Rogue River Research Articles

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) fate and transport across a groundwater-surface water interface

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are emerging contaminants of concern whose fate and transport in environmental media are incompletely understood. In the 1960s, PFAS were dumped in the House Street Disposal Site, an unlined landfill on the crest of a glacial end moraine near Rockford, Michigan, USA. In 2017, PFAS were discovered in groundwater and subsequently, a network of monitoring wells delineated a 2 mi (3 km) PFAS plume migrating downgradient toward the Rogue River. Today, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) operates fish-rearing ponds in the area where the plume intersects the groundwater-surface water interface (GSI). Each year, the MDNR fills these man-made ponds using water from a nearby creek. Springs in the ponds prevent them from draining completely at the end of fish-rearing each fall.We sampled surface water and modeled groundwater flow to investigate PFAS transport across the GSI. Numerical models constructed with and without the fishponds did not substantially change MODFLOW model calibration curves or predicted MODPATH flow lines, indicating that PFAS transport is dominated by the regional flow system with limited influence from semiannual changes to boundary conditions at the GSI. Surface water samples collected from five locations within and adjacent to the fishponds were analyzed using EPA Draft Method 1633. PFAS were detected at all locations with the highest total PFAS >60 ng/L in the fishponds. Mixing models based on total PFAS indicate that approximately 10 % of the fishpond water is sourced by groundwater. However, similar analyses with perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCA) and perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids (PFSA) imply that groundwater comprises as much as 30 % of water in the ponds, suggesting differential movement of individual PFAS across the groundwater-surface water interface. Additional investigation of PFAS within the pond sediments is needed to better understand partitioning and differential transport behavior across the GSI.

Effective dispersal patterns in prairie plant species across human-modified landscapes.

Effective dispersal among plant populations is dependent on vector behaviour, landscape features and availability of adequate habitats. To capture landscape feature effects on dispersal, studies must be conducted at scales reflecting single-generation dispersal events (mesoscale). Many studies are conducted at large scales where genetic differentiation is due to dispersal occurring over multiple generations, making it difficult to interpret the effects of specific landscape features on vector behaviour. Genetic structure at the mesoscale may be determined by ecological and evolutionary processes, such as the consequences of vector behaviour on patterns of gene flow. We used chloroplast haplotypes and nuclear genome SNP surveys to identify landscape features influencing seed and pollen dispersal at a mesoscale within the Rogue River Valley in southern Oregon. We evaluated biotic and abiotic vector behaviour by contrasting two annual species with differing dispersal mechanisms; Achyrachaena mollis (Asteraceae) is a self-pollinating and anemochoric species, and Plectritis congesta (Caprifoliaceae) is biotically pollinated with barochoric seeds. Using landscape genetics methods, we identified features of the study region that conduct or restrict dispersal. We found chloroplast haplotypes were indicative of historic patterns of gene flow prior to human modification of landscapes. Seed dispersal of A. mollis was best supported by models of isolation by distance, while seed-driven gene flow of P. congesta was determined by the distribution of preserved natural spaces and quality habitat. Nuclear genetic structure was driven by both pollen and seed dispersal, and both species responded to contemporary landscape changes, such as urban and agricultural conversion, and habitat availability.

Genetic diversity within late-summer run and half-pounder steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the Rogue River, Oregon

Genetic diversity within late-summer run and half-pounder steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the Rogue River, Oregon

Abundance Trends for Adult Pacific Lamprey in Western Oregon (USA): Historic Declines, Recent Increases, and Relative Contributions from Coastal Rivers

