Monitoring and Adaptation to Conserve Clear Lake Cultural Keystone Species

Clear Lake, California’s largest freshwater lake, is an important site for seven federally recognized Tribal Nations and numerous related Tribes and Tribal communities, where they hold lakeside cultural ceremonies, fish and recreate, and gather tule reeds. Today, climate change has amplified ecological imbalances within the lake, endangering aquatic wildlife and threatening the health and wellbeing of Tribal citizens.

To conserve Clear Lake’s culturally significant sites and species, this project seeks to understand the relationship between wildfires, harmful algal blooms, and aquatic toxins degrading the lake’s ecosystems. The research particularly examines threats to the endemic, endangered, and culturally significant Clear Lake Hitch and its nursery habitat, tule. The researchers are inventorying existing tule beds on Clear Lake shorelines to identify threats to culturally significant sites and replant tule around the lake, providing additional shaded habitat for Clear Lake Hitch. They also monitor the health and habit conditions of Hitch populations, including measuring the lake’s dissolved oxygen levels and testing Hitch tissues for toxins.

To support future Tribal co-management of Clear Lake species, the researchers are conducting outreach and citizen science training for citizens of the Tribal Nations near the lake and are supporting additional grant proposals to fund management efforts. The data from this project will be shared with Tribal, state, and federal partners to promote the long-term sustainability of tule and Hitch populations and to enhance cultural activities around Clear Lake.