SFU Library Thesis Template
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
A mitigation plan for salmonid spawning habitat in the Lower Seymour River, North Vancouver by Kate Bujnowicz B.Sc. (Environmental Science), Simon Fraser University, 2016 Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in the Ecological Restoration Program Faculty of Environment (SFU) and School of Construction and Environment (BCIT) © Kate Bujnowicz 2018 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Spring 2018 Copyright in this work rests with the author. Please ensure that any reproduction or re-use is done in accordance with the relevant national copyright legislation. Approval Name: Kate Bujnowicz Degree: Master of Science Title: A mitigation plan for salmonid spawning habitat in the Lower Seymour River, North Vancouver Examining Committee: Supervisor and Chair Dr. Ken Ashley Faculty, BCIT Dr. Doug Ransome Examiner Faculty, BCIT Dr. Scott Harrison Examiner Faculty, SFU Date Defended/Approved: April 19, 2018 ii Abstract The Seymour River is a mountainous river located in North Vancouver. Over the past century, this river has been subjected to many anthropogenic activities that have cumulatively altered the natural flow and sediment regime. The Seymour Falls Dam, located in the middle of the watershed, intercepts gravel transport from the upper watershed into the lower reaches. This combined with the intense channelization within the lower 4 km of the river, which has created conditions incapable of gravel deposition and retention, has led the lower reaches to become gravel deficient. This gravel deficiency has caused the degradation of traditional spawning grounds of chum (Oncorhynchus keta), and pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha). This study aims to: 1) determine if there is a gravel deficiency for chum and pink salmon spawning in the lower 1.5 km reaches and, 2) provide recommended mitigative treatments of gravel addition to increase suitable spawning area, and therefore increase salmon productivity of the Seymour River. A site assessment was conducted on the lower 1.5 km of the Seymour River and included sampling of the five key parameters that define spawning habitat (i.e., water depth, velocity, dissolved oxygen, water temperature and substrate). A particular focus was given on analysing the substrate as it was expected to be deficient for spawning due to the predetermined conditions in the watershed such as the dam and the channelization. Results of the site assessment confirmed that substrate is a limiting factor for chum and pink salmon spawning in this area as the bed surface is composed of large cobbles and boulders too large for these specific species to move to dig a redd. Therefore, a mitigation plan of gravel addition is proposed to increase spawning habitat and conserve these salmon runs. Keywords: Seymour River; Pacific salmon; Spawning habitat; Ecological restoration; Mitigation iii Acknowledgements I want to thank Dr. Ken Ashley for the guidance and support throughout this project. Thank you also to my examining committee Dr. Scott Harrison and Dr. Doug Ransome. I would also like to thank Dave Harper for teaching me how to use the necessary equipment for the field. Thanks to Dan Hogan for his knowledge on fluvial geomorphology. I would like to express my appreciation to Barry Chilibeck (Northwest Hydraulic Consultants) for sharing his time and knowledge with me. Thanks to Brian Smith and Shaun Hollingsworth (Seymour Salmonid Society) for supporting this project. Thanks to my field assistants (Mitch, Ricky, Caitlin, and Brenley) that helped with the many days of field work and traversed the slippery river with me. A special thanks to my father, Bob, for being an all-star field assistant and all his help with collecting the many kilograms of gravel. Thank you to my family and friends for their all their support and encouragement through this process, I could not have done it without you. Lastly, I would like to thank the Tsleil-Waututh Nation and Squamish Nation for allowing me to learn on their traditional territory. iv Table of Contents Approval .......................................................................................................................... ii Abstract .......................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents ............................................................................................................ v List of Tables ................................................................................................................ viii List of Figures................................................................................................................. ix List of Acronyms ............................................................................................................. x Executive Summary ....................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Salmonids in the Pacific Northwest ............................................................................ 1 1.1.1 Salmonid importance .......................................................................................... 1 1.1.2 Decline in wild Pacific salmonid populations ....................................................... 2 1.2 Overview of project .................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Project goals and objectives ...................................................................................... 4 Chapter 2: Salmon ecology .......................................................................................... 5 2.1 Chum and pink life history ......................................................................................... 5 2.1.1 Initial fresh water phase ...................................................................................... 5 2.1.2 Oceanic phase .................................................................................................... 6 2.1.3 Spawning freshwater phase ................................................................................ 6 2.2 Spawning requirements ............................................................................................. 8 2.2.1 Temperature ....................................................................................................... 8 2.2.2 Dissolved oxygen ................................................................................................ 9 2.2.3 Water depth ...................................................................................................... 10 2.2.4 Velocity ............................................................................................................. 10 2.2.5 Gravel substrate................................................................................................ 10 2.3 Territorial space and redd specifics ......................................................................... 12 Chapter 3: Seymour River background ..................................................................... 13 3.1 Site location ............................................................................................................. 13 3.2 Physical conditions .................................................................................................. 14 3.2.1 Surficial geology................................................................................................ 14 3.2.2 Topography and river planform ......................................................................... 15 3.2.3 Climate ............................................................................................................. 16 3.2.4 Hydrology.......................................................................................................... 16 3.3 Biological conditions ................................................................................................ 17 3.3.1 Fish ................................................................................................................... 17 3.3.2 Wildlife .............................................................................................................. 18 3.3.3 Vegetation......................................................................................................... 19 3.4 First Nations use ..................................................................................................... 19 3.5 Land use and stressors ........................................................................................... 20 v 3.5.1 Historical logging and mining ............................................................................ 20 3.5.2 Seymour Falls Dam .......................................................................................... 21 3.5.3 Urbanization ...................................................................................................... 22 3.5.4. Rock slides ...................................................................................................... 24 3.5.5 Climate change ................................................................................................. 25 Chapter 4: Site assessment .......................................................................................