North Saskatchewan River Drainage, Fish Sustainability Index Data Gaps Project, 2015

The Alberta Conservation Association is a Delegated Administrative Organization under Alberta’s Wildlife Act.

Mike Rodtka, Chad Judd and Andrew Clough Alberta Conservation Association 101 – 9 Chippewa Road Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada T8A 6J7

Report Editors PETER AKU KELLEY KISSNER Alberta Conservation Association 50 Tuscany Meadows Cr. NW 101 – 9 Chippewa Rd. Calgary, AB T3L 2T9 Sherwood Park, AB T8A 6J7

Conservation Report Series Type Data

ISBN: 978-0-9949118-3-4

Disclaimer: This document is an independent report prepared by Alberta Conservation Association. The authors are solely responsible for the interpretations of data and statements made within this report.

Reproduction and Availability: This report and its contents may be reproduced in whole, or in part, provided that this title page is included with such reproduction and/or appropriate acknowledgements are provided to the authors and sponsors of this project.

Suggested Citation: Rodtka, M., C. Judd, and A. Clough. 2016. North Saskatchewan River drainage, Fish Sustainability Index data gaps project, 2015. Data Report, D-2016-105, produced by Alberta Conservation Association, Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada. 17 pp + App.

Cover photo credit: David Fairless

Digital copies of conservation reports can be obtained from: Alberta Conservation Association 101 – 9 Chippewa Rd. Sherwood Park, AB T8A 6J7 Toll Free: 1-877-969-9091 Tel: (780) 410-1998 Fax: (780) 464-0990 Email: [email protected] Website: www.ab-conservation.com

i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Alberta Environment and Parks Fish Sustainability Index is a standardized process of assessment that provides a landscape-level overview of fish sustainability within the province and enables broad-scale evaluation of management actions and land-use planning. Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) is a native sport species classed as Threatened in Alberta and is particularly sensitive to habitat change. In the summer of 2015, Alberta Conservation Association partnered with Sundre Forest Products (SFP) to assess bull trout distribution and abundance in areas of mutual interest to SFP and government land-use planners in SFP’s Forest Management Area. Our objective was to describe the distribution and abundance of bull trout and other fish species in the headwaters of the North Saskatchewan River watershed to address Fish Sustainability Index data deficiencies. Focal areas for the inventory in 2015 were identified in consultation with project partners and included the headwaters of the Baptiste River, Pineneedle Creek and surrounding streams, and Trout Creek.

From June 16 to August 17, we visited 87 sites randomly distributed throughout the three focal areas. We monitored stream temperature (every two hours) at four stations in the Trout Creek focal area to assess thermal suitability for bull trout. We sampled 50 sites using backpack electrofishing gear and captured 648 fish including 7 bull trout. The remaining 37 sites were dry. Bull trout were detected at two sites in both the Pineneedle Creek and Trout Creek focal areas. Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) dominated our catch (n = 502), was detected in every area, and was the most widely distributed species overall (detected at 20 sites). Brown trout (Salmo trutta) was the second most abundant species (9 sites; n = 121) but was detected only in the Trout Creek focal area along with longnose dace (Rhinichthys cataractae), mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni), spoonhead sculpin (Cottus ricei) and white sucker (Catostomus commersoni). Our catch of brook trout and brown trout included a wide size range of fish.

The spring and early summer of 2015 was notably dry and this undoubtedly impacted the stream habitats we observed and should be considered when interpreting the results of our habitat assessment. Streams in the Pineneedle Creek focal area exhibited relatively low water conductivities, which may have diminished the efficiency of our electrofishing gear. Stream temperature monitoring of the Trout Creek focal area indicated that the

ii headwaters provided highly suitable thermal habitat for bull trout in the summer of 2015. Our study provides land-use managers with fish species distribution and abundance information necessary to balance the diverse values of the land base upon which they operate and to evaluate bull trout status in the North Saskatchewan River watershed.

Key words: Alberta, North Saskatchewan River watershed, bull trout, distribution, abundance.

iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank Jessica Reilly of Alberta Environment and Parks for her assistance with project design and development. We greatly appreciate the logistical and financial support our project received from Sundre Forest Products, a Division of West Fraser Mills Ltd. Kelsey Kure (Sundre Forest Products) assisted with project development and delivery. Alberta Conservation Association employee Zachary Spence assisted with collecting and summarizing the data. Editorial comments by Mandy Couve (Alberta Conservation Association) greatly improved the final report.

iv TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ...... v LIST OF FIGURES ...... vi LIST OF TABLES ...... vii LIST OF APPENDICES ...... viii 1.0 INTRODUCTION ...... 1 2.0 STUDY AREA ...... 2 3.0 MATERIALS AND METHODS ...... 4 3.1 Fish distribution and abundance ...... 4 3.2 Stream habitat measurement ...... 5 4.0 RESULTS ...... 6 4.1 Fish distribution and abundance ...... 6 4.2 Stream habitat measurement ...... 13 4.3 Summary ...... 14 5.0 LITERATURE CITED ...... 16 6.0 APPENDICES ...... 18

v LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Headwaters of the North Saskatchewan River watershed and 2015 fisheries inventory focal areas...... 3 Figure 2. Location of stream temperature monitoring stations in the Trout Creek focal area, June to August 2015...... 7 Figure 3. Electrofishing site identification and distribution of fish in the Baptiste River focal area captured using backpack electrofishing, July 27 to August 17, 2015 ...... 8 Figure 4. Electrofishing site identification and distribution of fish in the Pineneedle Creek focal area captured using backpack electrofishing, June 16 to July 8, 2015...... 9 Figure 5. Electrofishing site identification and distribution of fish in the Trout Creek focal area captured using backpack electrofishing, July 14 to 25, 2015...... 10

vi LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Sampling effort at three focal areas in the North Saskatchewan River watershed, June 16 to August 17, 2015...... 5 Table 2. Catch information of fish species detected using backpack electrofishing gear in the North Saskatchewan River watershed, June 16 to August 17, 2015 ... 11 Table 3. Relative abundance of fish species detected using backpack electrofishing gear in the North Saskatchewan River watershed, June 16 to August 17, 2015...... 12 Table 4. Size distribution of fish captured using backpack electrofishing gear in the North Saskatchewan River watershed, June 16 to August 17, 2015...... 12 Table 5. Summary of stream habitat at sites electrofished in the North Saskatchewan River watershed, June 16 to August 17, 2015...... 13 Table 6. Stream temperature recorded at four stations in the Trout Creek focal area, June 18 to August 31, 2015...... 14

vii LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix 1. Distribution of prospective sample sites within three focal areas in the North Saskatchewan River watershed showing subdivision of the Baptiste River and Pineneedle Creek focal areas...... 18 Appendix 2. Summary of backpack electrofishing site locations and fish capture by species at the Pineneedle Creek, Trout Creek and Baptiste River focal areas in the North Saskatchewan River watershed, 2015 ...... 19 Appendix 3. Length frequency distributions of trout captured by backpack electrofishing at three focal areas in the North Saskatchewan River watershed, 2015...... 22 Appendix 4. Stream flow hydrographs in the Clearwater and Baptiste rivers generated by Alberta Environment and Parks stream gauging stations, 2015...... 24 Appendix 5. Summary of habitat measurements at backpack electrofishing sites in at the Pineneedle Creek, Trout Creek and Baptiste River focal areas in the North Saskatchewan River watershed, 2015...... 26 Appendix 6. Two-day moving average water temperature at the four temperature monitoring stations in the Trout Creek focal area over the summer of 2015...... 29

viii 1.0 INTRODUCTION

Fishery inventories provide resource managers with information on fish abundance, species distribution and fish habitat. This information is a key component of responsible land-use planning and management if threats to stream health are to be minimized. Since its inception in 1997, Alberta Conservation Association (ACA) has been performing fishery inventories across the province. Most of our inventory effort occurred through the ACA Cooperative Fisheries Inventory Program (CFIP), a collaboration between private industry, land managers, ACA and other conservationists. The CFIP was most active in the late 1990s and early 2000s. During this time, over 4,000 sites were inventoried, representing some $4,000,000 worth of work (Dillon Consulting 2004). However, much of the inventory data collected through the CFIP is outdated, and inventory methods have improved substantially, partly as a result of the lessons learned during the CFIP.

One such improvement is the creation of Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP) Fish Sustainability Index (FSI). The FSI is a standardized process of assessment that provides a landscape-level overview of fish sustainability within the province and enables broad-scale evaluation of management actions and land-use planning (MacPherson et al. 2014). This development is significant because it provides the framework within which future fishery inventories must occur for greatest relevance to government managers and planners. Inconsistency in inventory activities across the province, partly resulting from the lack of such a framework, was a common criticism of the CFIP (Dillon Consulting 2004). Collection of data to support FSI development for imperiled native sport species is a high-priority activity for ACA.

Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) is a native sport species classed as Threatened in Alberta (Saskatchewan – Nelson rivers populations) (COSEWIC 2012). Bull trout is particularly sensitive to habitat change and is thought to reflect general ecosystem health (COSEWIC 2012). This sensitivity, coupled with its relatively wide distribution, makes bull trout an attractive species for monitoring sustainability in the headwaters of the North Saskatchewan River watershed. In 2015, ACA partnered with Sundre Forest Products (SFP), a Division of West Fraser Mills Ltd., to assess bull trout distribution and abundance in areas of mutual interest to SFP and government land-use planners in SFP’s

1 Forest Management Area. Partnering with industries operating in the watershed allows ACA to better address existing bull trout FSI data gaps while ensuring up-to-date fisheries inventory data is directly available to industries in their efforts to balance the environmental, social and economic values of the land base upon which they operate.

Our objectives for this study were to: • describe bull trout distribution and abundance to address FSI data deficiencies in the headwaters of the North Saskatchewan River watershed, and • describe fish inventory and stream habitat quality in priority areas within SFP’s Forest Management Area to aid in the development of management plans.

