Cold Creek

Overview

Map of the Cold Creek watersed as depicted in WDFW's Fish Passage Web Map.

This page is for information on Cold Creek, a tributary to Keechelus reservoir in Kittitas County, WA. Cold Creek enters the west side of Keechelus Reservoir near Snoqualmie Pass. It is a second-order stream draining a watershed of approximately 13.5 sq. km. The headwaters of the creek flow out of four small lakes on the north slopes of Tinkham Peak into the Twin Lakes. From the outlet of Twin Lakes, Cold Creek flows approximately 3.2 kilometers before entering Keechelus Reservoir. Today the watershed is entirely owned by the US Forest Service, which acquired the checkerboarded Plum Creek private timberlands in the early 2000s.

Fish Usage

Cold Creek is considered potential habitat for the Gold Creek population of federally listed bull trout and is listed by USFWS as Critical Habitat. However, there is an impassable fish barrier at the culvert at the mouth of Cold Creek that prevents fish from accessing the stream from Lake Keechelus. The WDFW High Lakes Program stocks Upper and Lower Twin Lakes with cutthroat, and in the past, rainbow trout. WDFW's SWIFD Fish Distribution Database only indicates the presence of cutthroat trout; INFO RE BROOKIE PRESENCE?. Cold Creek could provide habitat to anadromous steelhead, Chinook, Coho and Sockeye if fish passage is provided at Keechelus Dam; however, the small size of the creek likely limits its productive potential for these species.

Fish Passage in Cold Creek

The culvert at the old Milwaukee Railroad grade crossing of Cold Creek (about 100 yards upstream from the mouth) was built in 1913 and is a total barrier to fish passage from Keechelus Lake due to the 8 ft. outlet drop. This barrier is in the WDFW barrier inventory as site 609292; the site report is available here. The Bureau of Reclamation estimates that 1.9 miles of potentially accessible habitat exist above this barrier. The old railroad bed is now the Palouse to Cascades Trail and is owned and managed by Washington State Parks.

There are two US Forest Service road crossings higher up Cold Creek; surveys in 2019 found both to be 100% passable to fish. Additional information and photos can be found in the WDFW Fish Passage Web Map; no other barriers human-made are known to exist in the watershed.

As part of mitigation for the Safety of Dams reconstruction of Keechelus Dam in the early 2000s, the Bureau of Reclamation committed to providing fish passage into Cold Creek (see p. 99 of the Phase 1 Assessment Report Storage Dam Fish Passage Study). In 2006, Reclamation constructed a fish passage structure downstream of the culvert meant to allow fish access up to and through the culvert. Unfortunately, the new structure was blown out by high flows shortly after construction was completed. No attempt was made at reconstruction, and the fish passage barrier remains in place. In 2023, Perry Harvester of WDFW confirmed that that Reclamation had met the terms of the original HPA permit, and that there was no legal obligation for Reclamation to rebuild the failed structure.

The Kittitas Conservation Trust reviewed options for providing passage at the railroad culvert in 2012, and Paul Tappel of Fisheries Engineers, Inc developed some preliminary design concepts. Ongoing discussions have highlighted the need to maintain a crossing for the multi-use trail across Cold Creek; any designs to replace the crossing will also need to address the presence of a major fiber optic cable buried in the old railroad right of way.

In 2023, Trout Unlimited began working with Washington State Parks and other partners to develop a proposal to assess and design ways to provide fish passage at the old railroad culvert; they applied for SRFB funding to support this work in 2023 (when it was ranked but fell below the funding cut off) and 2024; the SRFB proposal materials can be found here: https://secure.rco.wa.gov/PRISM/search/ProjectSnapshot.aspx?ProjectNumber=24-1247

The railroad culvert is just above the full pool extent of Keechelus Reservoir. As the reservoir level drops through the summer, the creek flows over the dry reservoir bed, and may, at times, dewater. More work is needed to understand the frequency and duration of dewater events on the reservoir bed and how this might impact the periods that fish could access the stream above the culvert were passage there restored. Individual bull trout were found just below the culvert, on Sept 13, 2005, and again in June of 2023, when a subadult pit-tagged bull trout released in the lake the week before passed the USFWS pit-tag detector below the culvert. These detections show that bull trout do successfully access to the base of the culvert.

A 2024 field survey by Scott Kline and Connor Cunningham found numerous natural log jams that are likely barriers to upstream movement by fry and juvenile bull trout starting at 0.71m upstream of the railroad culvert, falls that are likely adult barriers at mile 1.65 and mile 1.7, and a barrier falls at mile 2.52, just above Lower Twin Lake.

Habitat Conditions in Cold Creek

Habitat Upstream of the Railroad Culvert

The Phase I Fish Passage Assessment notes that "Habitat conditions in Cold Creek upstream from the fish barrier are rated as good (Brent Renfrow, WDFW, 2002, pers. comm.; Tina Mayo, USFS, 2002, pers. comm.) with good LWD presence, riparian shade, and cold water, but none of the reaches sampled in Cold Creek upstream from the culvert met the Forest Plan standards for LWD presence or pool frequency (USFS 1997)." FIND AND ADD LINKS TO 1990s USFS and PLUM CREEK ASSESSMENTS/SURVEYS?

A 2024 field survey by Scott Kline and Connor Cunningham found that habitat was typically steep (~10% gradient), fast and bouldery, with potential spawning habitat limited to isolated pocket water and lower gradient areas in the lower one third of a mile of the creek (up to the first US Forest Service bridge).

