2012 Klamath River Nutrient Summary Report

This report summarizes the presence and concentration of commonly occurring nutrients and associated analytes on the Klamath and Trinity Rivers during the 2012 sampling season. The Yurok Tribe Environmental Program (YTEP) collected monthly water samples at several monitoring sites from Weitchpec to the Klamath River Estuary in mid-February through mid- April, moved to a bi-weekly interval starting in mid-May and ending in mid-October, followed by monthly sampling in November and December. This sampling was performed in an effort to track both temporal and spatial patterns on the lower reaches of the Klamath and Trinity Rivers during the sampling period. This data was added to previous years’ nutrient data as part of an endeavor to build a multi-year database on the Lower Klamath River. This nutrient summary is part of YTEP’s comprehensive program of monitoring and assessment of the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Klamath River and its tributaries in a scientific and defensible manner. Sample events were coordinated with the Karuk and Hoopa Tribes, PacifiCorp, and the Bureau of Reclamation to collect samples during the same day and with comparable methods to expand our understanding of the nutrient dynamics in the Klamath basin.