Bella Coola Watershed Conservation Society Bella Coola Watershed-based Fish Sustainability Plan Stage II Prepared by: Bella Coola Watershed Conservation Society Prepared for: Communities of Bella Coola Valley & Fisheries and Oceans Canada January 2007 Bella Coola Watershed-based Fish Sustainability Plan January 2007 Stage II Acknowledgements The draft Bella Coola Watershed-based Fish Sustainability Plan (WFSP) Stage II report, prepared by Nicola Swanney Koroluk, was used as a base to complete this report for the Bella Coola Watershed Conservation Society (BCWCS) and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). Contributions to the report were made by Megan Moody (Nuxalk Fisheries), who wrote the Eulachon sections of the Fisheries Resources and Resource Use, and Hans Granander (HCG Forestry Consulting) who wrote the Logging History section (Appendix 3). The author would like to acknowledge the support and contributions that made this Plan possible. Thanks are extended to the following DFO staff: Sandie MacLaurin for her many long hours including reviewing, technical advice, and for providing resource information, DFO data, and input to the Priority Issues section; Matt Mortimer for providing resource information and escapement data; Lyle Enderud for review of the Resource Use section; Wayne Levesque for providing escapement data; and Brad Koroluk for providing resource information and input to the Priority Issues section. We also extend our thanks to Russ Hilland and John Willis of the Snootli Creek Hatchery for reviewing, providing hatchery statistics and other resource information, and for input to the Priority Issues section. Special thanks to Neil Oborne (Consultant) for providing technical advice and resource information, reviewing, and input to the Priority Issues section. Thanks to David Flegel, Operations Manager with the Ministry of Forests and Range, for his review of the forestry information in Sections 2.0 and 6.0. Mike Ramsay and Tom Wilkinson of the Ministry of Environment (MOE) reviewed the document and provided much needed resource information for trout species. Thanks are offered to Cheryl Waugh and Donna Mikkelson of the Central Coast Regional District (CCRD) for providing resource information on land use development and restoration projects. Lastly, we would like to thank Hans Granander and Fraser Koroluk for their input to the Priority Issues section. The following individuals have also contributed to the writing and/or preparation of the WFSP: Mike Wigle Photography and Graphics Kay Kennes (DFO) Mapping Shirley Willson General Robert Tritschler General Karl Wilson (DFO) General Terry Palfrey (DFO) Fisheries Management BCWCS Page i Bella Coola Watershed-based Fish Sustainability Plan January 2007 Stage II Executive Summary The Bella Coola Watershed Conservation Society (BCWCS) was formed in 2001 to act as a Planning Team or Technical Committee in order to prepare a Watershed-based Fish Sustainability Plan (WFSP) for the Bella Coola watershed. Since this time, various individuals have collaborated to complete a Stage I report, a draft Stage II report, and this Stage II “living document”. This living document is intended to be updated on a regular basis as new fisheries related information becomes available. This Stage II report contains information on the WFSP process and how it is applicable to the Bella Coola watershed. The Stage I report provided a watershed profile; however, this report expands on this profile to include a description of the past and current land and water uses within the Bella Coola Valley. The Fisheries Resource section contains watershed specific fisheries data on the five salmon and other fish species present within the watershed. Past and current information on the fisheries and enhancement of Bella Coola stocks is also discussed. The section on “Factors Affecting Fish and Fish Habitat” describes the land and water use activities that have a major impact on the watershed based on various habitat assessments and general fisheries literature. The “Priority Issues” and “Objectives and Strategies” sections of this report were the most challenging to produce; however, these sections will likely play the most significant role in developing Stage III and IV of the WFSP. Therefore, this section is key to the report. It identifies 44 priority issues and 25 objectives with strategies outlined for each. The issues and objectives are divided into five sections: Priority Fish Stock Issues, Priority Fisheries Management Issues, Priority Land Use Management Issues, Priority Fish Habitat Issues, and Priority Data Gap Issues. A few of the difficulties that were faced in the preparation of this plan included: • increased workloads have limited input from the Technical Committee • population size greatly restricts the number of people that are actively involved in watershed activities • many documents have been moved or miss placed with government shuffling • lack of community interest • Some of the benefits of the planning process to date have been: • the formation of a local planning team or round table (BCWCS) • the development of a local Resource Centre • receiving commitment from the Ministry of Environment that staff were able to participate in activities carried out by the BCWCS Please contact the Bella Coola Resource Centre at (250) 982-0007 or at [email protected] if you have additional information that would be relevant to the Bella Coola WFSP. BCWCS Page ii Bella Coola Watershed-based Fish Sustainability Plan January 2007 Stage II Acknowledgements ...........................................................................................................................i Executive Summary..........................................................................................................................ii 1.0 Introduction......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 What is Watershed-based Fish Sustainability Planning?........................1 1.2 Rationale for adopting WFSP .................................................................1 1.3 Watershed Planning Process .................................................................1 1.3.1 Guiding Principles and Goals ..........................................................1 1.3.2 Additional Goals ..............................................................................2 1.3.3 Stage I WFSP..................................................................................2 1.3.4 Stage II WFSP.................................................................................2 1.3.5 Public Participation..........................................................................3 1.3.6 Strategic Direction ...........................................................................3 1.3.7 Time Frame for the WFSP...............................................................3 1.3.8 Linkages to other Planning Processes ............................................3 2.0 Watershed Profile ............................................................................................................... 6 2.1 Physiography..........................................................................................6 2.2 Hydrology ...............................................................................................7 2.3 Water Quality........................................................................................11 2.4 Employment and Income Profile...........................................................11 2.5 Land and Water Use.............................................................................12 2.5.1 Urban/Rural Development .............................................................13 2.5.2 Forestry .........................................................................................13 2.5.3 Parks .............................................................................................14 2.5.4 Protected Areas.............................................................................14 2.5.5 First Nations ..................................................................................14 2.5.6 Private Land ..................................................................................14 2.5.7 Industrial........................................................................................14 2.5.8 Agriculture .....................................................................................15 2.5.9 Tourism .........................................................................................15 2.5.10 Transportation ...............................................................................15 2.5.11 Utilities...........................................................................................16 2.5.12 Solid Waste Management .............................................................16 2.5.13 Freshwater Withdraws...................................................................16 2.5.14 Foreshore/Marine Development ....................................................17 2.5.15 Mineral Resource Development ....................................................19 2.5.16 Sewage Treatment ........................................................................19 2.5.17 Flood Control.................................................................................19 3.0 Fisheries Resources......................................................................................................... 21 3.1