls, Oregon. The weir continues to collect information on migrating sucker species as well as other non-target fish species, enabling the USGS to answer critical questions regarding fish migration and presence in the river, and expanding their current knowledge of species composition and fish ecology.