Streamflow and Temperature Conditions

Cold Creek discharge and water temperature during the study period (year 2000)

Jeff Thomas of USFWS completed a streamflow and temperature study in 2000. The discharge of Cold Creek in 2000 ranged between 0.6 cfs (August-Sept.) and 105 cfs (mid-June). Between September 5 through the end of November, average discharge was 7 cfs. During a June 2024 field survey, flows were sufficient for rearing but at its June 2024 meeting, the Yakima Bull Trout Working Group expressed concern low flows later in the year may limit rearing and recommended late summer/fall surveys to assess baseflow conditions. Water temperatures during the study period were noted as "highly suitable for all salmonids throughout the study period" with warmest temperatures occurring between late July and early August (13.6-14°C). The highest single-day mean in this period was 14.9°C, with maximum temperatures exceeding 15°C on 11 days throughout the study period. The absolute maximum temperature recorded was 16.4°C on July 31, 2000. In comparison to Coal Creek, a nearby tributary, USFWS described Cold Creek as having a narrow range of daily water temperatures, likely due to the fact that the riparian corridor of Cold Creek is, for the most part, undisturbed". The Norwest Stream Temperature Model estimates an average August mean temperature of 10-12°C for the stream up to Twin Lakes, increasing to 12-14°C in the modelled 2040 climate change scenario.

Habitat below the Railroad Culvert

The 2001 Limiting Factors Report notes the following about habitat conditions below the culvert: "The main floodplain modification that has occurred is the increased inundation area associated with the reservoir, which inundates the lower reach of [Cold Creek]. Generally these lower tributary reaches were meandering, low gradient channels with more complex habitat than that remaining above the inundation line. Inundation alters the sediment deposition fan characteristics at the mouth of each of the tributaries, and the repeated cycle of inundation/drawdown prevents the establishment of riparian vegetation and recruitment of LWD. These alterations affect the channel characteristics and impair fish passage into the tributaries during low flows at low pool levels... The lower portion of Cold Creek lies within the drawdown zone of the reservoir. The repeated inundation/drawdown cycle precludes the establishment of a natural riparian zone (Renfrow). With the loss of trees for shade, bank stability and LWD recruitment, coupled with the adverse effects of inundation on sediment deposition, the channel is currently unstable and does not develop the typical pool/riffle habitat associated with high quality habitat for salmonids. In conjunction with the channel reconstruction necessary to restore fish passage through the barrier culvert in the old Milwaukee Railroad grade, the addition of anchored wood and rock structures within the channel reach in the lake drawdown zone would contribute to more natural in-channel habitat and restoring channel stability (Renfrow)."

Summary of 2024 BTWG discussions

As part of developing its 2024 SRFB proposal for funds to design the culvert replacement at Cold Creek, Trout Unlimited asked the Yakima Bull Trout Working Group to document its perspectives on potential bull trout use of Cold Creek. The group discussed Cold Creek at its May 10, 2024, meeting. There was general agreement that habitat conditions are highly suitable for use by migrating subadult bull trout that have moved out of Gold Creek into Keechelus Reservoir. The group noted that such use is likely to occur if passage is provided, as 1) bull trout have been detected moving into and using smaller streams on the east side of Keechelus as soon as passage barriers associated with I-90 were removed (as documented by Paul James of Central Washington University as part of the I-90 Expansion Project monitoring LINK? and 2) as noted in the fish passage section, bull trout have been found in Cold Creek immediately below the barrier.

The group also noted that high-quality rearing habitat is in short supply for subadult fish from the Gold Creek population; a GIS analysis by William Meyer LINK? concluded that Cold Creek contains about 11% of the total stream habitat in the Keechelus basin whereas Gold Creek contains only 25%, indicating that providing access to Cold Creek could significantly increase the amount of subadult rearing habitat. The group was generally unsure whether Cold Creek would be used for spawning by bull trout due to low discharge during spawning season and lack of data regarding spawning gravel availability. However, it was noted that Bull Trout in Kachess River often spawn in 0.5 cfs flows and that Cold Creek temperatures are likely suitable for spawning. The group agreed that more field investigation would be needed to assess the likelihood of successful bull trout spawning and associated early rearing in Cold Creek if passage was available.

At the June 25, 2024, BTWG meeting, Scott Kline presented a slide presentation of a field survey of Cold Creek that he and Connor Cunningham conducted on 6/18/2024. They found numerous natural log jams that are likely barriers to upstream movement by fry and juvenile bull trout, starting at ).71m upstream of the railroad culvert, falls that are likely adult barriers at mile 1.65 and mile 1.7, and a barrier falls at mile 2.52, just above Lower Twin Lake. Habitat was typically steep (~10% gradient), fast and bouldery, with potential spawning habitat limited to isolated pocket water and lower gradient areas in the lower one third of a mile of the creek (up to the first US Forest Service bridge). Flows were sufficient at the time of the survey; the group recommended a return visit in late August or September to assess whether base flows are sufficient to support year-round rearing.

Proposed Actions in the Cold Creek Watershed

USFWS installed a PIT antenna below the culvert between May and September 2023. They plan to reinstall the antenna for the summer of 2024 and potentially beyond as part of efforts to monitor migration patterns of PIT-tagged bull trout in Keechelus Lake.

Fixing the passage barrier at the old railroad culvert in Cold Creek is included in the Yakima Bull Trout Action Plan 2017 Actions Update as Gold Action #8, Next Step #1 (p. 157-158).

Trout Unlimited is currently working with State Parks and others to secure funding to evaluate and complete designs for a fish passage solution; information on the 2024 SRFB grant to fund preliminary designs is available in RCO's PRISM software.

In June 2024, the Yakima Bull Trout Working Group recommended doing a simple field survey in late August or September to assess whether base flows are sufficient to support year-round rearing.