Grand River Conservation Authority Technical Background Report for the Grand River Fisheries Management Plan Draft Report May, 2001 Prepared for: Fisheries and Oceans Canada Prepared by: Jennifer Wright (GRCA) and Jack Imhof (MNR, Fish and Wildlife Branch) With the co-operation and support from the Grand River Fisheries Management Plan Implementation Committee. Brantford Steelheaders Caledonia Bait & Tackle Department of Fisheries & Oceans Canada Dunnville Hunters and Anglers Friends of the Grand River Izaak Walton Fly Fishing Club Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters Ontario Steelheaders Ontario Streams Six Nations (Wildlife Management) Trout Unlimited Canada TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1 Preamble 1 1.1 Purpose of the Document 1 1.2 Purpose of the Plan 1 1.3 Scope of the Plan 2 1.4 Relationship of this Plan to the Overall Grand Strategy 3 1.5 General Principles 3 1.6 Products Achieved 4 2.0 PROCESS 7 Preamble 7 2.1 Development of the Management Plan Team and Participants 8 2.2 Public Process 10 2.3 Technical Information 12 2.4 Finalizing the Plan and Moving it Forward 13 2.5 Development of the Structure of the Implementation Committee 14 3.0 HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE AND OVERVIEW 16 Preamble 16 3.1 The Grand River Watershed Circa 1600 – 1780 16 3.2 Changes Between 1780 and 1930 18 3.3 Changes Between 1930 and the Present 22 3.4 History of Fisheries Management 25 3.5 Legislative History of Fisheries Management in Ontario and the Grand River Basin 26 4.0 FISHERIES/WATERSHED CHARACTERIZATION 36 4.1 The Watershed Biophysical System 36 4.1.1 Surficial Geology 36 4.1.2 Water Flow Regimes (Groundwater and Surface Water) 39 4.1.3 Channel Form and Habitat Relationships 47 4.1.4 Chemistry 52 4.1.5 Landuse Patterns (limits) 53 4.2 Overview of Species and Habitat Requirements 57 4.2.1 The Fish Community of the Grand River Basin 57 4.2.2 Habitat Characterization and Species Requirements 62 4.3 Watershed Zones and Relationships to Potential Fish Community Distributions 67 4.4 Resource Uses and Management 69 4.4.1 Land and Water Related Issues 70 4.4.2 Fisheries Related Issues 85 5.0 PREFERRED MANAGEMENT OPTIONS 97 Preamble 97 5.1 Zoning the River 97 5.2 General Principles 100 5.3 Major Management Descriptors for the Sub-Basins of the Grand River Watershed 103 5.4 The Structure of the Plan and Major Plan Categories 112 5.4.1 Structure of the Plan 112 5.4.2 Major Categories of the Plan 114 5.5 Definition of Terms and Description of the Layout of the Plan 125 5.5.1 Definition of Terms 125 5.5.2 Layout of the Plan 126 5.6 The Fisheries Management Plan 126 6.0 PUBLIC INFORMATION MEETINGS RESULTS 137 7.0 FIVE YEAR ACTION PLAN (BEST BETS) 142 Preamble 142 7.1 The Fisheries Management Plan “Best Bets” 143 8.0 IMPLEMENTATION PLAN 152 8.1. Process Used to Develop the Plan 152 8.2 Major Tactics 152 8.2.1 General Strategies 154 8.2.2 Partnerships 154 8.2.3 Planning 155 8.2.4 Fish Habitat 155 8.2.5 Fish Population/Communities 156 8.2.6 Managing Potential Impacts 159 8.2.7 Angler Use 160 8.3 Formation of the Matrix and Flow Chart 161 8.4 The Draft Implementation Plan 163 8.5 Issues Related to Implementation 163 8.6 Role of the Implementation Committee 164 9.0 PROGRESS TO DATE 167 LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1 Summary of the Historical Background from the Grand 30 River Watershed covering 1783 – 1905. Table 4.1 Fish Species Representation, Status, and Temperature 58 Regime for the Grand River Watershed. Table 4.2 Summary of Species richness of the Grand River Basin 61 in Comparison to other Geographic areas of Canada (from Scott and Crossman, 1971). Table 4.3 A proposed hierarchy for the determination of the scale of 90 measurement for geographic, geomorphic and biotic data collection and analysis within watershed systems based on Imhof et al. (1996) (some elements modified or adapted from Frissell et al. 1986). Table 4.4 Life stage/state characterization for brown trout (Salmo trutta) 91 in relation to dynamic processes, physical characteristics and their required habitat attributes. Table 4.5 Life stage/state characterization for smallmouth bass 92 (Micropterus dolomieui) in relation to dynamic processes, physical characteristics and required habitat attributes and their interactions. Table 4.6 Life stage/state characterization for northern pike 93 (Essox lucius) in relation to dynamic processes, physical characteristics and required habitat attributes and their interactions. Table 4.7 Life stage/state characterization for brook trout 94 (Salvelinus fontinalis) in relation to dynamic processes, physical characteristics and required habitat attributes and their interactions. Table 4.8 Biophysical habitat matrix for selected fishes of the Grand 96 River Watershed. Table 4.9 Commercial Fish License and Harvest Statistics for the 89 Lower Grand River (downstream of Cayuga), 1986 – 1990. Table 5.1 The