Forecasting Tools to Inform the Management of Native Fishes and Their Habitats in a Drought Sensitive Terminal Lake System
Active
By Climate Adaptation Science Centers
March 19, 2025
Project Overview
Terminal lake systems, water sources that are confined to streams, wetlands, and seasonal lakes that do not flow into the ocean, are greatly impacted by climate effects such as drought, reduced snowpack and increased wildfire activity. As a result, managers are faced with a lack of resources to study these aquatic habitats and the residing native fish. Researchers supported by this Northwest CASC project will address these knowledge gaps by conducting climate impact assessments in the Goose Lake Basin, a terminal lake system in southern Oregon. The resulting products will locate ideal habitats for restoration and enhancement to inform management in species and habitat conservation decisions.
Public Summary
Climate change is a major threat to desert ecosystems and their aquatic habitats. In the western United States, severe drought, reduced snowpack, rising temperatures, and increased frequency and intensity of wildfires are causing streams and wetlands to change rapidly, and managers currently lack the resources to collect crucial baseline information on native fishes and their habitats. Such information is vital for implementing climate-informed conservation and management strategies in the face of rapidly shifting water resources. This project will address this knowledge gap by conducting a comprehensive assessment of how climate impacts effect native fish species distributions in the Goose Lake Basin in southern Oregon.
The Goose Lake Basin is a terminal lake system. This means that all its water is confined to streams, wetlands, and seasonal lakes instead of flowing to the ocean. Because water in terminal lake systems is so limited, worsening drought conditions are more likely to reduce habitat quality and restrict movement for the native species of trout, lamprey, and minnow that rely on cool sources of freshwater during the summer. To increase our understanding of how climate change will affect habitat quality for these native fish, we will use water chemistry to evaluate stream habitat connectivity under varying seasonal and environmental conditions. This information will be used in tandem with existing fish abundance and water temperature data to determine where native and non-native fish are most likely to reside given different climate change scenarios.
Our research partners will use the maps and data produced by this project to pinpoint ideal habitats for restoration and enhancement, thus enabling climate-informed management and decision-making related to species and habitat conservation. Additional project deliverables, such as maps, models, and user-friendly products, will facilitate actionable science to predict how climate-mediated stressors like limited water availability will affect the distribution of native fish populations in the Goose Lake Basin and to identify and evaluate methods to offset resultant reductions in habitat quality and connectivity for said fish populations. We expect that the tools produced as a result of this research will be implemented by end users to make informed conservation and habitat restoration decisions in the Basin and in other, similar terminal lake systems.
Terminal lake systems, water sources that are confined to streams, wetlands, and seasonal lakes that do not flow into the ocean, are greatly impacted by climate effects such as drought, reduced snowpack and increased wildfire activity. As a result, managers are faced with a lack of resources to study these aquatic habitats and the residing native fish. Researchers supported by this Northwest CASC project will address these knowledge gaps by conducting climate impact assessments in the Goose Lake Basin, a terminal lake system in southern Oregon. The resulting products will locate ideal habitats for restoration and enhancement to inform management in species and habitat conservation decisions.
Public Summary
Climate change is a major threat to desert ecosystems and their aquatic habitats. In the western United States, severe drought, reduced snowpack, rising temperatures, and increased frequency and intensity of wildfires are causing streams and wetlands to change rapidly, and managers currently lack the resources to collect crucial baseline information on native fishes and their habitats. Such information is vital for implementing climate-informed conservation and management strategies in the face of rapidly shifting water resources. This project will address this knowledge gap by conducting a comprehensive assessment of how climate impacts effect native fish species distributions in the Goose Lake Basin in southern Oregon.
The Goose Lake Basin is a terminal lake system. This means that all its water is confined to streams, wetlands, and seasonal lakes instead of flowing to the ocean. Because water in terminal lake systems is so limited, worsening drought conditions are more likely to reduce habitat quality and restrict movement for the native species of trout, lamprey, and minnow that rely on cool sources of freshwater during the summer. To increase our understanding of how climate change will affect habitat quality for these native fish, we will use water chemistry to evaluate stream habitat connectivity under varying seasonal and environmental conditions. This information will be used in tandem with existing fish abundance and water temperature data to determine where native and non-native fish are most likely to reside given different climate change scenarios.
Our research partners will use the maps and data produced by this project to pinpoint ideal habitats for restoration and enhancement, thus enabling climate-informed management and decision-making related to species and habitat conservation. Additional project deliverables, such as maps, models, and user-friendly products, will facilitate actionable science to predict how climate-mediated stressors like limited water availability will affect the distribution of native fish populations in the Goose Lake Basin and to identify and evaluate methods to offset resultant reductions in habitat quality and connectivity for said fish populations. We expect that the tools produced as a result of this research will be implemented by end users to make informed conservation and habitat restoration decisions in the Basin and in other, similar terminal lake systems.