AbstractThe anadromous Pacific Lamprey Entosphenus tridentatus is native to the northern Pacific Ocean and its drainages, returning each spring to spawn in streams along the West Coast of North America. We analyzed abundance trends of adult Pacific Lamprey from dam counts and redd surveys in western Oregon, USA. We compared a series of generalized additive models (GAMs) to describe lamprey abundance trends. Lamprey counts varied considerably among dams but showed steep declines over 70+ years (1949–2019) at Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River, over 50+ years (1965–2019) at Winchester Dam on the North Umpqua River, and over 17 years (1993–2009) at Gold Ray Dam on the Rogue River. By contrast, redd surveys displayed synchronous abundance trends of different magnitudes among geographic management areas on the Oregon coast, with an overall increasing abundance over 13 years (2007–2019). This corroborates pre‐existing notions that Pacific Lamprey spawning in Oregon coast rivers are from a single mixed population. The most supported GAM included a fixed effect for location and allowed abundance to vary over years as a function of location. These results suggest that abundance trends among dam counts are more variable than coastal redd surveys and that dam counts and redd surveys across this large region are not useful proxies for each other. Furthermore, counts across dams may be more variable because they record prespawning lamprey and thus may be recording a mixture of cohorts. Redd surveys, by contrast, provide a metric of a single cohort of spawning lamprey.

Integrating forest restoration, adaptation, and proactive fire management: Rogue River Basin case study

Uncharacteristic disturbances exacerbated by climate change are challenging forests and social systems of North America. To improve efficiency and effectiveness of forest management to address these challenges, we demonstrated structured decision-making in the collaborative development of a novel 20-year dry forest management strategy for southwestern Oregon, USA. We framed priorities and evaluated options with a wildfire risk assessment, then modeled stand-scale prescriptions to estimate management outputs (e.g., area treated, fuels reduced, and timber volume). We mapped landscape-scale objectives and used optimization software to prioritize treatment placement constrained by realistic access considerations and robust habitat protections. The resulting prioritization integrated proactive forest adaptation and fire management (ecological forest thinning, prescribed fire) with protection of imperiled species. To evaluate tradeoffs, we tested three 20-year scenarios, finding that the All-Lands scenario best mitigated wildfire risk; it reduced risk overall by 70%, to homes by 50%, and to core northern spotted owl habitat by 47%. This scenario treated 25% of the 1.9 million ha landscape, including 31% of federal land and 40% of the community at risk. Clear articulation of collaborative objectives and evaluation of scenarios have expanded partnerships and co-investment in actions supporting a shared vision of resilient southwestern Oregon forests applicable to other landscapes.

Recent, small beginnings: genetic analysis suggests Catostomus rimiculus (Klamath smallscale sucker) in the Smith River, California, are introduced.

Identification of introduced species can be important to understanding ecological systems and meeting conservation and management goals, but the process can be surprisingly challenging. The Klamath smallscale sucker Catostomus rimiculus seems likely to be native to the Smith River because the drainage separates two basins believed to be within the fish's native range, the Rogue and Klamath rivers. Further, C. rimiculus is broadly distributed in the Smith River, and the indigenous Dee-ni' People of the Smith River have a unique word for sucker. Nonetheless, a historical survey of fishes that described C. rimiculus from the Rogue and Klamath rivers did not include C. rimiculus among the fishes of the Smith River. To determine whether the genetic structure of the Smith River C. rimiculus reflects expectations for a native sucker population, the authors of this study examined variation in microsatellite and mitochondrial genetic markers from the Smith River and surrounding drainages. The genetic analyses revealed a pattern consistent with extreme founder effects in Smith River C. rimiculus, as would be expected from a single introduction of six or fewer effective individuals. The sharing of a high-frequency haplotype between the Smith River and Klamath River that is not detected in the Rogue River suggests the Klamath River as the likely source for the introduction. The findings highlight that local-scale introductions can be easily overlooked because the newly established populations can appear to be parts of contiguous natural distributions.

Revisiting Stories and Voices of the Rogue River War (1853–1856): A Digital Constellatory Autoethnographic Mode of Indigenous Archaeology

The Rogue River War (RRW) between Indigenous peoples and settlers is historically overlooked and storied through settler-colonial lenses. This essay narrates participation in a digital restorying and archaeological investigation into the war in light of digital advancements in archaeology and communication. The author coins a reflexive approach referred to as a digital constellatory autoethnographic mode of Indigenous archaeology (DCAM) and details how Snapchats, iPhone images, digital memory cards, and artifacts/belongings have sets of logic, mood, and vocalic character. DCAM demonstrates how digital media not counted as “official” data enables Indigenous and ally researchers to have more honest engagements with histories.

