The Trinity and its parent stream, the Klamath, have been fish- 

 ing grounds for Indian tribes for ages. Well established trade routes 

 from the interior to the sea passed through or terminated in the Klamath 

 and Trinity country where a lively oooimeroe in shells and dried fish 

 existed* Thousands of king salmon, silver salmon, and steelhead trout 

 were oaught by the Indians living in Klamath and Hoopa territory (Hewes, 

 1942), These Indians were highly skilled in fishing. They oonstinicted 

 fish weirs of logs, poles, and brush across the rivers and speared or 

 netted the upstream migrant salmon, trout, and even lampreys, "niese weirs 

 remained in the streams as virtually impassable barriers \intil the first 

 rains of autxmm replenished river flow sufficiently to wash them away* 

 Year after year the weirs were installed according to strict ritual and 

 procedures (Snyder, 1924). In modern times, most of the fish weirs have 

 disappeared. One is usually built each svmaer at Hoopa on the lower 

 Trinity River and below it the Indians seine, spear, or operate gill nets. 

 Salmon and steelhead are dried, smoked, canned in the Reservation ce.nnery, 

 or used fresh. The Indiana practice conservation of a sorti part of the 

 migrating salmon are allowed to pass the weir through gates installed for 

 that purpose. 



Trinity River has long been famous as a gold-bearing stream. 

 In early times, some rather large communities occupied its banks and 

 most of the presently existing towns are remnants of these settlements 

 which degenerated following exhaustion of the major placer and hard-rock 

 gold deposits. Extensive gravel deposits above North Fork have been 

 dredged for gold. Great spoil piles of barren gravel constitute the 

 immediate stream bank for mile upon monotonous mile. TUm original 

 character of the stream and its adjacent flats has been seriously altered. 

 Some isolated dredge operations still go on in the drainage and, at times, 

 the stream bears great quantities of silt in much the SEune manner as it 

 did for 75 years or more following the discovery of gold. 



A vigorous commercial fishery on Klamath River began shortly 

 after gold«<iiining started. The early fishing efforts were for looal 

 supplies and usually concentrated on the riffles of the river and its 

 tributaries* Canneries began operating on the Klamath estuary prior to 

 1892 and reached a high state of development by 1912 (Snyder, 1931). 

 Over-fishing and possibly mining soon made noticeable changes in the 

 abundance of king salmon. Early records given by Snyder indicate a 

 historical peak in the Klamath River coimnercial fishery occurred in 

 191E when over 1,384,000 pounds of fish were packed from a catch of 

 approximately 141,000 salmon. Records for that year are incomplete 

 and conFist of estimates applied to portions of unreported packs. The 

 1915 pack is recorded more completely; about 1,232,229 pounds of salmon 

 were packed from a catch approximating 72,357 king salmon. 



Essential features of the Trinity development plan consist of 

 an earth-fill storage dam about 352 feet high, built in the vicinity 

 of Fairview Ouartz Mill (see map) j a diversion dam about 110 feet high 

 located Just above the town of Lewiston, California^ and a series of 



