| Abstract/Description or Keywords |
This report presents the results of an overview hydrologic assessment of the Arrastra Creek watershed, a sub-basin of Granite Creek, located southwest of Princeton. Weyerhaeuser Canada initiated the study is response to the results of the 1997 Merritt Forest District IWAP, and partly to address concerns from the Ministry of Forests. Concerns included surface erosion, riparian buffers, and the impact of the five-year forest development plan. Arrastra Creek a sub-basin of Granite Creek watershed has an area of 63.5 km squared. Only a portion of the sub-basin, the headwaters in the south, is located in Weyerhaeuser's operating area. Ardew Forest Products and the BC Ministry of Forests SBFEP operate in the remainder of the sub-basin. The elevation range is from 1080 m at the confluence Granite Creek to 1920 m near Granite Mountain in the south. Within Weyerhaeuser's area, elevations range from 1370 m to 1920 m, and the mainstream channel is classified as fish-bearing. Fish were noted by Henderson staff in the headwaters of Arrastra Creek. The lower Arrastra Creek channel has an average gradient of 3%. Within Weyerhaeuser's area, the channel has an average gradient of 9%. The terrain is generally gentle to moderately steep within Weyerhaeuser's area, with slope gradients typically between 15-30%. Steeper terrain can be found in the lower Arrastra Creek basin with slope gradients up to 70%. Surficial materials consist of gravely sandy loam with coarse fragment contents of 20-30%. The Arrastra Creek sub-basin consists entirely of crown land. Field work was carried out in September and October of 1998. Please find the attached map for Arrastra Creek. |
