This data set represents stream segments with known constraints to chinook salmon production in the Clearwater subbasin. Constraints to production of chinook salmon and steelhead trout in the Clearwater subbasin were delineated for individual stream reaches by the Idaho Dept. of Fish and Game and cooperators during the prior subbasin planning process (1990). Fourteen individual constraints were defined for steelhead trout, and twelve for chinook salmon in the Clearwater subbasin, any of which may inhibit spawing, rearing or migration for these species.
One major weakness of this database is its failure to address constraints in areas not currently being used by anadromous species at the time the data was compiled. It does not address constraints in areas of substantial historical distribution (e.g., the Potlatch River for chinook salmon), and did not delineate potential constraints in areas that might be accessible to either species in the future. Addressing these issues would require considerable time to replicate the methods and analyses used in developing the original database, and has therefore not been attempted.
Strength(s) of the database include that constraints to chinook salmon and steelhead trout have not likely changed much in the past ten years, except in very localized areas with significant restoration efforts. The database should therefore still provide a good understanding of current constraints to andromous production in the Clearwater subbasin.
This data was obtained in a GIS format from EcoVista (Pullman, WA, 509-334-9438) by the Columbia River InterTribal Fish Commission (CRITFC), responsible for its standardization and archival. CRITFC simplified the attributes structure between the two species layer and documented it with this metadata, which draws heavily from text published in the Clearwater Subbasin Plan.