descriptor information, constraints and opportunities 105 available for fisheries management for the Upper Grand River Watershed. Table 5.2 The descriptor information, constraints and opportunities 106 available for fisheries management for the Conestoga River Watershed. Table 5.3 The descriptor information, constraints and opportunities 107 available for fisheries management for the Nith River Watershed. Table 5.4 The descriptor information, constraints and opportunities 108 available for fisheries management for the Middle Grand River Watershed. Table 5.5 The descriptor information, constraints and opportunities 109 available for fisheries management for the Speed River Watershed. Table 5.6 The descriptor information, constraints and opportunities 110 available for fisheries management for the Whiteman’s Creek Watershed. Table 5.7 The descriptor information, constraints and opportunities 111 available for fisheries management for the Lower Grand River Watershed. Table 5.8 Summary of Issues related to the Implementation of the 116 GRFMP. Table 7.1 Revised Five Year Cost Estimates for the “Best Bets”. 151 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 Members of the GRFMP Implementation Committee in 6 1999. Figure 4.1 The hydrological and ecological pathways within a watershed. 40 Figure 4.2 Rosgen (1996) Classification as discussed in the text. 49 Figure 4.3 Change in Watershed Water Budget Over Time – 54 pre-agriculture to post-conventional urbanization. Figure 4.4 Illustration of the Annual Water Balance (including runoff, 56 baseflow, infiltration and evaporation) across the Grand River Watershed, specifically Alder Creek, Big Creek, Blue Springs Creek and Mitchell Creek. Figure 4.5 Simplified cause: response relationship between geology and fish. 63 Figure 4.6 Nested hydraulic habitats in streams from Newburg and 64 Gaboury (1993). Figure 4.7 Relationship between physical model of habitat creation and 65 species habitat model (from Imhof et al. 1996). Figure 4.8 Quaternary Geology of the Grand River Watershed. 68 Figure 4.9 Land Use in the Grand River Watershed. 71 Figure 4.10 Recovery time and channel response of a stream from 80 active grazing to fully reforested riparian system. Figure 5.1 Fisheries Management Sub-Basins in the Grand River 98 Watershed. Figure 5.2 Example of typical hierarchies that can be used for 101 ecological planning and management (from Imhof pers. comm.). Figure 5.3 Layout and Major Themes used in the Grand River Fisheries 126 Management Plan. Figure 8.1 Layout and Major Themes used in the Grand River Fisheries 163 Implementation Plan. LIST OF APPENDICES CHAPTER APPENDIX I. The final standard wording used for the GRFMP. DOCUMENT APPENDICES 1. Get Involved In A Natural Opportunity 2. Stocking History for the Grand River Watershed. 3. Autoecology Report for the Grand River Watershed 4. The Grand River Fisheries Management Plan 5. Summary of Comments Report from the Phase I Public Meetings prepared by Charles Ross Communications 6. Grand River Fisheries Implementation Plan * The Document Appendices will be included with the final Report upon the completion of PHASE II. Introduction 1.0 INTRODUCTION Primary Author Norm Smith Secondary Author Jennifer Wright Contributor Felix Barbetti Preamble Interest in the Grand River watershed and in the fish resource found therein is increasing. The recent designation of the Grand as a “Heritage River” has heightened interest in the watershed as a whole as have earlier media articles, which extolled the fishing opportunities on this river. An article that appeared in an Ontario outdoors magazine called the Grand River fishery, “A Waiting Giant” (Ontario Out of Doors 1984) increased interest in the watershed and in its fisheries. This led to the development of plans to help ensure that the watershed and all its attributes are managed properly. The Grand River Fisheries Management Plan was completed in 1998 - a fisheries plan developed through a community-based process within a watershed context. 1.1 Purpose of the Document The Grand River Fisheries Management Plan (GRFMP) has elicited a great deal of interest since its completion in 1998. Other communities and watershed associations have expressed an interest in learning how the GRFMP was developed, the processes used and the technical information applied. In order to provide sound supporting documentation to the GRFMP, the technical background report for the GRFMP must be completed. The GRFMP was completed in 1998 with very limited resources that forced the committee to focus on the final plan and leave documentation to a later date. This background document provides the foundation, rationale and science behind the decisions made by the Grand River Fisheries Management Plan Implementation Committee (GRFMPIC). It also provides the GRFMPIC the tools to evaluate the implementation of the Plan in the future and for others to apply the process if they so choose.