S030 FINAL REPORT 2015 – 16 Seton River Corridor Conservation and Restoration Project Project No.: FWCP 16.W.SON.01, 2015AFSAR2498, PSF CSP15S030 Prepared for: Sekw’el’was and T’it’q’et Communities and BC Hydro Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program Prepared by: Splitrock Environmental Sekw’el’was LP Box 798 Lillooet BC V0K 1V0 Date: 22 June 2016 Financial support from: Seton Corridor Project 2015 – 16 Report EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Seton River Corridor is located within the traditional territories of the St’at’imc who have lived and worked in the region for thousands of years. The Seton River, which flows out of Seton Lake, is approximately 4.7 km long and joins the Fraser River just south of the town of Lillooet. The valley is bordered by steep mountain slopes in its upper reaches, widening as the river empties into the Fraser River. The Seton River and the land within the corridor have been directly impacted by the Bridge/Seton hydroelectric system, as well as transportation, forestry, urban development and recreational activities. These impacts are quite extensive; however, the area still has significant fish and wildlife values. The intent of this project is to identify conservation, restoration and sustainable management areas within the Seton River Corridor, and develop wildlife corridors between high value habitats. The goal is to create a more diverse and healthy habitat for fish and wildlife, while taking into account all the human influences on the landscape. This project was conceived as a direct result of the restoration work being carried out on the Powerhouse Foreshore Restoration Project. The ideas proposed were to create a functioning fish and wildlife corridor from Seton Lake to the Fraser River, while providing an opportunity for our community to learn the skills in ecological management of the land and to engage in watershed stewardship training and outreach activities. Cayoose Creek Indian Band has been carrying out survey and habitat mapping of the Seton River Corridor since 2010. We have carried out the following work over the last five years with limited funds and through a lot of networking and by working in partnership with various organizations and individuals: • 2010/11 Sekw’el’was Seton Wildlife Corridor Restoration Feasibility Study funded by Bridge Coastal Fish & Wildlife Program (BCRP) (partnership development, compilation of historical and current research, vegetation and soil surveys in lower corridor, Lower Spawning Channel in-stream mapping, temperature monitoring, aquatic invertebrate and periphyton accrual sampling; fish sampling, wildlife surveys, community capacity building and watershed education outreach. • 2011/12 - Sekw’el’was Seton River Corridor Habitat Enhancement & Restoration - Phase One funded by Fraser Salmon and Watershed Program (FSWP) (removal of invasive plant species and increase stream-side vegetation around Lower Spawning Channel and in one test plot on the Seton River, continue stakeholder planning process, community capacity building and watershed education outreach). 2 Seton Corridor Project 2015 – 16 Report • 2012/13 - Sekw’el’was Seton River Corridor Conservation and Restoration Project funded by FWCP, PSF, SGS, IAFBC (habitat and vegetation surveys in middle/upper Seton River Corridor, invasive species management, re-vegetation, fish stock and spawning gravel assessments, wildlife surveys, community capacity building and continuation of planning process). • 2013/14 - Seton River Corridor Conservation and Restoration Project - Phase 3 funded by FWCP, PSF, SGS, AFSAR (habitat and vegetation surveys in the upper Seton River corridor, wetland survey, invasive species management, re-vegetation, fish stock and spawning gravel cleaning research, wildlife surveys, community capacity building and continuation of planning process). • 2014/15 – Seton River Corridor Conservation and Restoration Project funded by FWCP, PSF, SGS, AFSAR (fish stock assessment, gravel cleaning, interior western screech- owl monitoring and nest box installation, reptile monitoring and hibernacula installation, large mammal monitoring, restoration works, community capacity building, and continuation of planning process) During 2015/16 the following work was completed: 1. Fish stock assessment of the two spawning channels (spawning use assessment, daytime electrofishing, temperature logging) 2. Cleaning of spawning gravels and related monitoring 3. Completion of habitat and vegetation mapping within the project footprint 4. Interior Western Screech-owl monitoring and nest box maintenance 5. Reptile monitoring, den searches and installation of hibernacula 6. Large mammal monitoring 7. Restoration works - invasive weed removal, habitat enhancement, and revegetation with native plants in three identified areas: Lower Spawning Channel, Upper Spawning Channel and Lower Corridor 8. Community capacity building and training 9. Watershed environmental education 10. Long-term ecological planning with partners and stakeholders 3 Seton Corridor Project 2015 – 16 Report ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This Project was funded by the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program on behalf of its program partners BC Hydro, the Province of B.C., Fisheries and Oceans Canada, First Nations and the public, who work together to conserve and enhance fish and wildlife impacted by the construction of BC Hydro dams. The Pacific Salmon Foundation (PSF) Community Salmon Program funded the spawning gravel cleaning and ecological restoration portion of the project, without whose support this project would not have been possible. The PSF exists to support “salmon communities” in their efforts, to promote awareness of this keystone species and to guide the sustainable future of wild Pacific salmon and their habitat. The federal government Aboriginal Fund for Species-at-Risk (AFSAR) program provided funds towards Interior western screech-owl and Great Basin gopher snake survey and enhancement works. Sekw’el’was and St’at’imc Government Services provided funds towards the spawning channel enhancement and monitoring work. Lillooet Naturalist Society provided funds and support at events for outreach work. The information provided in this report has been compiled by Splitrock Environmental - Heather Richardson and Kim North - on behalf of Sekw’el’was and T’it’q’et. Information has been included from various contractor reports, and from research and fieldwork carried out by Daniel Espinoza (Instream Fisheries Research Inc), Odin Scholz, Robin Strong, Kim North, and environmental crew technicians from Splitrock Environmental: Splitrock Environmental – Odin Scholz, Restoration Biologist Lower Spawning Channel Gravel Cleaning Work and Monitoring Protocols (February 2016) Instream Fisheries Research Inc – Daniel Espinoza, Project Biologist Seton River Corridor –Fish Monitoring Work 2015 (March 2016) Splitrock Environmental – Heather Richardson, Environmental Scientist Habitat Assessment and Mapping (November 2015) Splitrock Environmental - Kim North, Project Manager Restoration and Revegetation Works 2015-16 (April 2016) Splitrock Environmental – Robin Strong, AFSAR Project Manager Monitoring Report: Restoration Trials of Riparian habitat for Western Screech-owl (August 2015) Sekw’el’was, T’it’q’et, P’egp’ig’lha Council - Chief Michelle Edwards, Chief Shelley Leech, Perry Redan, Robin Frank, Shannon Squire Management Planning Documents (March – April 2016) Splitrock Environmental – Kim North, Heather Richardson Management Planning Documents (February – April 2016) We would like to thank the partners of this project – the Sekw’el’was and T’it’q’et communities, and contractors for their support throughout the season, both for mentoring local environmental crew technicians and providing their expertise to this project. 4 Seton Corridor Project 2015 – 16 Report TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................. 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. 4 Chapter 1. Introduction ................................................................................................ 11 1.1 Proponent Information ............................................................................................................................................. 11 1.2 Hydroelectric Impact ................................................................................................................................................. 11 1.3 Statement of Need ....................................................................................................................................................... 13 Chapter 2. Goals and Objectives ................................................................................ 15 Chapter 3. Study Area .................................................................................................. 16 3.1 Site Location ....................................................................................................................................................................... 16 3.2 Habitat Description ......................................................................................................................................................... 17 Chapter 4. Spawning Channel Surveys ..................................................................... 18 4.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................................