| Abstract/Description or Keywords |
The West Arm of Quesnel Lake and the Quesnel River watershed as a whole supports a prolific sockeye salmon stock and rainbow trout fishery, as well as providing habitat for Interior Fraser coho, Chinook, kokanee, and bull trout, making these waterbodies a key area of interest for resource managers and public stakeholders (MoE, 2011a; Lawrence, 2004; Holmes, 2009; Sebastian et al, 2003). While residential development is not currently widespread along the foreshore of the West Arm of Quesnel Lake, landuses such as forestry, mining, agriculture and recreation are active in the watershed and an integrated resource management approach is necessary to ensure sustainable natural resource management. Currently, lake management projects in the province of BC adhere to the following three-step process: 1. Foreshore Inventory and Mapping (FIM) – FIM is a broad scale inventory process that attempts to define and describe the shoreline of our large and small lake systems. 2. Aquatic Habitat Index or Ecological Sensitivity Index (AHI) – The AHI utilizes data collected during the FIM, field reviews, and other data sources (e.g., Land and Data Warehouse, previously published works, etc.) to develop and rank the sensitivity of the shoreline using an index. 3. Development of Shoreline Management Guidance Documents - Guidance documents are the final step in the process. By implementing this work, in conjunction with existing lake and watershed information, into a guidance document, it will facilitate informed decision making and prioritization of management issues and key areas of concern. This report presents Step 1 and Step 2 for the West Arm of Quesnel Lake. Foreshore Inventory and Mapping results (FIM) for this project provides valuable information regarding features, habitats, and other information for the shoreline of the West Arm of Quesnel Lake. A summary of the data collected indicates the following: • The total length of disturbed shoreline was 9.2 km, while the remaining 61 km, or 87%, were described as being natural. • Natural area was the primary landuse, representing 72% of the shore length. Rural land use was the next most common, accounting for nearly 17% of the shore length. Approximately 81% of the rural land parcels remain in a relatively natural state. However, these large, privately-owned parcels represent areas of potential future buildout, as development pressures increase, including subdivision and subsequent anthropogenic impacts. • The most predominant shore type observed around the West Arm of Quesnel Lake was gravel beach, which accounted for 49% or 34 km. • There is approximately 25 km of shoreline that has aquatic vegetation, which represents approximately 36% of the total shoreline length. Most of the vegetation observed was emergent, including grasses and herbaceous vegetation below the high water level, which occurred along 33% of the shoreline or 23 km. • Docks were the most commonly observed type of shoreline modification, occurring within both rural and single family residential areas. There were a total of 129 docks counted during the assessment, which equates to 1.8 docks per km. • Approximately 54 km, or 77%, of the shoreline was described as having less than 10% impact. Approximately 11% (7.6 km) of the West Arm of Quesnel Lake exhibited high levels of impact where greater than 40% of the shoreline was impacted. • High juvenile rearing value occurs along 14 km, with disturbance noted along 2% or 322 m. The Aquatic Habitat Index (AHI) for the West Arm of Quesnel Lake provides valuable information regarding the estimated habitat values of different shoreline areas. The AHI is a categorical scale of relative habitat value that ranks shoreline segments from Very High to Very Low (Very High, High, Moderate, Low, and Very Low). The following summarizes the results of the AHI analysis: • Approximately 51% of the shoreline is ranked as Very High and High. Around 48% of the shoreline length is moderate, and the remaining 2% is ranked Low and Very Low. • The analysis indicated that very high value shorelines occurred primarily adjacent to stream mouths and gravel shores, with a reduced representation of very high value habitat occurring along rocky, cliff/bluff and sand shores. The West Arm of Quesnel Lake exhibited limited very low AHI ratings. • Within areas ranked as Very High, the shoreline was 96% natural. In High value areas, the shoreline was 95% natural and within Moderate value areas the shoreline was 80% natural. Areas of Low Value were around 48% natural, while areas with Very Low value had 5% of the shoreline remaining natural. The inventories and analysis completed as part of this study should help effectively manage and protect important aquatic resources along the West Arm of Quesnel Lake. The entire shoreline of the West Arm of Quesnel Lake was not inventoried due to financial and staff constraints, although completion of the remainder is intended as a priority. The West Arm of Quesnel Lake has areas of importance for salmonid habitat which have experienced anthropogenic impacts, particularly near the Quesnel River confluence. However, 87% of the shoreline remains in a relatively natural condition and 51% of the shore length surveyed received an AHI ranking of high or very high value. Information collected with the FIM and AHI steps should be integrated with existing initiatives, such as watershed-based fishsustainability planning. Recommendations have been presented that are intended to aid foreshore protection, guide future data management, and for future biophysical inventory works. |