- Source: USGS Sciencebase (id: 67db1dead34ef165338872e8)
Project Overview
Terminal lake systems, water sources that are confined to streams, wetlands, and seasonal lakes that do not flow into the ocean, are greatly impacted by climate effects such as drought, reduced snowpack and increased wildfire activity. As a result, managers are faced with a lack of resources to study these aquatic habitats and the residing native fish. Researchers supported by this Northwest CASC project will address these knowledge gaps by conducting climate impact assessments in the Goose Lake Basin, a terminal lake system in southern Oregon. The resulting products will locate ideal habitats for restoration and enhancement to inform management in species and habitat conservation decisions.
Public Summary
Climate change is a major threat to desert ecosystems and their aquatic habitats. In the western United States, severe drought, reduced snowpack, rising temperatures, and increased frequency and intensity of wildfires are causing streams and wetlands to change rapidly, and managers currently lack the resources to collect crucial baseline information on native fishes and their habitats. Such information is vital for implementing climate-informed conservation and management strategies in the face of rapidly shifting water resources. This project will address this knowledge gap by conducting a comprehensive assessment of how climate impacts effect native fish species distributions in the Goose Lake Basin in southern Oregon.
The Goose Lake Basin is a terminal lake system. This means that all its water is confined to streams, wetlands, and seasonal lakes instead of flowing to the ocean. Because water in terminal lake systems is so limited, worsening drought conditions are more likely to reduce habitat quality and restrict movement for the native species of trout, lamprey, and minnow that rely on cool sources of freshwater during the summer. To increase our understanding of how climate change will affect habitat quality for these native fish, we will use water chemistry to evaluate stream habitat connectivity under varying seasonal and environmental conditions. This information will be used in tandem with existing fish abundance and water temperature data to determine where native and non-native fish are most likely to reside given different climate change scenarios.
Our research partners will use the maps and data produced by this project to pinpoint ideal habitats for restoration and enhancement, thus enabling climate-informed management and decision-making related to species and habitat conservation. Additional project deliverables, such as maps, models, and user-friendly products, will facilitate actionable science to predict how climate-mediated stressors like limited water availability will affect the distribution of native fish populations in the Goose Lake Basin and to identify and evaluate methods to offset resultant reductions in habitat quality and connectivity for said fish populations. We expect that the tools produced as a result of this research will be implemented by end users to make informed conservation and habitat restoration decisions in the Basin and in other, similar terminal lake systems.
Terminal lake systems, water sources that are confined to streams, wetlands, and seasonal lakes that do not flow into the ocean, are greatly impacted by climate effects such as drought, reduced snowpack and increased wildfire activity. As a result, managers are faced with a lack of resources to study these aquatic habitats and the residing native fish. Researchers supported by this Northwest CASC project will address these knowledge gaps by conducting climate impact assessments in the Goose Lake Basin, a terminal lake system in southern Oregon. The resulting products will locate ideal habitats for restoration and enhancement to inform management in species and habitat conservation decisions.
Public Summary
Climate change is a major threat to desert ecosystems and their aquatic habitats. In the western United States, severe drought, reduced snowpack, rising temperatures, and increased frequency and intensity of wildfires are causing streams and wetlands to change rapidly, and managers currently lack the resources to collect crucial baseline information on native fishes and their habitats. Such information is vital for implementing climate-informed conservation and management strategies in the face of rapidly shifting water resources. This project will address this knowledge gap by conducting a comprehensive assessment of how climate impacts effect native fish species distributions in the Goose Lake Basin in southern Oregon.
The Goose Lake Basin is a terminal lake system. This means that all its water is confined to streams, wetlands, and seasonal lakes instead of flowing to the ocean. Because water in terminal lake systems is so limited, worsening drought conditions are more likely to reduce habitat quality and restrict movement for the native species of trout, lamprey, and minnow that rely on cool sources of freshwater during the summer. To increase our understanding of how climate change will affect habitat quality for these native fish, we will use water chemistry to evaluate stream habitat connectivity under varying seasonal and environmental conditions. This information will be used in tandem with existing fish abundance and water temperature data to determine where native and non-native fish are most likely to reside given different climate change scenarios.
Our research partners will use the maps and data produced by this project to pinpoint ideal habitats for restoration and enhancement, thus enabling climate-informed management and decision-making related to species and habitat conservation. Additional project deliverables, such as maps, models, and user-friendly products, will facilitate actionable science to predict how climate-mediated stressors like limited water availability will affect the distribution of native fish populations in the Goose Lake Basin and to identify and evaluate methods to offset resultant reductions in habitat quality and connectivity for said fish populations. We expect that the tools produced as a result of this research will be implemented by end users to make informed conservation and habitat restoration decisions in the Basin and in other, similar terminal lake systems.
- Source: USGS Sciencebase (id: 67db1dead34ef165338872e8)