2.0 STUDY AREA

The North Saskatchewan River originates in Banff National Park. Its major headwater tributaries include the Ram, Clearwater and Brazeau rivers (Figure 1). Cold-water habitat suitable for bull trout and other salmonids occurs mainly upstream of the confluence of the Clearwater and North Saskatchewan rivers and in the upper half of the Brazeau drainage. Land-use activities in the headwaters outside of the national parks include forestry, oil and gas exploration, and recreation. Land use within the national parks is restricted and primarily recreational (North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance 2005). Sample areas were identified in consultation with project partners, with highest priority given to sampling areas in the bull trout range where current inventory data are absent. Focal areas within the watershed in 2015 for our study included the headwaters of the Baptiste River, Trout Creek, and tributaries to the Clearwater River in the area of Pineneedle Creek (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Headwaters of the North Saskatchewan River watershed and 2015 fisheries inventory focal areas.

3 3.0 MATERIALS AND METHODS

3.1 Fish distribution and abundance

From June 16 to August 17, we visited 87 randomly distributed sites to describe the distribution and relative abundance of bull trout and other fish species in our focal areas. We distributed prospective sample sites at 800 m intervals in an upstream progression along the length of first- (>400 m) to fifth-order streams (1:20,000 scale) (Strahler 1952) within focal areas using a geographic information system (GIS) (ArcGIS version 10.1) and the Government of Alberta Resource Management Information Branch hydro line data layer supplemented with SFP’s operating hydro line data layer. Sites were randomly selected without replacement using a Generalized Random Tessellation Stratified (GRTS) design (Stevens and Olsen 2004). Based on conservative estimates of site occupancy (Ψ) = 0.25 and conditional detection probability (p) = 0.90 within an occupied sample frame (Rodtka and Judd 2015; Rodtka et al. 2015), we determined 15 sites were necessary to return a high (>90%) probability of detecting a juvenile bull trout. To accommodate non-response sites, we drew a total sample of 19 sites per sample frame. Based on their size and topology, we subdivided the Pineneedle Creek and Baptiste River focal areas (Appendix 1) when allocating sample points.

A handheld Global Positioning System (GPS) was used to locate sites. All sampling commenced at the head of riffle habitat. Our sampling protocol required sites be 300 m long (measured with a hip chain) or 50 times the mean wetted width (Reynolds et al. 2003) (rounded to the nearest 50 m) to a maximum length of 500 m. In reality, no sites over 300 m long were required because mean wetted widths were <6 m in all cases and several sites ended before 300 m because of a lack of flow (mean site length ± standard deviation [SD]; 262 m ± 69 m). Sites were sampled using Smith-Root 12-B or LR-20B backpack electrofishers with pulsed DC (voltage 200 – 700 V, frequency 20 – 60 Hz and duration 3 – 10 ms). Fish were identified to species and were enumerated and measured (fork length [FL], mm), and electrofishing effort (seconds) was recorded at 50 m intervals within a site. We also measured the length of stream sampled to initial capture of each species, including the juvenile life stage of bull trout. Emphasis was placed on detecting the juvenile life stage (i.e., ≤150 mm FL) (ASRD and ACA 2009) because juvenile bull trout may be more indicative of a local population than adults (Isaak et al. 2009) and

4 density and distribution of immature fish are key components of the FSI (MacPherson et al. 2014).

Sites were assessed in the order in which they were drawn. Eighteen sites were not included as response sites: 17 sites were >1 km from the nearest motorized access point using truck, off-highway vehicle or helicopter; and 1 site was too deep to safely sample. The GRTS sampling design allowed us to dynamically adjust our sample size to accommodate these nonresponse sites while maintaining a spatially balanced sample (Stevens and Olsen 2004). Dry sites (n = 37) were included as response sites but removed from subsequent analyses. A breakdown of site response by focal area is summarized in Table 1.

Table 1. Sampling effort at three focal areas in the North Saskatchewan River watershed, June 16 to August 17, 2015.

Area Dry No access Unsafe Electrofished Total Baptiste River 14 1 1 16 32 Pineneedle Creek 20 15 0 22 57 Trout Creek 3 1 0 12 16

3.2 Stream habitat measurement

At all sites, we measured water temperature (1°C) and ambient conductivity (1 μS/cm) before electrofishing. We measured stream depth (0.01 m) and wetted width (0.1 m) and visually assessed dominant substrate along transects spaced every 50 m. Water depth and dominant substrate type were assessed at three stations per transect: one-quarter, one-half and three-quarter wetted width (one-half only where wetted width ≤1 m). Substrate categories were scored based on a modified Wentworth (1922) scale and included fines (<2 mm; score 0), small gravel (2 – 16 mm; score 1), large gravel (17 – 64 mm; score 2), cobble (65 – 256 mm; score 3), boulder (>256 mm; score 4) and bedrock (score 5). We visually estimated the percentage of pool (reduced current velocity, little surface turbulence, and water deeper than surrounding areas), riffle (water flows swiftly over bed materials producing surface turbulence), and run (uniform but swift flow without surface waves) habitat types between transects (nearest 5%).

5 Although all streams in our study were thought to have the potential to support a local population, bull trout distribution is typically restricted to cold-water habitats (Isaak et al. 2009). It was unclear if summer thermal regime throughout the Trout Creek focal area was suitable for bull trout. We monitored stream temperature (every two hours) at four stations in the focal area to assess thermal suitability (Figure 2). All fish and habitat information acquired in the field was submitted for inclusion into the AEP Fisheries and Wildlife Management Information System database.

