Yalakom River Bull Trout Monitoring

Yalakom River Bull Trout Monitoring Seed Project COA-F19-2751

Date: 31-March-2019 i

Yalakom River Bull Trout Monitoring

CONTRIBUTIONS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

CONTRIBUTIONS

Authors

• Coldstream Ecology: Alyson McHugh • Windwalker Consulting Services: Dr. Sue Senger

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to thank the FWCP board, Sean Bennet and the additional reviewers for their input and feedback.

This project would not have been possible without funding by the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program (FWCP). The FWCP is a partnership between BC Hydro, the Province of B.C. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, First Nations and public stakeholders to conserve and enhance fish and wildlife impacted by the construction of BC Hydro dams.

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Yalakom River Bull Trout Monitoring

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This document defines the need to inventory fish in the Yalakom River. The primary objective of this Yalakom River Bull Trout Monitoring Seed Project COA-F19-2751 was to research technical aspects and revise the proposal and project planning for a Yalakom River fish inventory project application for submission in the subsequent year.

Chinook stocks in the Bridge River are at record lows, and Bull Trout remain as a species of special concern. Lack of information on the current distribution of fish species and the status of the barriers on the Yalakom River is preventing the development of effective mitigation and restoration strategies. Current population status of Chinook on the Yalakom River is unknown. This assessment has been identified repeatedly in the Bridge Seton Watershed Action Table: BRG.ALL.Rl.02.03 - assess population status, habitat status and habitat capacity/cost-benefit of actions; BRG.ALL.Rl.03.03 - develop comprehensive restoration and action plans; BRG.RLR.HB.20.01 - address Chinook fish passage in Yalakom; BRG.RLR.Rl.12.01 & BRG.ALL.Rl.22.01 - assess habitat and restoration opportunities for Bull Trout. This project will provide key information on Salmonids in the Yalakom, with specific updates on Chinook and Bull Trout, to enable science-based planning for the restoration of fish stocks.

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Yalakom River Bull Trout Monitoring

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contributions and Acknowledgements ...... ii

Contributions ...... ii Acknowledgements ...... ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... iii

Table of Contents ...... iv

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION AND METHODS ...... 5

1.1 Background and introduction ...... 5 1.2 Methods ...... 5 Chapter 2: PROJECT OUTCOME AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 5

2.1 Conclusions ...... 5 2.2 Discussion ...... 6 2.3 Recommendations ...... 6 REFERENCES ...... 6

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Yalakom River Bull Trout Monitoring

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND METHODS

1.1 BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION

This document defines the need to inventory fish in the Yalakom River. The primary objective of this Yalakom River Bull Trout Monitoring Seed Project COA-F19-2751 was to research technical aspects and revise the proposal and project planning for a Yalakom River fish inventory project application for submission to FWCP in the subsequent year.

Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) stocks in the Bridge River are at record lows, and Bull Trout (Salvelinus confluentus) remain as a species of special concern. Lack of information on the current distribution of fish species and the status of the barriers on the Yalakom River is preventing the development of effective mitigation and restoration strategies. Current population status of Chinook on the Yalakom River is unknown. This assessment has been identified repeatedly in the Bridge Seton Watershed Action Table: BRG.ALL.Rl.02.03 - assess population status, habitat status and habitat capacity/cost-benefit of actions; BRG.ALL.Rl.03.03 - develop comprehensive restoration and action plans; BRG.