Microplastic Prevalence in 4 Oregon Rivers Along a Rural to Urban Gradient Applying a Cost‐Effective Validation Technique

Microplastics are ubiquitous in our environment and are found in rivers, streams, oceans, and even tap water. Riverine microplastics are relatively understudied compared with those in marine ecosystems. In Oregon (USA), we sampled 8 sites along 4 freshwater rivers spanning rural to urban areas to quantify microplastics. Plankton tow samples from sites along the Columbia, Willamette, Deschutes, and Rogue Rivers were analyzed using traditional light microscopy for initial microplastic counts. Application of Nile Red dye to validate microplastics improved microplastic identification, particularly for particles (Wilcox test; p = 0.001). Nile Red-corrected microfiber abundance was correlated with human population within 5 km of the sample site (R² = 0.554), although no such relationship was observed between microparticles and population (R² = 0.183). We found that plastics were present in all samples from all sites, despite the range from undeveloped, remote stretches of river in rural areas to metropolitan sites within Portland (OR, USA), demonstrating the pervasive presence of plastic pollution in freshwater ecosystems. Environ Toxicol Chem 2020;39:1590-1598. © 2020 SETAC.

Further evidence for lower Columbia River green sturgeon spawning

The Green Sturgeon is a long-lived anadromous fish known to spawn in only three locations. Southern Distinct Population Segment (DPS) Green Sturgeon spawn only in the Sacramento drainage, while the Northern DPS spawns in the Klamath and Rogue rivers. In 2011, a young of year (YOY) Green Sturgeon was captured in the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam, providing preliminary evidence of a fourth spawning location. In 2017, four additional Green Sturgeon YOY of similar size were captured in the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam. Genetic analysis of all YOY samples indicates that they belong to the Northern DPS, confirming that the Northern DPS actually spawns in at least three locations. The detection of Green Sturgeon spawning in the Columbia River only in years with relatively high spring flow (2011, 2017), combined with confirmed correlations between flow and spawning for other White and Green Sturgeon populations, suggests that appropriate spawning conditions may only exist above a specific flow threshold. The Columbia River has the potential to play an important role in Green Sturgeon climate change adaptation due to its location at the northernmost end of the species’ reproductive range. We recommend future research to better quantify Green Sturgeon recruitment magnitude, frequency and dynamics in the Columbia River.

Riverscape mapping and hyperscale analysis of the sediment links concept

Longitudinal patterns in channel complexity play an important role in our understanding of fluvial systems. The spatial scales over which external controls such as tributaries, landslides and debris flows, alter channel form and influence the broader basin-wide trends in channel form. Channel complexity across a basin has important implications for how we conceptualize basin-wide trends in channel form such as downstream hydraulic geometry and the sediment links concept. This study takes a hyperscale approach to mapping channel morphology across 200km of the Rogue River in Southwest Oregon - that is high-resolution data over large spatial extents allowing analysis to be conducted simultaneously at and across multiple spatial scales. Using a sUAS and digital photosieving we measured gravels on exposed gravel bars for the study area. We also measured thalweg depth in the field using a singlebeam echo sounder. Slope and channel width were derived using existing GIS datasets. We used these data to create a hyperscale view of the Rogue River examining the impact of tributary and non-tributary sediment links. We used a statistical approach to determine if changes in channel form were truly unique in the context of larger-scale channel variability. Our findings show inconsistent statistical significance of the identified lateral sediment sources (LSS) between variables - e.g. a statistically significant change in slope would not necessarily correlate with an increase in unit stream power. There were many LSS which triggered statistically significant changes to channel form. We used hyperscale graphs to reveal the complexity and spatial trends associated with the relationships between a given sediment link and channel form. The results of this study illustrate the complexity with which sediment links impact channel form and the distances below a given sediment link that a detectable signal exists, if a detectable signal exists.

