A Salmonid Production Plan for the Cowichan Valley Regional District
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A SALMONID PRODUCTION PLAN FOR THE COWICHAN VALLEY REGIONAL DISTRICT By Ted Burns Biologist For Cowichan Fish and Habitat Renewal March, 1999 INTRODUCTION The salmonid production plan for the Regional District of Cowichan Valley is a sub- product of a broader project termed the Cowichan Valley Regional District Urban Salmon Habitat protection Program. The project was initiated in 1996 with the goals of mapping all salmonid habitat and associated Fisheries Sensitive Zones on the East Slope of the CVRD. In addition, all other watercourses and wetlands were mapped and, if fisheries sensitive lands were associated with them, they were also mapped. Initial mapping was at 1:20,000 TRIM. Purpose of the project was to provide land use planners with a basis to develop rational land use zoning and bylaw designations to protect fish and their habitat in this rapidly growing region. This project was funded by the Urban Salmon Habitat Program (USHP). This product is a compilation of all salmonid production options within the study area (Cassidy to Malahat). For purposes of this assessment, the region was divided into 17 geographical areas termed Operational Management Units. For each of the OMU’s, there is a brief overview of land use patterns, factors limiting salmonid production and a prioritized list of production options (enhancement/restoration opportunities). The summary is backed up by a series of files for the individual basins within the OMU’s. The files contain data on stream and lake characteristics and fish utilization along with more detailed descriptions of the production options. The options are mapped on the same 1:20,000 TRIM sheets that portray the Fisheries Sensitive Zones and a number of important habitat and land use features. METHODS During the course of surveys to document habitat characteristics, the Fisheries Sensitive Zones and important land use features, production options were identified, mapped and described. The surveys occurred between 1982 and 1999. As part of the assessment process, the fisheries literature (previous studies in the region) was reviewed and individuals with historical knowledge of the area were interviewed, During the assessment process, a number of contributing studies were funded by interested government agencies (MOE, DFO) and forest companies (BCFP/TimberWest, Hancock Timber). RESULTS A total of 428 production options were identified for the 17 Operational Management Units. A summary is presented in Table 1. Table 1: A Summary of Production Options by Operational Management Unit OMU AREA No. 1 Ladysmith North 20 2 Chemainus 30 3 Somenos Basin 35 4 Main (Cowichan River) 4 5 Cowichan Sidechannels 79 6 River North 13 7 Lake Cowichan North 29 8 Cowichan Lake 4 2 9 Lake Cowichan - Youbou 20 10 Lake North 26 11 Lake South 25 12 Lake Southeast 58 13 Lake Cowichan South 18 14 River South 18 15 Koksilah Sidechannels 10 16 Koksilah Basin 32 17 Southend 9 TOTAL 430 A substantial number of production options have been developed: fry salvage and accompanying colonization of salvaged fish has been ongoing since 1986 with a plan and much earlier than that on an opportunistic basis. Not all of the coho – trout colonization areas are serviced by the program but this has more to do with logistics and lack of fish than it does with the plan. A number of Cowichan Sidechannels have also been developed as has rearing habitat on Meade, Sutton, Golf Course and Maple Flat Creeks. Beaver Creek, a small stream in OMU 13, has had a very successful ongoing enhancement program since 1983. However, these activities only make up a small percentage of possible restoration/enhancement options in the region. It will take decades to fully develop all the possibilities. It is therefore appropriate to present a list of the most beneficial options that can be undertaken in a reasonable time frame. It should be noted that the majority of the options address Primary enhancement/restoration needs like providing access and critical period discharge. This is a holistic approach to fish habitat improvement and is a deviation from the opportunistic “sticks and stones” approach that has dominated this area to date. Sticks and stones are Secondary options that should only be applied when the Primary needs are fulfilled. Table 2 presents the opportunities which are prioritized on the basis of need and anticipated benefits to the resource. Those options in the Ladysmith North OMU are not listed. Ladysmith North is considered to be in the Nanaimo FsRBC region even though it’s in the CVRD. Table 2: The Top 30 Production Options No. OMU Location Activity 1 5 Five Channels Provide permanent flow to a series of sidechannels 2 12 Robertson Sidechannel Restore flow to a critical coho spawning area 3 3 Averill Falls Bypass barrier – provide access 4 3 Averill E and N Culvert Provide juvenile access 5 3 Averill headwater storage Provide summer flow 6 3 Bings Falls and Provide adult access associated barriers 7 3 Quamichan L. outlet Allow coho smolt outmigration from lake control 8 5 Log Jam Sidechannel Provide permanent flow 3 9 14 Dale’s Creek Falls Provide adult access 10 17 Garnett Creek Establish stewardship group, map Stewardship/Mapping intrusions 11 7 Oliver Creek Barriers Improve adult and juvenile access 12 16 Glenora Oxbow Provide juvenile access 14 10 Shaw Creek Falls Provide adult access 15 12 Fairservice Lake Provide summer flow to Halfway Cr. 16 15 Norrie Creek Culvert Provide adult access Removal 17 5 Bible Camp Oxbow Control inflow, protect inlet area 18 3 Quamichan Lake Improve spawning habitat Cutthroats 19 5 Relic Channel above Provide spawning and rearing habitat Black Bridge 20 2 Wide Bend Sidechannel Provide access and flow 21 3 Richards Creek Improve base flow in Richards Creek headwater storage 22 6 Skutz Creek West culvert Provide access removal 23 5 Remote Run Sidechannel Increase base flow 24 2 Bonsall Creek headwater Increase base flow especially above storage Whitehouse 25 5 Bonsall’s Slough Increase base flow 26 12 Mesachie Lake Weir Provide permanent flow to Mesachie Creek 27 10 Shaw Creek sidechannels Provide spawning and rearing habitat 28 15 Hellebore Creek Increase base flow headwater storage 29 12 Steve’s Creek Increase base flow 30 10 Lakehead Creek Improve spawning habitat 4 OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT UNIT 1: LADYSMITH NORTH OMU 1:Ladysmith North T. Burns and B.D. Tutty, 1999 OVERVIEW Ladysmith North is the drainage area of Ladysmith Harbour and includes five salmonid streams: Thomas, Luke’s, Walkers, Bush and Rocky. The area contains one major lowland riparian unit which has been largely cleared for agricultural purposes and is part of the Cassidy Aquifer at the head of Ladysmith Harbour. Three of the streams are located on this land unit: Thomas, Luke’s and Lower Walker. Thomas Creek has been highly impacted by agricultural use, Luke’s Creek is largely man made; its upper three reaches were excavated in 1994. Lower walker creek has been much less intruded. Bush and Rocky Creeks are basically mountain runoff streams. Bush Creek is one of the least intruded streams in the CVRD but Rocky flows through the Town of Ladysmith for 1700 m and has been impacted by urban and agricultural runoff. LIMITING FACTORS Main limiting factors are access, low summer flows and riparian quality. Barriers restrict access on Rocky and Bush and summer flows and /or riparian quality are problems on Thomas, Walkers and Lukes. Thomas also lacks quality spawning habitat in its most habitable reach. PRODUCTION OPTIONS Twenty opportunities to improve production are present. They are summarized in Table 1. Table 1: Production Opportunities in Ladysmith North No. Page Sub-Basin Type Priority 1 2 Thomas Spawning habitat improvement 2 2 2 Groundwater development 1 3 2 Rearing pond development 2 4 2 Riparian improvement 1 5 2 LWD addition 3 6 3 Lukes Spawning habitat maintenance 1 7 3 Habitat complexing 3 8 6 Walkers Barrier improvement 2 9 6 Headwater storage 1 10 6 Riparian restoration 2 11 6 LWD addition 3 12 7 Bush Barrier improvement 2 13 7 Coho colonization 1 14-18 7-8 Sidechannel development 1 19 9 Rocky Barrier improvement 2 20 10 Coho colonization 1 OMU 1:Ladysmith North T. Burns and B.D. Tutty, 1999 Stream Code: 9000641 Stream Name: Thomas Creek Management Unit: Ladysmith North CVRD Electoral Area: H A) Biophysical Overview: Thomas Creek is a small stream that originates in a wetland area near Cassidy Airport and flows south for 3350 m to enter Lady smith Harbour via a small estuarine cove in the northeast corner. Most of its flow is provided by the winter – spring water table (Cassidy Aquifer). Runoff contribution is slight and winter flow fluctuation is minor. Thomas Creek flows through a mix of woodland, farmland and rural residential landscapes. Air Photos BC 87046 231,232 Toographic Maps 92G/4, 92G.001 Salmonids Co to about 2000 m Ct to about 2000 m Possible occ. Cm to 395 m Obstructions None Max. temp. 16 R2 (8/19/96) Min. disch. 002 R2 (8/19/96) .00001 R3 (8/19/96) .0001 L shaped ditch on Davis property (8/19/96) 0 R’s 5-9 (8/19/96) except for the following points: 1 spring 437229E 5432000N 1547 m 2` wetland 437281E 5432166N 1763 m 3 pond 437241E 543235N 2029 m 4 spring 437228E 5432346N 2219 m 5 tributary 437032E 5432535N 2493 m 6 pond 437168E 5432654N 2589 m 7 spring 427046E 5432810N 8 airport fence 436810E 5433063N THOMAS CREEK _____________________________________________________________________________ Channel Wetted Channel Side width width Substrate Slope Confinement Channel Length Area Reach1 3 2 2620 0.5 UC N 63 90 Reach 2 3 2 2440 1.5 FC L 332 664 Reach 3 3 1 9100 1.0 CON N 46 46 Reach 4 ..9 m culvert 189 NA Reach 5 3 0 8110 .5 FC L 442 0 Reach 6 15 0 1000 .5 )C L 256 0 Reach 7 3 0 9100 1.0 FC L 420 0 Reach 8 4 0 8200 1.5 CON N 422 0 Reach 9 3 0 9100 0.2 UC H 1222 0 B) FISH UTILIZATION AND LIMITING FACTORS Thomas Creek supports remnant populations of coho salmon and cutthroat trout.