Evaluating Wild and Scenic River Eligibility Using Stream Monitoring Data

Winter/Spring 2016 - What does it take to become part of the Wild and Scenic Rivers system? Among other things, a stretch of river must contain exceptional recreation, scenery, fisheries, wildlife, or other “Outstandingly Remarkable Values.” Klamath Network monitoring data may help to determine this for streams in the newly expanded Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve.

Upper Cave Creek is one of the stream reaches in Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve being considered for Wild and Scenic River designation.

NPS / Eric Dinger

As part of the expansion legislation, the monument must determine if its streams have Outstanding Remarkable Values at regional or national levels. Fortunately, the Klamath Network’s water quality data are collected in the same way as data the Environmental Protection Agency and other monitoring groups use to help make this determination.

Oregon Caves, however, may not represent the most typical values that lead to Wild and Scenic River designation. Streams in the monument do not support fisheries or recreation, such as rafting, but they do support a different kind of value: remarkable biodiversity. A rich variety of stream-dwelling invertebrates, including insects, worms, mites and others, occur in Lower Cave Creek, No Name Creek, and Lake Creek within the monument and preserve.

From the left are aquatic, larval forms of: a caddisfly (Trichoptera), a mayfly (Ephemeroptera), and a stonefly (Plecoptera). These insects are highly sensitive to disturbance and are therefore good indicators of pristine systems.

BLM / USU BugLab

Some of these insects, including mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies, are highly sensitive to disturbance and are therefore good indicators of pristine systems. The Klamath Network collected data in 2012 on the presence and abundance of these insects in the monument, and again recently in the summer of 2015. These data will be shared with the National Wild and Scenic River team for further evaluation.

Left to right: Brad Phillips, Martha Crusius, and Oregon Caves NM Chief of Resources John Roth at a site visit to Upper Cave Creek as part of the Wild and Scenic River designation process.

NPS / Eric Dinger

The Network collects much more than just these biological indicators of stream quality. The wadeable streams protocol calls for monitoring physical habitat, like the amount of streamside vegetation, as well as water chemistry, such as phosphorous and nitrogen levels. All of these variables, by themselves and in combination, help us monitor the condition of streams in parks. Data collected for many of them are also comparable with regional datasets, which has the added value of helping us understand the condition of park streams in the context of the larger Klamath region.

Update, April 7, 2020: Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve submitted its National Wild & Scenic Rivers System eligibility study of Lake Creek, Lower Cave Creek, Lake Creek, No Name Creek, Panther Creek, and Upper Cave Creek to Congress.

Learn More

• Klamath Network Stream Water Quality and Aquatic Communities Monitoring
• Inventory and Monitoring at Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve
• USA National Wild & Scenic Rivers System
• Klamath Kaleidoscope Newsletter