| Abstract/Description or Keywords |
In 1984, an aquatic log transportation system was developed on Babine Lake, as part of a ten (10) year logging plan for the Morrison Arm Watershed. Logs cut during the winter were stored at the North end of Morrison Arm until late spring. Two studies by Levy et al. (1990) and Power and Northcote (1991) showed that hypoxic conditions developed in the log storage area following the spring thaw in 1985. A decrease in the number of juvenile sockeye in the log storage area was also observed, and appeared to be a response to the hypoxic conditions. The objective of the study reported here is to replicate the protocol used in the Levy et al. (1990) study during the spring of 2012 to establish if the log storage negative impacts observed by Levy et al. (1990) and Power and Northcote (1991) are still affecting the Morrison River juvenile sockeye migrating into Morrison Arm. The results from the present study show that in the spring of 2012, approximately 20 years after the end of log storage at the North end Morrison Arm, dissolved oxygen concentration and juvenile sockeye numbers observed in the log storage area were not different than at the reference sites. Twenty years after the end of log storage at the north end of Morrison Arm of Babine Lake, the deleterious effect of log storage on dissolved oxygen concentration and on juvenile sockeye salmon habitat observed by Levy et al. (1990) and Power and Northcote (1991) in 1985 have dissipated. Considering that no sign of impact from log storage could be observed in the spring of 2012, no habitat remediation work is necessary at the North end of Morrison Arm. |
