Inventory of Barriers to Fish Passage
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APPENDIX A(1) Definition of Barriers Barriers to fish migration exist in many ways shapes, and forms. The range of salmon and steelhead has always been limited to some extent by natural features, such as sandbars, landslides, waterfalls, and boulder cascades. Man has further truncated their range with an astounding variety of instream features and effects, such as dams, culverts, water diversions, tidegates, and many others. The habitat fragmentation resulting from this expansion of impediments to fish passage has played a major role in the decline of salmon and steelhead populations worldwide. The following explanations provide a more thorough examination of some of the barriers identified and assessed in this report. However, barriers should not be examined in a vacuum. Appendix B(1) provides an overview of the broader range of habitat conditions necessary for the survival and perpetuation of anadromous fish stocks. Fish passage improvement proponents are urged to examine proposed barrier modification or removal projects in the context of all necessary habitat conditions. NATURAL FEATURES Upper Limits to Anadromy Sustained slope can be a useful tool to estimate upper limits to anadromy. The California Department of Fish and Game has conducted a literature review of this subject and selected a sustained slope of >8% as measured off of a topographic map to define the upper limit of anadromy for the California Salmonid Stream Habitat Restoration Manual, Section IX. That guideline is offered with the caveat that field level knowledge is best to use, since slopes from topographical maps often fail to capture important geographic features, such as bedrock falls or chutes. The Oregon Department of Forestry rules characterize gradient barriers as natural falls and chutes of >8’ for adult salmon and steelhead, and >4’ for resident trout. Any falls >2’ must have a jump pool that is 1.25 times deeper than the jump height. Channel steepness with pools is characterized as follows: >20% for 30’ or more more adult salmn and steelhead and 20% for >20’ for resident trout. Channel steepness without pools is >12% for >30’ for adults and >12% for >20’ for resident trout (Robison, et al. 1999 Oregon Road/Stream Crossing: Restoration Guide). DFG and Taylor, below, found this to be too steep for anadromy in California. Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife defines a natural point barrier as a falls or chute > 12’ in height, and defines a gradient barrier as a sustained slope of >20% over a distance of >160 meters, though this analysis fails to break out particular species (WDFW 1998 SSHEAR Program). DFG considers this too steep for California. 1 The Washington Department of Transportation initially considered a >7% slope for >160 meters as a gradient barrier, but then, following extensive field surveys, increased the gradient to >12% for >160 meters (WDOT, 1997). In the experience of one consultant, field checks of slopes measured at >8% over a >200’ distance from topo maps typically yield some natural point barrier within that stream reach. This professional always tries to use points identified in the field by recent stream surveys to accurately pinpoint the true limit of anadromy (Taylor, pers. Comm., 2002). Powers and Osborn (1982) presented a detailed analysis of waterfalls and culverts as physical barriers to upstream migration by salmon and trout. Analysis techniques are based on combining barrier geometry and stream hydrology to define the existing hydraulic conditions within the barrier. These conditions then can be compared to known fish capabilities to determine fish passage success. A systematic classification system is developed which defines the geometric and hydraulic parameters for a given stream discharge. This classification system is organized in a format that can be used to catalog barriers in fisheries enhancement programs. The analysis compares hydraulic conditions and fish capabilities in detail, as the fish enters the barrier, attempts passage and exits the barrier. From this comparison the parameters which prohibit passage can be determined. Hydraulic conditions are a function of the barrier qeometry and stream hydrology, and the stream flow is constant at the time each step in analysis is performed. Therefore, the barrier geometry must be modified to alter the hydraulics to meet fish capabilities. Modifications can be accomplished by: installing instream "control" structures which deflect the flow or raise pool levels; blasting to alter or remove rock; and installing a fishway to bypass the barrier. Modifications should not be attempted until the analysis defines the excessive parameters which should be modified. Log Jams Log jams, often associated with inappropriate timber harvest practices, are an historically natural feature of some watersheds which may or may not serve as barriers to fish passage, and which may provide important habitat conditions for anadromous salmonids. Log jams can provide habitat complexity, provide cover, trap sediment, and stabilize eroding banks, recreating conditions under which anadromous salmonids adapted over thousands of years. They can also accelerate erosion, impair fish passage, and have other deleterious effects. Log jams are best evaluated for passability and overall ecological import on a case by case basis. Many of the most severe log jam and debris barriers present in coastal watersheds were treated to improve fish passage by the DFG during the 1970s in conjunction with the California Conservation Corps. Although criticized today for the efficiency with which field crews removed woody debris from streams under this program, critics often fail to acknowledge that treated barriers were often anthropogenic in origin, resulting from inappropriate timber harvest practices, and posed severe impediments to fish passage. On page 7 of the report, a photo of Terwer Creek illustrates the scale of a contemporary log jam likely impeding fish passage. The American Fisheries Society publication “Stream Obstruction Removal Guidelines” (1983) provides a succinct, though somewhat outdated, 2 examination of log jam treatment methodology. Overall, many fisheries biologists consider log jams to be of low priority for treatment at this time (Flosi, Harris, personal communication). ANTHROPOGENIC FEATURES Dams Dams benefit society by providing water storage for flood control and navigation; debris containment; electrical power generation, recreation, fish and wildlife habitat, and improving water quality (Collier and others 2000). However, impacts of dams on migrating fish, natural geomorphic processes in streams such as sediment transport, and flows and temperatures of river systems have become evident. The environmental effects of dams and other structures have become apparent over time through observation, study and evaluation. With declines of many fish populations in California and listing of salmonids under the federal Endangered Species Act, all dams and other structures are being considered in restoration and recovery efforts. While dams can benefit society, today science shows they also cause considerable harm to rivers. Dams change the chemical, physical, and biological processes of rivers and related fish and wildlife, and reduce or eliminate economically profitable recreational opportunities. Dams block free-flowing river systems, hindering the flow of nutrients and sediments and impeding fish and wildlife migration. Upstream of dams, stagnant reservoir pools and altered flow timing confound the reproductive cues and behaviors of many fish species. Dams also alter water temperatures and oxygen levels critical to species survival and to good water quality. Because dam owners often own large parcels of land above and below dams, significant portions of publicly owned rivers are effectively inaccessible to members of the public. The process of blocking a moving river inherently changes the ecosystem, destroying the natural processes dependent on that system-and hindering recreational activities. The impacts can include: • Inundating wildlife habitat • Reducing river levels • Blocking or slowing river flows • Altering timing of flows • Fluctuating reservoir levels • Altering water temperatures • Decreasing water oxygen levels • Obstructing the movement of gravel, woody debris, and nutrients • Blocking or inhibiting upstream and downstream fish passage • Altering public river access • Impacting negatively the aesthetics and character of a natural setting 3 Studies show that fish populations in rivers have declined drastically from historic levels due in large part to dams and water diversion projects. Dams have particularly harmed migratory fish such as salmon, steelhead, American shad, striped bass, sturgeon, alewife, herring, and American eel. Dams can significantly delay the time that it takes for juvenile migratory fish to be flushed to the ocean by turning fast-flowing rivers into slow-moving reservoirs. This delay is very harmful to the fish as their bodies undergo physiological changes that prepare them to survive in salt water. This evolutionary biological process cannot be delayed to accommodate delays in reservoirs. The stagnant reservoirs also expose young fish to predators and disease and often lethally high water temperatures. Further, many fish die when forced through the power turbines associated with hydropower dams. Dams also take a heavy toll on adult fish returning from the ocean to spawn upstream. Many dams provide no mechanism to allow fish to pass above the