Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Environment Fisheries topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Clear Lake Hitch community‑science survey finds volunteers at 33 sites; volunteers report varied spawner counts
Summary
Lake County’s watershed protection district and volunteers completed a first‑year community‑science spawner survey for the threatened Clear Lake hitch at 33 preselected sites. Volunteers recorded presence/absence and counts over a 10‑week period; preliminary site counts included 99 at Clover and 1,000+ observations reported at Adobe Creek sites.
Lake County Water Resources and the Watershed Protection District reported preliminary results from a first‑year community‑science Clear Lake hitch spawner survey at the Sept. 23 Board of Supervisors meeting.
Volunteers monitored 33 fixed sites around Clear Lake once per week for 10 weeks beginning March 9, 2025. The program emphasizes training and QA/QC: volunteers attended mandatory in‑person and field trainings and coordinators validated high counts in the field.
Program coordinator Chris Childress said most sites were bridge crossings and that volunteers filed visibility and confidence metrics to ensure the quality of sightings. Preliminary tallies included counts such as Clover Creek (99), Manning Creek (52), Kelsey Creek (25), Thompson Creek (50) and 16 at Forbes Creek; staff double‑checked unusually large counts reported from Adobe Creek and confirmed high numbers there on field validation visits.
The program’s goals include monitoring relative trends over time, documenting presence/absence, and building public stewardship capacity; staff said the data will be most useful when repeated annually to track trends. County Water Resources Director Pawan Upadhyay thanked volunteers and said volunteer hats would be available at the Water Resources office.
Why it matters: The Clear Lake hitch was listed as threatened under the California Endangered Species Act; the volunteer program provides broader geographic coverage at lower cost than professional sampling alone and will supplement formal monitoring in future years.
Next steps: Water Resources said the survey will be repeated and expanded as the volunteer base grows; staff encouraged additional residents to sign up for mandatory training ahead of the 2026 season.