DRAINAGE EVOLUTION AND FRESHWATER FISH ZOOGEOGRAPHY IN COASTAL OREGON AND WASHINGTON

In Oregon and Washington coastal streams, there are relatively diverse faunas on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington (Chehalis fauna), in the lower Columbia River, and on the south-central Oregon coast (Tyee fauna). Adjacent to the Tyee fauna are groups of streams with depauperate faunas (0–2 primary freshwater fishes). To the north, from the Nehalem River to the Alsea River, streams have 0–1 species (Oregon Coast Range Isolates), and to the south, from the Rogue River to the Klamath River, streams have 0–2 species (Klamath Isolates). Throughout the entire area there was no relationship between drainage area and freshwater fish diversity. Multiple processes are responsible for these patterns. Two endemic genera, Oregonichthys and Novumbra, originated by the Miocene (23–5.3 Mya) and current distributions are largely bordered by the continental flood-basalt flows of the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG). It is hypothesized that both genera were isolated by early Miocene Grande Ronde basalt flows, Oregonichthys to the south of the flows in an ancestral Umpqua River, and Novumbra to the north of the flows in an ancestral Chehalis River. The depauperate streams of the Oregon Coast Range Isolates are hypothesized to be the result of bisection of ancient coastal streams by uplift of the Oregon Coast Range and subsequent extinction of the ancestral fauna on west-slope streams either from changing habitats or stochastic events in smaller streams. The Klamath Isolate streams drain the southern Oregon Coast Range and Klamath Mountains, an ancient region otherwise known for its faunal and floral diversity. It is hypothesized that these streams, some of which are relatively large and would be expected to have relatively diverse faunas, have been isolated from diverse primary freshwater fish faunas to the north (Columbia) and south (Sacramento), and most taxa have simply never had access to these streams.

High-efficient extraction of drainage networks from digital elevation models constrained by enhanced flow enforcement from known river maps

Drainage network extraction plays an important role in geomorphologic analyses, hydrologic modeling, and non-point source pollutant simulation, among others. Flow enforcement, by imposing information of known river maps to digital elevation models (DEMs), leads to improved drainage network extraction. However, the existing flow enforcement methods (e.g., the elevation-based stream-burning method) have certain limitations, as they may cause unreal longitudinal profiles, lead to unintended topological errors, and even misinterpret the overall drainage patterns. The present study proposes an enhanced flow enforcement method without elevation modification towards an accurate and efficient drainage network extraction. In addition to preserving the Boolean-value information as to whether a DEM pixel belongs to a stream, the proposed method can also well preserve and fully utilize the topological relations among mapped streamlines and morphological information of each mapped streamline. The method involves two important steps: (1) proposal of an improved rasterization algorithm of mapped streamlines to yield continuous, unambiguous, and collision-free raster equivalent of stream vectors for flow enforcement; and (2) realization of the enhanced flow enforcement in a modified Priority-Flood procedure –– in this way, flows are enforced to completely follow the mapped streamlines, and hence, channel short-circuits and spurious confluences of adjacent streams are avoided. An efficient implementation of the method is made based on a size-balanced binary search tree. The method is also tested over the Rogue River Basin in the United States, using DEMs with various resolutions. Visual and statistical analyses of the results indicate three major advantages of the proposed method: (1) significant reduction in the misinterpretation of drainage patterns; (2) maximum channel displacement of one pixel to the river map at various resolutions; and (3) high computational efficiency.

Disrupted Identities and Frontier Forts: Enlisted Men and Officers at Fort Lane, Oregon Territory, 1853–1856

Frontiers are contingent and dynamic arenas for the negotiation, entrenchment, and innovation of identity, and the imposing materiality of frontier fortifications and their prominence in colonial topographies make them ideal laboratories in which to examine this dynamic. This article presents the results of large-scale excavations in 2011 and 2012 at the officers’ quarters and enlisted men's barracks at Fort Lane, a U.S. Army outpost used during the Rogue River Wars in southern Oregon between 1853 and 1856. We consider how, within this arena, the identities of social class, Confederate or Union, and East Coaster or frontiersman, were crafted in this pre–Civil War frontier setting at the dawn of the modern era.

