Channel width, depth, water velocity, vegetation cover, and substrate size were measured along two different streams in the Golden Trout Wilderness (118°15'N, 36°22'W), in Sierra Nevada Mountains, California to determine the effects of livestock grazing on California golden trout spawning habitat. Trout redds (nests) and juvenile trout were also counted on both streams. The first stream had five wide stream reaches paired with five narrow reaches. The other stream had a livestock exclosure that was constructed 10 years prior to the start of the study; and measurements were taken inside the exclosure and downstream from it. In a previous study (Knapp and Matthews 1996, in RSIS) in the Golden Trout Wilderness, authors found that grazing increased stream width; therefore, wide stream reaches were used to represent the effects of grazing. Grazing occurred on the first stream from July to September by 235 cow-calf pairs. The second stream, with the exclosure was grazed lightly by 700 cow-calf pairs in July and again at high intensity in October.
Citations and enhanced abstracts for journals articles and documents focused on rangeland ecology and management. RSIS is a collaboration between Montana State University, University of Idaho, and University of Wyoming.