4.0 RESULTS

4.1 Fish distribution and abundance

The 50 sites we sampled with backpack electrofishing gear resulted in over 36,000 sec of effort over 13 km of stream. In addition to bull trout, our catch included brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), brown trout (Salmo trutta), longnose dace (Rhinichthys cataractae), mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni), spoonhead sculpin (Cottus ricei) and white sucker (Catostomus commersoni). Bull trout were only detected in the Pineneedle Creek and Trout Creek focal areas. Fish species detections by focal area are summarized in Figures 3 to 5. Site-specific catch information is provided in Appendix 2.

Figure 2. Location of stream temperature monitoring stations in the Trout Creek focal area, June to August 2015.

Figure 3. Electrofishing site identification and distribution of fish in the Baptiste River focal area captured using backpack electrofishing, July 27 to August 17, 2015.

Figure 4. Electrofishing site identification and distribution of fish in the Pineneedle Creek focal area captured using backpack electrofishing, June 16 to July 8, 2015.

Figure 5. Electrofishing site identification and distribution of fish in the Trout Creek focal area captured using backpack electrofishing, July 14 to 25, 2015. In addition to the species identified, mountain whitefish and longnose dace were detected at Site 2 and white sucker at Site 4.

10 Bull trout composed only 1% of our total catch, which was dominated by brook trout and brown trout (Table 2). Although distance to initial detection varied considerably, trout were typically detected within the first 100 m of sampling, with median distance to detection ranging from 19 to 58 m. Brook trout were typically most abundant at sample sites, except in the Trout Creek focal area where brown trout were more abundant in our catch (Table 3).

No juvenile (i.e., ≤150 mm FL) bull trout were detected (Table 4) although we captured two small bull trout (152 and 154 mm FL) at a single site in the lower reaches of Trout Creek. Length frequency histograms of our trout catch by focal area are provided in Appendix 3.

Table 2. Catch information of fish species detected using backpack electrofishing gear in the North Saskatchewan River watershed, June 16 to August 17, 2015. Species codes: BKTR = brook trout, BLTR = bull trout, BNTR = brown trout, LNDC = longnose dace, MNWH = mountain whitefish, SPSC = spoonhead sculpin, WHSC = white sucker.

Median distance (m) to Species Site detections Total catch (%) initial detection (range) BKTR 20 502 (77) 19 (1 – 242) BLTR 4 7 (1) 58 (12 – 127) BNTR 9 121 (19) 27 (8 – 186) LNDC 1 4 (1) 34 MNWH 1 1 (<1) 274 SPSC 4 6 (1) 149 (65 – 244) WHSC 1 7 (1) 245

11 Table 3. Relative abundance of fish species detected using backpack electrofishing gear in the North Saskatchewan River watershed, June 16 to August 17, 2015. See species codes in Table 2; SE = standard error.

Baptiste River Pineneedle Creek Trout Creek Species Mean ± SE catch Mean ± SE catch Mean ± SE catch Mean ± SE catch Mean ± SE catch Mean ± SE catch per 100 m per 100 s per 100 m per 100 s per 100 m per 100 s BKTR 7.7 ± 3.3 2.5 ± 1.1 3.0 ± 1.6 1.3 ± 0.7 0.4 ± 0.3 0.1 ± 0.1 BLTR – – 0.05 ± 0.04 0.02 ± 0.02 0.1 ± 0.1 0.04 ± 0.03 BNTR – – – – 3.7 ± 1.5 1.2 ± 0.5 LNDC – – – – 0.1 ± 0.1 0.04 ± 0.04 MNWH – – – – 0.03 ± 0.03 0.01 ± 0.01 SPSC – – – – 0.2 ± 0.1 0.06 ± 0.03 WHSC – – – – 0.2 ± 0.2 0.07 ± 0.07

Table 4. Size distribution of fish captured using backpack electrofishing gear in the North Saskatchewan River watershed, June 16 to August 17, 2015. See species codes in Table 2; SD = standard deviation; FL = fork length.

Baptiste River Pineneedle Creek Trout Creek Species n Mean FL ± SD (mm) FL range n Mean FL ± SD (mm) FL range n Mean FL ± SD (mm) FL range BKTR 318a 113 ± 46 25 – 256 169 135 ± 50 25 – 256 14 122 ± 86 49 – 315 BLTR 0 – – 3 241 ± 0.15 231 – 258 4 211 ± 80 152 – 322 BNTR 0 – – 0 – – 121 139 ± 0.78 36 – 364 LNDC 0 – – 0 – – 4 92 ± 0.8 81 – 100 MNWH 0 – – 0 – – 1 135 – SPSC 0 – – 0 – – 6 91 ± 22 61 – 115 WHSC 0 – – 0 – – 7 87 ± 7 79 – 100 aFork length not measured on one brook trout.

12 4.2 Stream habitat measurement

The spring and early summer of 2015 was notably dry, resulting in a compressed spring freshet and relatively low flows (Appendix 4), which although hard to evaluate, undoubtedly impacted the stream habitats we observed and should be considered when interpreting the results of our habitat assessment.

Mean conductivity ranged from 115 to 265 μS/cm, with relatively low conductivities observed at several sites in the Pineneedle Creek focal area (Table 5), which may have reduced our electrofishing capture efficiency at these sites (Rodtka et al. 2015). Site-specific stream habitat data are summarized in Appendix 5.

