Conflicts Between Agriculture and Salmon in the Eastern Fraser Valley

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Conflicts Between Agriculture and Salmon in the Eastern Fraser Valley Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council Conflicts Between Agriculture and Salmon in the Eastern Fraser Valley Prepared by Dr. Marvin L. Rosenau and Mr. Mark Angelo June 2005 Conflicts Between Agriculture and Salmon in the Eastern Fraser Valley Dr. Marvin L. Rosenau and Mr. Mark Angelo Copyright © June 2005 Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council. All Rights Reserved. For non-commercial use, you are welcome to copy and distribute this document in whole or in part by any means, including digitally, as long as this copyright/contact page is included with all copies. As well, the content may not be modified, and no reference to the Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council may be deleted from the document. Commercial users may use the material as above, as long as access to it by the general public is not restricted in any way, including but not limited to: purchase of print or digital document(s), singly or as part of a collection; the requirement of paid membership; or pay-per-view. For all such commercial use, contact the Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council for permission and terms of use. The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not be revoked by the Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council. Note that this document, and the information contained in it, are provided on an “as is” basis. They represent the opinion of the author(s) and include data and conclusions that are based on information available at the time of first publication, and are subject to corrections, updates, and differences or changes in interpretation. The Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council is not responsible for use of this information or its fitness for a particular purpose. For quotes and short excerpts from the material covered under “fair use”, we recommend the following citation: Rosenau, M.L., and M. Angelo. 2005. Conflicts Between Agriculture and Salmon in the Eastern Fraser Valley. Vancouver, BC: Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council. For further information about this document and about the Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council (PFRCC), contact: Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council 800 Burrard Street, Suite 590 Vancouver, BC, Canada V6Z 2G7 Telephone 604 775 5621 Fax 604 775 5622 www.fish.bc.ca [email protected] Printed and bound in Canada ISBN 1-897110-25-1 Conflicts Between Agriculture and Salmon in the Eastern Fraser Valley June 2005 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY..................................................................................................1 RÉSUMÉ .........................................................................................................................3 1. CONFLICTS BETWEEN AGRICULTURE AND SALMON IN THE EASTERN FRASER VALLEY..........................................................................................................................5 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 5 1.2 The Role of Floodplains as Salmon and Steelhead Habitats ....................................................... 9 1.2.1 Floodplains Defined............................................................................................................................9 1.2.2 Functional Aspects of Floodplains for Aquatic Ecosystems .............................................................11 1.2.3 Some Important Macro-Features of Aquatic Ecosystems on Floodplains.........................................14 1.3 Salmon and Steelhead Use of the Eastern Fraser Valley........................................................... 18 1.3.1 Overview...........................................................................................................................................18 1.3.2 Mainstem Fraser River......................................................................................................................18 1.3.3 Eastern Fraser Valley Streams—Key Tributaries of the Lower Fraser River ......................................21 1.4 Historical Impacts to Fish Habitat Resulting from the Development of Agriculture in the Eastern Fraser Valley....................................................................................................................... 26 1.4.1 Settlement and the Development of Agriculture ...............................................................................26 1.4.2 Agriculture and the Vedder/Chilliwack River...................................................................................27 1.4.3 Interactions between the Development of Agriculture and Aquatic Ecosystems on the Fraser River Floodplain of the Eastern Fraser Valley.....................................................................................................39 1.4.4 Draining of Sumas Lake for Farmland..............................................................................................54 1.4.5 The History of Agriculturally-Mediated Impacts to Small Eastern Fraser Valley Streams...............59 1.5 Current Impacts to Fish Habitat by Agriculture in the Eastern Fraser Valley........................... 70 1.5.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................................................70 1.5.2 Intensification ...................................................................................................................................70 1.5.3 Flood Boxes and Pump Stations as Barriers to Fish..........................................................................73 1.5.4 Changes in Designation of Use to Agricultural Land........................................................................76 1.5.5 Current Agricultural-Drainage Issues in the Eastern Fraser Valley ..................................................82 1.6 Discussion................................................................................................................................102 1.7 Recommendations ................................................................................................................... 107 1.8 References and Web Citations................................................................................................. 108 2. APPENDICES...........................................................................................................117 Appendix A.................................................................................................................................... 117 Statutory Aspects Affecting the Interactions Between Agriculture and Fish...........................................117 Canada Fisheries Act ...............................................................................................................................117 British Columbia Fish Protection Act ......................................................................................................117 Agriculture Watercourse Maintenance Guide—Lower Fraser Valley and Vancouver Island .................118 British Columbia Farm Practices Protection (Right to Farm) Act ...........................................................118 British Columbia Waste Management Act...............................................................................................118 British Columbia Water Act ....................................................................................................................119 British Columbia Local Government Act (formerly the Municipal Act) .................................................119 British Columbia Agricultural Land Commission Act.............................................................................120 Appendix B.................................................................................................................................... 121 Highlights of the British Columbia Agricultural Watercourse Maintenance Guide.................................121 Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council – i – Conflicts Between Agriculture and Salmon in the Eastern Fraser Valley June 2005 Appendix C.................................................................................................................................... 124 Protocols for agricultural channel cleaning in the City of Chilliwack .....................................................124 3. AUTHORS ...............................................................................................................126 Dr. Marvin L. Rosenau .................................................................................................................. 126 Mr. Mark Angelo........................................................................................................................... 127 4. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..........................................................................................128 Dedication...................................................................................................................................... 128 TABLE OF FIGURES Figure 1. Plant biomass produced annually under a variety of moisture conditions.............................................5 Figure 2. Map of the eastern Fraser Valley............................................................................................................6 Figure 3. Areas designated as Agricultural Land Reserve in the eastern Fraser Valley. ......................................7 Figure 4. Generalized schematic of a floodplain
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