Multnomah Channel Wetland Restoration Monitoring Project
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Multnomah Channel Wetland Restoration Monitoring Project Regan A. McNatt,† Brian Cannon,‡ Susan A. Hinton,† Luke D. Whitman,‡ Rachael Klopfenstein,§ Thomas A. Friesen,‡ and Daniel L. Bottom† †Fish Ecology Division, Northwest Fisheries Science Center U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 2725 Montlake Blvd. E. Seattle, Washington 98112 ‡Corvallis Research Lab, Willamette Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation Program Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife 28655 Highway 34 Corvallis, Oregon 97333 §College of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University 104 CEOAS Administration Building 101 SW 26th St Corvallis, OR 97331 Report prepared for Sustainability Center, Oregon Metro Natural Areas Program 600 NE Grand Avenue Portland, Oregon 97232 July 2017 ii Executive Summary From 2014 to 2016, we surveyed the Multnomah Channel Marsh Natural Area to determine the temporal composition and abundance of fish assemblages, as well as habitat use and residency by juvenile salmonids. The marsh is a floodplain wetland of ~120 ha acquired and managed by Metro near Portland, Oregon. This research was funded by the Metro Natural Areas Program with support from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board and Ducks Unlimited. The work was implemented through a collaborative effort among researchers with the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Oregon State University College of Earth Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences. The West Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District and Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership were also engaged in this effort as key conservation groups associated with salmon recovery in the region. Surveys were designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a 2014 restoration project at the Multnomah Channel Marsh, which was directed by Metro and partners. Researchers have employed a variety of methods to sample the freshwater tributaries entering the wetland, the north and south wetland ponds, and nearby shoreline habitats along Multnomah Channel and the mainstem Columbia River. These surveys were intended to document use of the wetland by fish during the spring and early summer immediately preceding a planned restoration project to lower portions of the natural riparian berm separating the wetland from Multnomah Channel. Some of the highest-value aquatic habitat was consistently observed in the wetland tributaries of Patterson and Crabapple Creek. These creeks were inhabited almost entirely by native fish and amphibians, including reticulate sculpin Cottus perplexus and coastal cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarki clarki. In contrast, wetland ponds were inhabited by a greater proportion of non-native taxa, including a high proportion of pollution-tolerant species. Over the three study years, introduced species made up a substantial percentage of the catch in north and south wetland ponds. However, three salmonid species were present in small numbers: Chinook salmon O. tshawytscha, coho salmon O. kisutch, and coastal cutthroat trout. A variety of potential salmonid predators also occupied the ponds, including an apparent resident spawning population of largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides. For most of the sampling periods, native and non-native fish communities in the wetland ponds were more diverse than those in Multnomah Channel or in the mainstem Columbia River. iii In Multnomah Channel and the mainstem Columbia River, we captured four salmonid species and a variety of other native and non-native species. Chinook salmon was the most common salmonid species. Catches of juvenile Chinook salmon peaked in April and May and were consistently higher in the mainstem than in Multnomah Channel. However, non-native species dominated most collections in the mainstem Columbia River and in Multnomah Channel, where yellow perch Perca flavescens and banded killifish Fundulus diaphanous occurred throughout sampling periods. A higher proportion of native species was observed at mainstem locations, but the proportion of non-native taxa steadily increased, and by July of each year, dominated mainstem as well as Multnomah Channel sites. In July, salmon had nearly disappeared from the mainstem, and none were captured at survey sites in Multnomah Channel. We also monitored the marsh for fish tagged and released for other studies at various upriver locations. Fish were detected as they entered the Multnomah Channel Marsh north and south outlet channels. These detections indicated volitional movement of fish from Multnomah Channel toward the flooded wetland. However, we found no evidence that any tagged fish migrated into the marsh ponds through the closed water control structures that regulate pond elevation. We also conducted a series of experimental releases of tagged salmon into the north and south ponds to evaluate salmon residence times and egress from the ponds. These experiments showed that juvenile Chinook salmon had difficulty passing the half-round riser-style water control structure on the south pond, but were better able to pass the full-round riser-style water control structure on the north pond. Detections from these releases also indicated that juvenile Chinook salmon in Multnomah Channel would benefit from improved access to the Multnomah Channel Marsh, provided barriers do not obstruct their ability to exit the marsh as water temperatures rise, dissolved oxygen levels decline, and smoltification progresses. We also conducted growth experiments, and results indicated that juvenile Chinook salmon had greater growth in areas of natural emergent vegetation than in areas dominated by invasive reed canarygrass Phalaris arundinacea L. These differences could not be attributed to differences in prey availability, diet, water temperature, or dissolved oxygen levels. The Multnomah Channel Marsh area provides foraging opportunities and refuge from high flows for juvenile salmonids; however, the hydrologic disconnect of the Multnomah Channel Marsh from Multnomah Channel limits access of juvenile salmonids to the wetlands, provides habitat for non-native species, and degrades water quality. iv Contents Executive Summary ........................................................................................................... iii Introduction ..........................................................................................................................1 Water Quality Monitoring....................................................................................................6 Wetland Ponds .........................................................................................................6 Wetland Tributaries ...............................................................................................11 Multnomah Channel and Columbia River Mainstem ............................................11 Fish Sampling ....................................................................................................................15 Methods..................................................................................................................15 Wetland Ponds ...........................................................................................15 Wetland Tributaries ...................................................................................20 Multnomah Channel and Columbia River Mainstem ................................22 Data Analysis .............................................................................................23 Results ....................................................................................................................24 Wetland Ponds ...........................................................................................24 Wetland Tributaries ...................................................................................49 Multnomah Channel and Columbia River Mainstem ................................54 Detection of Tagged Salmonids .........................................................................................65 Sites and Infrastructure ..........................................................................................65 Run-of-River Fish ..................................................................................................69 Individual Releases in Ponds .................................................................................73 Group Releases in Ponds .......................................................................................76 Group Releases into Multnomah Channel .............................................................92 Growth Experiments ..........................................................................................................93 Net-Pen Trials ........................................................................................................93 Prey Resources .....................................................................................................102 Salmon Diets ........................................................................................................111 Discussion ........................................................................................................................115 Conclusions and Recommendations ................................................................................119 Remove Water Control Structures .......................................................................119 Deepen and Broaden the Restoration Breaches ...................................................120