Table 5. Summary of stream habitat at sites electrofished in the North Saskatchewan River watershed, June 16 to August 17, 2015.

Measurement Baptiste River Pineneedle Creek Trout Creek Water temperature (°C) Mean ± SD 8 ± 1 8 ± 2 11 ± 3 Range 5 – 11 5 – 12 6 – 14

Conductivity (μS/cm) Mean ± SD 265 ± 65 115 ± 49 233 ± 80 Range 158 – 367 36 – 189 72 – 327

Mean wetted width (m) Mean ± SD 1.7 ± 1.2 1.6 ± 0.9 2.8 ± 1.7 Range 0.4 – 3.7 0.3 – 3.7 0.5 – 5.6

Mean rooted width (m) Mean ± SD 2.7 ± 1.9 2.8 ± 1.9 4.0 ± 2.7 Range 0.4 – 6.8 0.8 – 6.4 0.7 – 8.7

Mean maximum depth (m) Mean ± SD 0.18 ± 0.10 0.17 ± 0.09 0.29 ± 0.15 Range 0.04 – 0.45 0.05 – 0.36 0.06 – 0.57

Modal stream stage Low Moderate Moderate

Modal substrate Primary Cobble Cobble Fines Secondary Large gravel Large gravel Large gravel

13 In the Trout Creek focal area, highly suitable thermal habitat for bull trout (i.e., mean summer water temperature ≤10°C, maximum summer temperature ≤16°C; Isaak et al. 2009 and references therein) appeared to be limited to the headwaters of Trout Creek in 2015 (Table 6). Appendix 6 compares two-day moving average water temperature at the four temperature monitoring stations over the summer of 2015.

Table 6. Stream temperature recorded at four stations in the Trout Creek focal area, June 18 to August 31, 2015. SD = standard deviation.

Station Mean temperature ± SD (°C) Temperature range (°C) T1 13 ± 2 7 – 20 T4 12 ± 2 7 – 18 T6a 13 ± 2 7 – 19 T17 8 ± 1 6 – 12 aNot operational until July 23.

4.3 Summary

The headwaters of the Baptiste River, Pineneedle Creek and surrounding streams, and Trout Creek were identified as priority (focal) areas for fisheries inventories in 2015, with an emphasis on detecting bull trout. At the 50 sites we sampled using backpack electrofishing gear, we captured 648 fish including 7 bull trout. Bull trout was detected at two sites in both the Pineneedle Creek and Trout Creek focal areas. Brook trout dominated our catch (n = 502), was detected in every area, and was the most widely distributed species overall (detected at 20 sites). Brown trout (9 sites, n = 121) was the second most abundant species but was detected only in the Trout Creek focal area along with longnose dace, mountain whitefish, spoonhead sculpin and white sucker.

No juvenile (i.e., ≤150 mm FL) bull trout were detected, although we captured two small bull trout at a single site in the lower reaches of Trout Creek. Our catch of brook trout and brown trout included a wide size range of fish. Streams in the Pineneedle Creek focal area exhibited relatively low water conductivities, which may have diminished the efficiency of our electrofishing gear. Stream temperature monitoring indicated that the headwaters of Trout Creek provided highly suitable thermal habitat for bull trout in the summer of 2015. Our study provides land-use managers with information on fish species

14 distribution and abundance, which is needed to balance the diverse values of the land base upon which they operate and to evaluate bull trout status in the North Saskatchewan River watershed.

15 5.0 LITERATURE CITED

Alberta Sustainable Resource Development and Alberta Conservation Association (ASRD and ACA). 2009. Status of the bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) in Alberta: Update 2009. Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, Wildlife Status Report No. 39 (Update 2009), Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. 48 pp.

Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). 2012. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the bull trout Salvelinus confluentus in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. 103 pp.

Dillon Consulting. 2004. Review and assessment of the Alberta Conservation Association’s fishery inventory activities in Alberta. Dillon Consulting Limited, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. 84 pp.

Isaak, D., B.E. Rieman, and D. Horan. 2009. A watershed-scale monitoring protocol for bull trout. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-224, Fort Collins, Colorado, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 25 pp.

MacPherson, L., M. Coombs, J. Reilly, M.G. Sullivan, and D.J. Park. 2014. A generic rule set for applying the Alberta fish sustainability index, second edition. Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. 51 pp.

North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance. 2005. State of the North Saskatchewan watershed report 2005 – A foundation for collaborative watershed management. Produced by the North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. 202 pp.

16 Reynolds, L., A.T. Herlihy, P.R. Kaufmann, S.V. Gregory, and R.M. Hughes. 2003. Electrofishing effort requirements for assessing species richness and biotic integrity in western Oregon streams. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 23(2): 450–461.

Rodtka, M., and C. Judd. 2015. Abundance and distribution of bull trout in the Muskeg River watershed, 2014. Data Report, D-2015-002, produced by Alberta Conservation Association, Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada. 18 pp + App.

Rodtka, M.C., C.S. Judd, P.M. Aku, and K.M. Fitzsimmons. 2015. Estimating occupancy and detection probability of juvenile bull trout using backpack electrofishing gear in a west-central Alberta watershed. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences [online serial]. DOI:10.1139/cjfas-2014-0175.

