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Studies find changes in area sucker populations
Lee Juillerat
H&N's Regional Editor
October 22, 2008
Scientific investigations show significant changes in the current distribution of endangered suckers.
Upper Klamath Lake: Low tens of thousands of both adult Lost River and adult shortnose suckers with poor “recruitment” rates (meaning low survival rates of younger fish) in both species.
Clear Lake: Thousands of adult Lost River and thousands of shortnose suckers with good recruitment but low adult survivorship.
Gerber Reservoir: Thousands of adult shortnose, but no Lost River suckers. Multiple adult age classes but low adult survivorship.
Tule Lake: About 1,000 adult shortnose and about 1,000 adult Lost River suckers. Little recruitment.
Lost River: Hundreds of adult shortnose but no Lost River suckers.
Keno, JC Boyle, Copco and Iron Gate reservoirs: Hundreds of adult shortnose suckers, but Lost River rare. No recruitment.
Sucker species can live for decades
Lost River and shortnose suckers that survive their early years can live for decades. Lost River suckers, which have a high mortality rate when young, can live at least 57 years. The shortnose can live at least 33 years.
Most suckers live in Upper Klamath Lake, although some may live in the Sprague River. Springtime spawning is in lakeshore springs and rivers. In Upper Klamath, they go to shallow water only in the spring to spawn and prefer deeper water the rest of the year.
Annual egg production can be 235,000 eggs for Lost River and 57,000 for shortnose. Females mature at 5 to 10 years, so lifetime egg production can be in the millions.
Stakeholders in the process
Stakeholder interests will be sought and discussed by the Recovery Implementation Committee.
Meeting schedules and minutes of stakeholder and public meetings will be published on the Klamath Falls U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office Web site at www.fws.gov/klamathfallsfwo/suckers/suc_rec.htm
Partners in the recovery plan include: several hundred private landowners, Hatfield Working Group, Klamath Watershed Partnership, The Klamath Tribes, Timber Resource Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Klamath Water Users Association, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Klamath Soil and Water Conservation Service, Natural Resource Conservation Service, PacifiCorp, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, City of Klamath Falls, Nature Conservancy, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, Klamath Basin Rangeland Trust, Oregon Department of Transportation, Oregon Trout and the counties of Modoc, Siskiyou, Klamath and Lake.
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