2C« North Fork ,— (September 7-8 and October 10, 19ij2j Parkhurst 

 ajid BryanT;; Ke-cnecked May 28, 19W;» Nielson.) Enters the John Day 

 River at Kimberly, Oregon, The stream is about 8i4. miles long, has an 

 average width of about I50 feet near the mouth, and at the time of sur- 

 vey the water temperature in the lower 12-*ttile section Was 65°^* ^'^ 

 water stages occur in the months of September and October, The discharge 

 is generally 85-125 o,f,s,, becoming as low as 50 c,f,s, in some years. 

 Hydraulic mining operations in the headwaters caused the stream to be 

 very turbid at the time of our first survey, A thick layer of silt was 

 deposited over the bottom, covering extensive areas of otherwise suitable 

 spawning and rearing areas. Mining activities were suspended in 19ii2 

 because of the war and, when checked in 19Ul-, the stream was crystal 

 clear and normal stream action had practically eliminated the silt problem. 

 Good resting pools with excellent cover are numerous, particularly in the 

 25-mile section above Dale, Oregon, There are a few small irrigation 

 diversions. The diversion dams are of ten5)orary oonstniction and are 

 usually passable to fish. There are four dams of the Eastern Oregon 

 Light and Power Company located on minor tributaries in the vicinity of 

 Olive Lake and two dams operated by mining and timber interests located 

 on a minor tributary rising in Crawfish Lake, None of the minor tribu- 

 taries are of significant value to salmon or steelhead trout. 



It is apparent that the North Fork was at one time an excellent 

 spawning and rearing stream for salmon and steelhead. No large run of 

 salmon has entered this stream for at leart the last 25 years, but some 

 steelhead trout continue to enter. One of the largest steelhead runs of 

 the previous ten years was reported in 19lth» A large part of this rvn 

 entered Camas Creek, attracting anglers from near and far. The Oregon 

 Game Commission has made numerous plantings of steelhead f tngerlings in 

 this stream, 



2C - (1), Middle Fork ,— (Sept, 7-8 and Oct, 10, 19^42; Parkhurst 

 and Bryant, Re -checked May 28, 19Ut; Nielson.) Enters the North Fork 

 of the John Day River 25 miles above the mouth and has 'a total length of about 

 ^k miles. In the lower 25 miles the stream gradient is moderate, and there 

 are numerous shallow riffle areas and adequate resting pools. There are ex- 

 tensive suitable spavming areas, but at the time of our first survey the 

 stream bed was covered with silt resulting from gold mining operations 2s 

 miles above the town of Galena, Oregon, In the upper stream section above 

 the site of mining operations suitable spawning area is negligible. In 19^1* 

 following two years of no mining activity, the water was very clear and 

 normal stream action had practically removed all silt from the stream bed. 



The Middle Fork at one time was an excellent producer of chinook 

 salmon and steelhead trout, and at the present time it has good potential 

 fisheries value, 



2D, South Fork ,— (Sept, 7-8 and Oct, 10, 19^42; Parkhurst and Bryant, 

 Re-checked May ye, iSMi; Nielson,) Enters the John Day River at Dayville, 

 Oregon, and has a total length of about 36 miles. It is the smallest of the 



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