Stevens Jr., D.L., and A.R. Olsen. 2004. Spatially balanced sampling of natural resources. Journal of the American Statistical Association 99(465): 262–278.

Strahler, A.N. 1952. Hypsometric (area-altitude) analysis of erosional topography. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America 63(11): 1117–1142.

Wentworth, C.K. 1922. A scale of grade and class terms for clastic sediments. The Journal of Geology 30(5): 377–392.

17 6.0 APPENDICES

Appendix 1. Distribution of prospective sample sites within three focal areas in the North Saskatchewan River watershed showing subdivision of the Baptiste River and Pineneedle Creek focal areas.

18 Appendix 2. Summary of backpack electrofishing site locations (NAD 83, Zone 11) and fish capture by species at the Pineneedle Creek (P), Trout Creek (T) and Baptiste River (B) focal areas in the North Saskatchewan River watershed, 2015.

UTM Species Site Distance Effort Juvenile Date Easting Northing BLTR BKTR BNTR MNWH SPSC LNDC WHSC ID (m) (s) BLTR P1 16-Jun-15 617294 5754148 300 785 0 0 15 0 0 0 0 0 P2 26-Jun-16 617259 5757247 300 607 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 P3 18-Jun-15 615210 5752967 300 837 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 P5 16-Jun-15 616930 5754707 300 1,081 0 0 42 0 0 0 0 0 P9 26-Jun-15 616919 5756772 300 1,349 0 2 70 0 0 0 0 0 P11 18-Jun-15 614756 5752575 300 438 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 P15 16-Jun-15 617236 5753487 300 673 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 P18 08-Jul-15 614491 5752030 300 587 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 P23 25-Jun-15 613403 5759882 161 617 0 0 22 0 0 0 0 0 P27 25-Jun-15 612822 5759977 200 409 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 P31 25-Jun-15 612439 5759303 300 374 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 P39 24-Jun-15 615455 5756550 300 567 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 P42 07-Jul-15 615172 5755220 100 158 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 P45 29-Jun-15 613287 5753919 128 146 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 P46 28-Jun-15 613454 5755980 300 767 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 P47 24-Jun-15 615422 5757170 300 996 0 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 P48 24-Jun-15 615515 5757598 300 685 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 P50 28-Jun-15 613407 5755170 106 171 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 P51 27-Jun-15 614424 5758275 300 549 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 P53 07-Jul-15 615244 5755942 300 545 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 P55 08-Jul-15 614071 5755620 300 898 0 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 P57 08-Jul-15 614013 5753785 200 268 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

19 Appendix 2. Continued.

UTM Species Site Distance Effort Juvenile Date Easting Northing BLTR BKTR BNTR MNWH SPSC LNDC WHSC ID (m) (s) BLTR T1 25-Jul-15 593340 5805817 150 667 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 T2 22-Jul-15 600159 5808604 300 1,172 0 3 4 26 1 1 4 0 T3 22-Jul-15 591294 5806193 200 496 0 1 0 5 0 0 0 0 T4 15-Jul-15 589504 5802454 300 879 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 7 T5 21-Jul-15 591587 5804537 300 737 0 0 0 16 0 0 0 0 T6 22-Jul-15 598747 5808816 300 1,697 0 0 10 14 0 2 0 0 T8 25-Jul-15 587152 5802323 224 214 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 T9 16-Jul-15 595813 5808009 300 1,010 0 0 0 17 0 2 0 0 T10 14-Jul-15 584303 5805825 268 371 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 T11 23-Jul-15 587911 5805969 300 1,161 0 0 0 22 0 0 0 0 T12 25-Jul-15 587722 5802504 300 407 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 T17 14-Jul-15 585909 5805639 300 963 0 0 0 14 0 0 0 0 B1 10-Aug-15 576583 5822829 300 1,055 0 0 49 0 0 0 0 0 B5 09-Aug-15 575992 5822683 300 1,200 0 0 29 0 0 0 0 0 B6 10-Aug-15 578554 5825354 300 1,110 0 0 18 0 0 0 0 0 B7 10-Aug-15 579685 5827657 300 1,193 0 0 44 0 0 0 0 0 B8 17-Aug-15 577434 5823672 300 1,561 0 0 89 0 0 0 0 0 B9 09-Aug-15 575395 5822629 300 373 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 B11 08-Aug-15 579240 5828952 55 66 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 B13 09-Aug-15 574755 5822778 130 144 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 B14 10-Aug-15 578339 5824926 280 881 0 0 9 0 0 0 0 0 B15 08-Aug-15 579098 5826902 300 1,624 0 0 61 0 0 0 0 0 B22 27-Aug-15 575310 5829907 132 137 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

20 Appendix 2. Continued.

UTM Species Site Distance Effort Juvenile Date Easting Northing BLTR BKTR BNTR MNWH SPSC LNDC WHSC ID (m) (s) BLTR B24 06-Aug-15 574555 5825327 300 291 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 B25 27-Jul-15 576711 5829574 300 1,337 0 0 11 0 0 0 0 0 B29 27-Jul-15 576050 5830021 240 247 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 B34 06-Aug-15 575071 5826537 300 389 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 B35 07-Aug-15 575505 5828394 300 1,292 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0

