| TABLE 9: Crater Lake and Intracaldera Springs Water Quality Variables Monitored as Part of the Crater Lake Long-Term Monitoring Program (1983-Present) |
 |
Extra-Caldera Monitoring and Research
The first observations documenting aquatic resources outside of the Crater Lake caldera were published in 1929 and 1935 in the park’s Crater Lake Nature Notes publication. These articles identified and described, respectively, several mineral springs in the Annie Creek Canyon and six waterfalls that occurred at several locations in the park. Numerous articles in Crater Lake Nature Notes, survey reports, and articles published in peerreviewed scientific journals have, since the publication of those two early articles, documented the diverse types of aquatic resources present in the park. The first survey of park streams was completed in 1947 (Wallis 1948). This survey, focused primarily on trout distribution, included 41 stations on 19 streams where water temperature, average station width and depth, and velocity were measured and stream habitat was described. A more extensive survey of park streams and springs was conducted in 1967-1968 (Frank and Harris 1969). These surveys recorded 106 flow measurements for 46 streams and 21 springs, and collected 45 water samples from a subsample of 17 streams and 21 springs. Eight samples were analyzed for a complete suite of water quality variables, and 37 samples were analyzed for a subset of variables. In 1981–1985, approximately 10 springs were sampled for water chemistry analysis (Thompson et al. 1987). The Whitehorse Ponds, a complex of 15 ponds located on Whitehorse Bluff, were inventoried and sampled in 1992 and 1993 to document their physical, chemical, and biological characteristics (Salinas et al. 1994). Additional activities have included: (1) incidental observations and projects designed to survey and investigate the distributions and life history characteristics of amphibian species in Crater Lake and at freshwater sites outside of the caldera (e.g., Farner 1947, Farner and Kezer 1953, Kezer and Farner 1955, Bergmann 1997); and (2) a project to eradicate brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) from and restore native bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) in Sun Creek. The bull trout restoration project was initiated in 1992 in response to the precipitous decline within the park of this genetically distinct Pacific Northwest population due to encroachment of introduced nonnative brook trout. Fish surveys of all Klamath River basin tributaries within the park have also been conducted.
Horizon Report
No report is presently available.
Resource Management Water Quality Concern
1) Long-term clarity of Crater Lake and health of the lake ecosystem
See Attachment I for CRLA water quality, fisheries and streams inventory, monitoring, and research study references.
***previous*** — ***next***
