Assessing the Fate of Returning Upper River

Prepared for Panel by:

William M. Twardek1,2 and Nicolas W. R. Lapointe1

1Canadian Wildlife Federation, 350 Michael Cowpland Dr. Ottawa, ON, K2M 2W1

2Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Dr. Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6

Table X. The proportion of Chinook Salmon tagged in the Rapids Fishladder viewing chamber that spawned at various locations in the Upper Yukon River (n=49).

Fate Count Robert Service Way* 4 Wolf Creek 3 M’Clintock River above Michie-M’Clintock 2 confluence

Michie Creek above Michie-M’Clintock 10 confluence Michie Creek below Byng-Michie confluence 7 Byng Creek 0 Michie Creek above Byng-Michie confluence 21 Michie Creek upstream of Michie Lake 0 Unknown^ 1 Industrial boat launch+* 1

*These fish fell back down through the WHP spillway ^Wild male made movements between Lewes Dam and Schwatka Lake but was last seen at Lewes Dam. +Hatchery male spent six days near Industrial boat launch but terminated below Takhini-Yukon River confluence Table X. The number of Chinook Salmon tagged by gill net downstream of the Whitehorse Rapids Hydro Plant that spawned at various locations in the Upper Yukon River (n=10).

Fate # Robert Service Way* 4 Wolf Creek 2 M’Clintock River above Michie-M’Clintock 1 confluence

Michie Creek above Michie-M’Clintock 2 confluence Michie Creek above Byng-Michie confluence 1

*Three of these fish approached the WHP (visited sites upstream of Robert Centennial Bridge).

Table X. The number of Chinook Salmon tagged by gill net on the Takhini River that spawned at various locations in the Takhini River (n=10).

Fate # Below Alaska Highway crossing 1 Above Alaska Highway crossing 2 Below Stony Creek 1 Above Stony Creek 5 Unknown* 1 *Male migrated upstream to the Alaska Highway, returned to the Yukon-Takhini River confluence, migrated back to the Alaska Highway, spent a day, then returned to the Yukon- Takhini River confluence.

Table. The detection efficiency for passes upstream of each receiver based on subsequent detection at upstream receiver sites. Receiver Detection efficiency (%) Industrial Boat 100% (n=10) Launch Rotary Park 75% (n=12) Robert 70% (n=10) Centennial Bridge Turbine eddy 71% (n=14) Platform eddy 22% (n=9)* Weir eddy 11% (n=9) Spillway 0% (n=4) Ladder entrance 43% (n=7) Ladder first step 14% (n=1) Ladder turning 29% (n=7) basin Viewing 100% (n=55) chamber Schwatka Lake 96% (n=55) Lewes Dam 100% (n=46) Mouth of 100% (n=40) M’Clintock River Michie Creek 100% (n=28) upstream of M’Clintock- Michie Creek confluence Michie-Byng 100% (n=21) Creek confluence *Detection efficiency reflects detection efficiency within the eddy as well as the number of fish that did not use the eddy while moving to the ladder.

Table X: Detection rate of a range test tag placed near each receiver for a fixed period of time. Receiver Location Rationale Detection # rate 1 Yukon/Takhini River Directly across from receiver on opposite bank – 24% confluence 150m 2 Takhini “Dam” Directly across from receiver on opposite bank – 87m 74% 7 Industrial boat Upstream of receiver on opposite bank – 280m 0% launch 8 Rotary Park Directly across from receiver on opposite bank – 0 150m 10 ~500m downstream Directly across from receiver on opposite bank – 71m 7% of ladder 11 Turbine eddy Directly beside receiver – 1m 70% 11 Turbine eddy End of the eddy – 5m 0% 12 Weir eddy End of the eddy – 30m 1% 12 Weir eddy End of the eddy in main channel – 35m 0% 13 Platform eddy End of the eddy in main channel – 50m 0% 14 Ladder entrance Directly beside receiver – 2m 26%, 19% 14 Ladder entrance Beyond retaining wall within eddy – 5m, 10m 0%, 0% 14 Ladder entrance Inside ladder, beyond entry 0% 14 Lower ladder (first First step – 1m 69% step) 15 Lower ladder (first First step below, first step above – 3m 0%, 0% step) 16 Ladder turning basin Lower end of basin – 2m 69% 16 Ladder turning basin Upper end of basin – 3m 39% 16 Ladder turning basin First step below, first step above – 5m 0% 17 Viewing chamber At lower end of the chamber – 5m 70% 17 Viewing chamber First step below – 7m 44% 17 Viewing chamber Second step below – 10m 0% 18 Spillway Near receiver – 3m, lower end of eddy – 30m 0%, 0% 21 Upper Wolf Creek Near receiver – 1m, 1.5m, 2m ~25% 21 Upper Wolf Creek Downstream run – 10m, 12m 0% 22 Lewes Dam Upstream, just below Lewes Dam – 450m 48% 23 Mouth of the Directly across from receiver on opposite bank – 55m 75% M’Clintock River 30 Michie Creek, Same bank – 5m 42% upstream of Michie Lake