21 Appendix 3. Length frequency distributions (a to d) of trout captured by backpack electrofishing at three focal areas in the North Saskatchewan River watershed, 2015.

a) Brook trout catch at Baptiste River focal area

b) Brook trout catch at Pineneedle Creek focal area

22 c) Brook trout and brown trout catches at Trout Creek focal area

d) Bull trout catch at Pineneedle Creek and Trout Creek focal areas combined

23 Appendix 4. Stream flow hydrographs in the Clearwater (a) and Baptiste (b) rivers generated by Alberta Environment and Parks stream gauging stations, 2015. a)

24 b)

25 Appendix 5. Summary of habitat measurements at backpack electrofishing sites in at the Pineneedle Creek (P), Trout Creek (T) and Baptiste River (B) focal areas in the North Saskatchewan River watershed, 2015.

Mean Mean Mean Percentage Percentage Percentage Site Temp. Cond. wetted Dominant/secondary rooted width depth ± SD pool (mean riffle (mean run (mean ID (oC) (μS/cm) width ± SD substrate ± SD (m) (m) (min – max)) (min – max)) (min – max)) (m) P1 8.5 52 2.0 ± 0.4 3.7 ± 0.9 0.15 ± 0.04 Cobble/Large Gravel 4 (0 – 10) 81(75 – 85) 15 (10 – 20) P2 8.6 147 1.6 ± 0.4 3.7 ± 1.0 0.12 ± 0.02 Cobble/Boulder 4 (0 – 5) 88 (70 – 90) 8 (0 – 25) P3 5.8 179 2.2 ± 0.7 5.3 ± 2.3 0.15 ± 0.07 Cobble/Large Gravel 1 (0 – 5) 71 (40 – 90) 28 (10 – 60) P5 10.3 189 2.7 ± 0.9 5.4 ± 1.3 0.25 ± 0.08 Cobble/Large Gravel 2 (0 – 5) 49 (25 – 85) 49 (10 – 75) P9 10.0 137 3.7 ± 1.4 6.4 ± 3.1 0.24 ± 0.08 Cobble/Large Gravel 2 (0 – 5) 63 (40 – 75) 36 (25 – 60) P11 5.3 146 2.0 ± 1.3 5.9 ± 1.7 0.13 ± 0.10 Cobble/Large Gravel 0 (0 – 0) 60 (50 – 80) 40 (20 – 50) P15 6.2 36 1.3 ± 0.5 3.6 ± 1.7 0.13 ± 0.04 Cobble/Small Gravel 6 (5 – 10) 89 (85 – 90) 5 (5 – 5) P18 9.7 87 1.2 ± 0.3 1.8 ± 0.5 0.14 ± 0.06 Cobble/Large Gravel 3 (0 – 5) 83 (80 – 90) 15 (10 – 20) P23 7.9 186 1.5 ± 0.7 1.7 ± 1.5 0.25 ± 0.16 Fines/Cobble 0 (0 – 0) 23 (0 – 50) 78 (50 – 100) P27 7.4 179 0.8 ± 0.2 0.9 ± 0.4 0.29 ± 0.15 Fines/Cobble 0 (0 – 0) 16 (5 – 30) 84 (70 – 95) P31 7.4 141 1.3 ± 0.8 1.5 ± 1.1 0.06 ± 0.01 Cobble/Fines 0 (0 – 0) 18 (15 – 25) 82 (75 – 85) P39 7.6 59 0.8 ± 0.3 0.9 ± 0.6 0.36 ± 0.10 Cobble/Fines 3 (0 – 5) 16 (10 – 20) 83 (75 – 90) P42 5.1 50 1.5 ± 0.3 2.0 ± 0.7 0.11 ± 0.06 Cobble/Large Gravel 8 (5 – 10) 70 (70 – 70) 23 (20 – 25) P45 4.7 105 0.3 ± 0.3 0.8 ± 0.7 0.07 ± 0.03 Fines/Cobble 0 (0 – 0) 85 (75 – 90) 15 (10 – 25) P46 7.6 122 1.1 ± 0.5 1.2 ± 0.6 0.09 ± 0.02 Fines/Cobble 1 (0 – 5) 28 (20 – 40) 72 (60 – 80) P47 8.7 129 2.5 ± 1.0 4.5 ± 2.1 0.16 ± 0.12 Cobble/Large Gravel 3 (0 – 10) 78 (60 – 90) 18 (10 – 30) P48 8.0 127 3.1 ± 0.6 5.0 ± 1.1 0.27 ± 0.13 Cobble/Large Gravel 2 (0 – 5) 76 (65 – 80) 23 (15 – 35) P50 12.3 112 0.3 ± 0.1 1.2 ± 0.9 0.05 ± 0.03 Fines/Cobble 0 (0 – 0) 50 (40 – 60) 50 (40 – 60) P51 10.9 73 0.8 ± 0.4 0.8 ± 0.7 0.18 ± 0.10 Fines/Cobble 0 (0 – 0) 32 (10 – 50) 68 (50 – 90) P53 7.9 36 1.5 ± 0.5 2.1 ± 0.4 0.10 ± 0.03 Cobble/Fines 3 (0 – 10) 27 (20 – 40) 70 (60 – 80) P55 6.4 147 1.8 ± 0.3 2.3 ± 0.6 0.31 ± 0.14 Cobble/Fines 5 (0 – 10) 60 (40 – 90) 35 (5 – 60)

