Peace Project Water Use Plan Reservoir Wetland Habitat Monitoring Implementation Year 2 Reference: GMSMON-15 Study Period: April 2012 to February 2013 Cooper Beauchesne and Associates Ltd. Northern Interior Office Suite 1, 1257 4th Avenue Prince George, BC February 2013 GMSMON‐15: Reservoir Wetland Habitat Monitoring Year 2 ‐ Final Report Report submitted to: BC Hydro Attn: Mike McArthur Submitted by: Cooper Beauchesne and Associates Ltd. Northern Interior Office Suite 1, 1257 4th Avenue Prince George, BC Tel: 250 954‐1822 Contact: John Cooper
[email protected] February 2013 February 2013 BC Hydro 2013 GMSMON 15 Reservoir Wetlands – Year 2 Report Suggested Citation: MacInnis, A.J., K. Bachmann, A. Carson and V. Prigmore. 2013. GMSMON-15: Reservoir Wetland Habitat Monitoring, Year 2 – Final Report. Unpublished report by Cooper Beauchesne and Associates Ltd., Prince George, BC, for BC Hydro Generation, Water Licence Requirements, Burnaby, BC. viii + 42 pp. + Appendices. Keywords: Peace Water Use Plan, Riparian and Wetland Habitat Enhancement Management Plan, Williston Lake, amphibians, waterfowl, songbirds, riparian vegetation, wetland vegetation, fish, wetland demonstration sites Cover photo: Long-toed salamander, WDS 6-2 (Airport Lagoon), Williston Reservoir. Photo © A. Carson, Cooper Beauchesne and Associates Ltd. © 2013 BC Hydro No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission from BC Hydro, Hudson’s Hope, BC. Cooper Beauchesne and Associates Ltd ii BC Hydro 2013 GMSMON 15 Reservoir Wetlands – Year 2 Report EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Reservoir operations have created large unproductive areas within the drawdown zone of Williston Lake resulting in limited aquatic and riparian habitats that limit the area’s capacity to support fish and wildlife and potentially increase the risk of predation for terrestrial wildlife using the drawdown zone.