Water Stewardship Information Sources
| Citation | Pearson, M and Chiavaroli, LA. 2010. Harrison River Watershed Habitat Status Report. Prepared for Fisheries and Oceans Canada. |
|---|---|
| Organization | DFO |
| URL | https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjJzu22-NTJAhUKz2MKHYKqC7kQFggoMAI&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.psf.ca%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2FHarrison%252520Habitat%252520Status%252520Document%252520-%252520Final%252520-%252520Balance%252520Ecological%252520May%2525202010_81.pdf&usg=AFQjCNEyAqaxkOBDXJ4YlBcjluNcxSWJ4A&sig2=5zs6364QEqQbtUzado6zRg&bvm=bv.109910813,d.cGc |
| Abstract/Description or Keywords | Fisheries! and! Oceans! Canada! adopted! the! Wild! Salmon! Policy! (WSP)! for! the! conservation! of! wild! Pacific! Salmon!in! 2005,!with! the! overall!goal! of! restoring!and!maintaining!healthy!and! diverse! salmon! populations! and! their! habitats.! Strategy! 2! of! WSP! requires! the! assessment! of! habitats! associated! with! salmon! Conservation! Units! (CUs).! The! purpose! of! this! document! is! to! summarize! the! habitat! conditions! impacting! salmon! CUs! in! the! Lower! Harrison! River! Watershed! (LHW),! to! select! habitat! indicators! appropriate! to! the! watershed!and!conservation!units,!and!to!identify!existing!reports!to!inform!habitat!status. The! Lower! Harrison! Watershed! is! the! southernmost! and! downstream! portion! of! the! 8,324! km2 ! Harrison[ Lillooet! watershed.! Nine! salmon! Conservation! Units! are! known! to! occupy! 32! named! habitats! in! the! watershed,!17!of!which!are!addressed!in!this!document.!The!geographic!scope!of!this!project!and!preliminary! identification!of!high[value!habitat!were!determined! from! the! Province!of!British!Columbia!Integrated!Land! Management!Bureau’s!(ILMB)!online!mapping!system!iMap.!Potential!habitat!indicators!were!selected!based! on!the!habitat!type.!Given!the!geographic!scope!of!the!work,!and!the!presence!of!distinct!conservation!units! in! multiple! sub[habitats,! information! was! organized! geographically.! Interviews! were! conducted! with! DFO! staff,!as!well!as!staff!from!the!Regional!District,!Municipalities,!and!knowledgeable!locals. It! was! beyond! the! scope! of! this! project! to! analyze! raw! data! to! inform! habitat! conditions,! but! we! have! identified! available! raw! data! that! can! be! compiled! into! useful! habitat! status! indicators.! Land! cover! data! is! available!for!the!watershed,!albeit!out[of[date.!Water!licenses!in!the!watershed!are!mostly!held!by!Fisheries! and! Oceans! Canada,! however! new! water! licenses! have! been! sought! or! obtained! by! independent! power! producers! (IPPs)! on! several! streams! in! the! LHW,! which! will! impact! flow! patterns! in! affected! streams.! LHW! tributaries!are!naturally!oligotrophic!and!although!agricultural!/!urban!pollutants!are!insignificant!in!much!of! the! watershed,! the! southern! portion! is! recipient! to! non[point! and! point[source! pollution.! Long[term! temperature! data! is! available! from!six! habitats;! where! compiled,! temperature! data! consistently! indicated! summer! temperatures! at! levels! stressful! to! fish.! Tipella! Creek! was! the! only! drainage! in! which! known! temperature!data!did!not!show!stressful!summer!temperatures. Eleven!high[value!salmon!streams!in!the!LHW! in!the!lower!portion!of!the!LHW!are!estimated!to!have!critically!low!flows!below!the!mean!annual!discharge benchmark!for!instantaneous!flow!for!survival!of!most!aquatic!life.!Those!tributaries!in!the!upper!portion!of! the! LHW! all! maintain! adequate! or! good! low! flow! summer! habitat.! Sakwi! Creek! is! the! most! vulnerable! to! discharge!instability,!due!to!its!denuded!headwaters!and!high!extraction!allowances. The!most! severe!limiting! factors!in! the!Harrison!Watershed! result! from!excessive! forest! harvesting!and! the! related! channel! instability,! road! density,! riparian! removal,! and! water! temperatures! increases.! Impacts! predicted! due! to! climate! change! will! further! affect! water! temperatures! and! flows,! reducing! the! availability! and!quality!of!habitat!for!alevin,!fry!and!spawners.!Nutrient!availability!in!streams!is!low!and!may!become!a! limiting!factor!if!not!replenished!by!returning!adults.!Water!extraction!from!IPPs!will!impact!flow!patterns,!and! should!be!carefully!monitored!to!ensure!impacts!to!downstream!spawners!and!eggs!are!minimized. Forest!harvest!is! the!most!significant!land!use!in! the!LHW,!and!information! regarding!percent!of!watershed! logged!is!out[date!and!sometimes!conflicting.!B.C.!Ministry!of!Forests!and!Range!maintains!maps!and!archives! of! completed! and! planned! forest! harvest,! and! should! be! approached! to! access! the! data! for! analysis.! By! compiling!statistics!regarding!road!densities!and!forest!harvest!in!the!LHW,!habitat!managers!would!have!the! ability!to!infer!a!wide!range!of!habitat!status!indicators,!including!riparian!connectivity,!water!temperatures,! and!flow!stability. |
| Information Type | report |
| Regional Watershed | Lower Fraser |
| Sub-watershed if known | Harrison River |
| Aquifer # | |
| Comments | |
| Project status | complete |
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| Contact Email |