26 Appendix 5. Continued.

Mean Mean Mean Percentage Percentage Percentage Site Temp. Cond. wetted Dominant/secondary rooted width depth ± SD pool (mean riffle (mean run (mean ID (oC) (μS/cm) width ± SD substrate ± SD (m) (m) (min – max)) (min – max)) (min – max)) (m) P57 7.7 88 1.2 ± 0.4 1.8 ± 0.5 0.09 ± 0.05 Cobble/Large Gravel 3 (0 – 5) 93 (85 – 100) 5 (0 – 10) T1 13.0 287 4.8 ± 0.4 5.1 ± 0.8 0.28 ± 0.15 Cobble/Fines 10 (0 – 30) 22 (5 – 50) 68 (50 – 95) T2 14.4 327 5.6 ± 0.9 8.4 ± 2.1 0.57 ± 0.25 Cobble/Fines 0 (0 – 0) 36 (25 – 50) 64 (50 – 75) T3 13.0 249 2.4 ± 0.9 2.8 ± 0.8 0.38 ± 0.12 Large Gravel/Fines 0 (0 – 0) 25 (20 – 30) 75 (70 – 80) T4 12.4 257 2.9 ± 1.2 4.4 ± 1.4 0.34 ± 0.17 Fines/Cobble 20 (0 – 100) 15 (0 – 40) 65 (0 – 95) T5 13.9 223 2.3 ± 0.9 2.7 ± 1.2 0.37 ± 0.31 Fines/Small Gravel 3 (0 – 5) 27 (10 – 50) 71 (50 – 85) T6 12.5 313 4.2 ± 1.4 8.7 ± 2.9 0.34 ± 0.20 Cobble/Large Gravel 28 (20 – 35) 30 (20 – 40) 43 (30 – 50) T8 6.2 273 1.2 ± 0.7 4.2 ± 5.1 0.10 ± 0.05 Fines/Large Gravel 0 (0 – 0) 8 (0 – 15) 93 (85 – 100) T9 12.2 177 4.7 ± 1.0 6.5 ± 0.5 0.38 ± 0.15 Cobble/Large Gravel 7 (5 – 10) 66 (50 – 80) 28 (15 – 45) T10 8.1 308 0.5 ± 0.4 0.7 ± 0.4 0.07 ± 0.02 Fines/Cobble 0 (0 – 0) 1 (0 – 5) 99 (95 – 100) T11 10.0 203 2.3 ± 0.2 3.3 ± 0.8 0.35 ± 0.33 Fines/Large Gravel 17 (0 – 60) 35 (20 – 55) 48 (20 – 60) T12 7.3 111 1.0 ± 0.3 2.0 ± 0.9 0.14 ± 0.07 Fines/Small Gravel 1 (0 – 5) 37 (0 – 75) 63 (25 – 100) T17 9.3 72 1.9 ± 0.7 2.3 ± 1.2 0.21 ± 0.13 Fines/Cobble 8 (0 – 15) 20 (5 – 40) 73 (45 – 90) B1 11.1 280 1.8 ± 0.6 2.3 ± 0.9 0.22 ± 0.15 Cobble/Large Gravel 7 (0 – 10) 10 (5 – 15) 83 (80 – 90) B5 6.9 165 1.4 ± 0.9 2.2 ± 1.3 0.19 ± 0.14 Cobble/Fines 8 (0 – 30) 13 (5 – 25) 79 (60 – 90) B6 7.3 367 2.9 ± 0.6 5.2 ± 1.0 0.22 ± 0.05 Cobble/Large Gravel 2 (0 – 5) 43 (30 – 50) 56 (45 – 70) B7 8.0 273 3.7 ± 0.8 6.8 ± 1.3 0.23 ± 0.09 Cobble/Large Gravel 3 (0 – 10) 59 (50 – 75) 38 (25 – 45) B8 8.6 212 3.1 ± 1.7 3.5 ± 1.7 0.25 ± 0.08 Fine/Small Gravel 4 (0 – 10) 34 (5 – 70) 62 (30 – 85) B9 10.1 311 1.0 ± 0.4 1.3 ± 0.5 0.18 ± 0.12 Cobble/Fines 1 (0 – 5) 2 (0 – 5) 98 (95 – 100) B11 6.8 306 0.5 ± 0.2 1.7 ± 0.8 0.05 ± 0.02 Fines/Small Gravel 0 (0 – 0) 55 (35 – 75) 45 (25 – 65) B13 9.1 273 0.5 ± 0.3 0.4 ± 0.3 0.05 ± 0.02 Fines/Cobble 0 (0 – 0) 10 (0 – 25) 90 (75 – 100) B14 7.0 350 3.0 ± 0.5 4.4 ± 1.0 0.28 ± 0.20 Cobble/Large Gravel 1 (0 – 5) 28 (20 – 40) 72 (60 – 80)

27 Appendix 5. Continued.

28 Appendix 6. Two-day moving average water temperature at the four temperature monitoring stations in the Trout Creek focal area over the summer of 2015.

Alberta Conservation Association acknowledges the following partners for their generous support of this project: