Water Stewardship Information Sources
| Citation | Masse Environmental Consultants Ltd. 2012. Fish Passage Assessments - Lower Fraser Watershed Group. Prepared for BC Timber Sales. |
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| Organization | FLNRO |
| URL | http://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/acat/public/viewReport.do?reportId=43012 |
| Abstract/Description or Keywords | An assessment of stream crossings within a number of watersheds in the Lower Fraser River area was conducted for British Columbia Timber Sales in the fall of 2011. Watersheds included: Alouette River, Blaney Creek, Cascade Creek, Coquitlam River, Hatzic Slough, Kanaka Creek, Katzie Slough, Lagace Creek, Lost Creek, Pitt River, North Alouette River, Stave Lake Reservoir, and Widgeon Creek. Additionally, the North Fraser River area was included in the study to fill in the areas not included in the other watershed polygons (streams draining into the Fraser River between the Katzie Slough, Kanaka Creek, Stave River and Hatzic Slough watersheds). All areas are located within the Chilliwack Forest District. A total of 1803 crossings were identified in the project area by GIS analysis. A total of 543 of these crossings were eliminated from the study as they were located on stream segments modeled as being high gradient (>25%) leaving a total of 1260 crossings modeled as fish bearing or potentially fish bearing. In the field, an additional 103 crossings were encountered and surveyed. A large number of crossings (835) were not assessed in the field due a number of factors including confirmed non-fish bearing status (from fisheries reports and management plans), high gradients observed in the field, absence of crossings in the field, GIS duplicates of other surveyed crossings, and access issues. Access to crossings was often not possible due to private land; boat access only areas; protected watershed areas; and gated roads controlled by various municipalities and agencies. In total, 528 crossings were surveyed within the study area. Of these, 352 were closed bottom structures, 165 were open bottom structures, and 11 crossings were fords. Crossings identified as potential barriers to fish passage were ranked by high, moderate or low priority for further action. Crossings were initially prioritized by habitat value and cost benefit ratio to provide an initial ranking. These rankings were subsequently adjusted by reviewing additional information obtained from a variety of sources, such as fisheries reports and management plans. Information taken into account included length of hatitat gained, species of fish, existing fish distribution, passability of the existing structures to adult salmonid species, gradient, availability of fisheries information, and the presence/location of natural and anthropogenic barriers. In total nine crossing were rated as high priority and 23 crossings were rated as moderate priority for further action. Follow up studies in areas of these watersheds not surveyed in this study will require boat assisted access as well as extensive planning to arrange admittance to municipal watershed areas as well as private,park, and institutionally managed lands. The urban and residential locale of many of these impacted streams provides a setting potentially conducive to restoration efforts. The high population densities present in many of the surveyed watersheds could present opportunities for partnerships between a variety of stakeholders including local restoration and stewardship groups, educational institutions and municipal governments among others. Report Type Fish and Aquatic Habitat Information Subject Fish and Fish Habitat - Culvert Fish Passage Region - Lower Mainland |
| Information Type | report |
| Regional Watershed | Lower Fraser |
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| Project status | complete |
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