EVERY RUSTY NAIL IS SACRED, EVERY RUSTY NAIL IS GOOD: CONFLICT ARCHAEOLOGY, REMOTE SENSING, AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AT A NORTHWEST COAST SETTLER FORT

Archaeological investigations at Miners’ Fort, a mid-nineteenth-century settler fort located in the US Northwest, is part of a larger inquiry into conflict archaeology and historical memory of settler colonialism and warfare in the region. Built by gold miners, Miners’ Fort overlooked the Pacific Ocean and was used significantly when the Tututni, Joshua, and Mikonotunne besieged it for a month during the Rogue River War of 1855–1856. Archaeological excavation targeting anomalies discovered through remote sensing revealed several features in context, including an indigenously designed hearth built by one or more Native American women who were wives of some settlers. Public archaeology created an opportunity for community building that included descendants of both settlers and indigenous people of the area. Although excavation is destructive to archaeological deposits, by implementing remote sensing and involving the public in the excavation process, a more accurate historical narrative can emerge, as well as a sense of ownership and inclusion among diverse stakeholders.

They Came for the Harvest: The Bracero Program in Jackson County, Oregon, 1951–1955

Following its involvement in World War II in 1942, the United States entered into labor agreements with Mexico to alleviate severe labor shortages in the agricultural industry. The agreements established the Bracero Program, which continued past the war into the 1950s. In Jackson County, Oregon, agriculture has long held a prominent position in the region's local economy, and the industry has been challenged to find sufficient labor for the annual pear harvest. In this research article, Madelina M. Cordia examines the Rogue River Valley pear industry following World War II, “a significant, yet understudied decade in Oregon's relationship with the Bracero Program.” While many scholars agree that the Bracero Program across the country resulted in growers exploiting Mexican laborers, in Jackson County, “the program may have come remarkably close to meeting its stated goals of a mutually beneficial arrangement between Mexican workers and American growers.”

Regional and local controls on historical fire regimes of dry forests and woodlands in the Rogue River Basin, Oregon, USA

Fire regimes structure plant communities worldwide with regional and local factors, including anthropogenic fire management, influencing fire frequency and severity. Forests of the Rogue River Basin in Oregon, USA, are both productive and fire-prone due to ample winter precipitation and summer drought; yet management in this region is strongly influenced by forest practices that depend on fire exclusion. Regionally, climate change is increasing fire frequency, elevating the importance of understanding historically frequent-fire regimes.We use cross-dated fire-scars to characterize historical fire return intervals, seasonality, and relationships with climate beginning in 1650 CE for 13 sites representative of southwestern Oregon dry forests. Using systematic literature review, we link our local fire histories to a regional dataset and evaluate our data relative to more intensively studied conifer/hardwood forest types in California.Fire-scars show that fires in the Rogue Basin were frequent and regular until disrupted in the 1850s through 1910s, corresponding with forced displacement of Native Americans and Euro-American settlement. Median historical fire return intervals were 8 years at the stand-scale (<25 ha), with site medians ranging from five to 14 years and no significant differences between sampled vegetation types. Burn seasonality was broadly distributed with 47% of recorded fires in the latewood (midsummer), 30% at the ring boundary (late summer and fall), and 23% in the earlywood (spring and early summer).The number of sites recording fire each year was associated with Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) and El Niño Southern Oscillation Index (ENSO). Fires were detected in the study area every other year, and synchrony among sites was associated with stronger annual drought. The ENSO synchronization of fire suggests an herbaceous fuel signal, with warm winters/wet summers two years prior to widespread fire-years, a pattern observed globally in fuel-limited systems.Stand-scale fire histories in the Klamath, southern Cascades, and northern Sierra Nevada ecoregions resemble Rogue River Basin stand-scale fire histories. Across dry mixed conifer, yellow pine, and mixed evergreen forests, fire return intervals converged on 8 years. Moist mixed conifer and red fir forests exhibited 13-year fire return intervals. Across ecoregions, fire periodicity was weakly correlated with climatic water deficit, but well-modeled by elevation, precipitation, and temperature. These data highlight the need for decadal fire and burning outside of the contemporary fire season for forest restoration and climate adaptation in the dry forests of the Rogue Basin.

Short-Term Response of Vegetation and the Riparian Bird Community to Dam Removal on the Rogue River, Oregon

Both establishment and subsequent removal of dams inevitably alter river systems and may impact aquatic and terrestrial organisms. Despite both stated and implicit restoration goals of dam removal, relatively few studies have examined ecological response. Using a before-after-control-impact framework one year before and two years after, I evaluated the short-term effect of a dam removal on the Rogue River in southwestern Oregon on vegetation, bird community composition, and abundance of eight riparian-associated bird species. No differences were detected for tree and shrub strata cover after dam removal for either treatments or controls. Within the three treatment habitat types (mainstem, slough, wetland), shrub and ground cover declined only in wetland areas, likely as a result of post dam removal vegetation management. Significant changes in relative abundance were found for only one of eight focal bird species. Chamaea fasciata (Wrentit) abundance declined on treatment points following dam removal, possibly a response to the decrease in cover of the shrub and ground vegetative strata in the wetland. Bird community composition did not differ between controls and treatments either before or after dam removal. In combination, the similarities in bird community composition and lack of detectable change in abundance for seven riparian associated species are consistent with the results for vegetative cover, suggesting shrub and tree components of riparian habitat did not change substantially in the two years following dam removal. Results from this study have important management implications for maintaining or restoring riparian vegetation in conjunction with future dam removals.

Decline in the Half‐Pounder Life History among Trinity River, California, Steelhead

AbstractSteelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss exhibit substantial life history variation throughout their range, but the “half‐pounder” life history is limited to several rivers in northern California and southern Oregon. Half‐pounders first return to freshwater as immature fish after spending just 3–5 months at sea and support valuable freshwater fisheries. In the main‐stem Klamath and Rogue rivers, historically and at present, half‐pounder expression rates were and remain high for fall‐run steelhead. We used visual classifications of the half‐pounder life history from scales collected from the Trinity River to estimate half‐pounder expression rates and investigate the role of size and age prior to ocean entry on the probability that adult steelhead expressed the half‐pounder life history. Half‐pounder expression rates among both wild and hatchery steelhead in the Trinity River have substantially declined since 1982. Among the most common age‐2 wild smolt type, 71% of adults returning in 1982 had previously made a half‐pounder run, whereas estimated rates for adults returning in various years from 1994 to 2013 averaged just 10% (range = 2–25%). Estimated returns of half‐pounders and adults from Trinity River Hatchery releases made prior to 1982 are consistent with a historically high half‐pounder expression rate. Among age‐1 hatchery steelhead smolts, a similar decline seems evident and seems in part related to a large increase in size at release in 1992. Strong negative associations were found between the size prior to ocean entry (wild and hatchery fish) and smolt age (wild fish) and the probability that an individual steelhead expressed the half‐pounder trait; smaller‐sized and younger smolts were more likely to express the trait. Further research focusing on the heritability of this life history trait should be conducted to develop strategies intended to prevent further loss of this unique life history among Trinity River fall‐run steelhead.

Two new species of Fluminicola (Caenogastropoda, Lithoglyphidae) from southwest Oregon, USA, and a range extension for F. multifarius

We describe two new species of pebblesnails (Lithoglyphidae: Fluminicola) from southwest Oregon based on morphologic and mitochondrial DNA (COI, cytB) evidence. Fluminicola umpquaensis sp. n., which had been traditionally identified as F. virens prior to the recent restriction of the latter to the lower Columbia River drainage, lives in lotic habitats in the Umpqua River basin. This species is readily distinguished from closely related F. gustafsoni and F. virens by shell and anatomical characters, and by its mtDNA sequences (divergence >3.6% for both genes). Fluminicola fresti sp. n. ranges among lotic habitats in the North Umpqua River basin, and in the upper Rogue River drainage north of Little Butte Creek. This species differs from other congeners by >9.1% for both genes and is distinguished from closely similar and geographically proximal F. multifarius by several anatomical characters. Additionally, new records are provided for F. multifarius from the upper Rogue River basin south of Little Butte Creek, which extend the geographic range of this species about 80 km northward from the Sacramento River headwater region. This continues a recent series of taxonomic papers on the poorly known and little studied pebblesnail fauna of the vast Pacific watershed from northern California to southern British Columbia.

A “Most Disastrous” Affair: The Battle of Hungry Hill, Historical Memory, and the Rogue River War

A “Most Disastrous” Affair: The Battle of Hungry Hill, Historical Memory, and the Rogue River War