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FIA# 6806001: Forsite Consultants Ltd. was contracted to complete a fish passage assessment
project within the Bella Coola and Owikeno watershed groups.
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Author: Dustin Oaten, MSc., Forsite
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Date Published: Mar 2009
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Report ID: 24129
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Audience: Government and Public
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Fish passage failure at road crossings constitutes a major loss of habitat and is
considered to be a major provincial problem. Culverted sites have been recognized
as a major problem contributing to fish passage barriers. In response to this, the
provincial government has undertaken a systematic, watershed-based approach to
determining fisheries values on a watershed basis based on the biodiversity and
socioeconomic value of watersheds in the province. These assessments were
designed to prioritize watersheds in order to begin to help to determine where fish
passage assessments would be the most effective. The results of the watershed
prioritization process showed that several watersheds within the Mid Coast TSA were
ranked as a priority 1 watershed including the Bella Coola and Owikeno watershed
groups.
Forsite Consultants Ltd. was contracted to complete a fish passage assessment
project within the Bella Coola and Owikeno watershed groups which focused on high
value rivers, the Machmell, Kilbella, Chuckwalla, and Sheemahant rivers in the
Owikeno watershed and the Saloomt, Bella Coola, Talchako, and Nusatsum rivers in
the Bella Coola watershed. The intention of this work was to assess culverts located
within these watersheds that may be acting as barriers to fish passage. These
culverts are located on non-status, Forest Service, and pre-1995 built roads.
In total we assessed 203.0 kilometers of road, completed fish passage assessments
on 90 structures, and identified the location of an additional 263 culvert locations.
The results of our assessments showed that only two structures located on moderate
to high quality fish streams, both located within the Bella Coola watershed, are
serving as barriers to fish passage. However, our analyses showed that the cost of
replacing these structures, combined with the low habitat gained (<1500 m), makes
them unsuitable for replacement.
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Report Type
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Fish and Aquatic Habitat Information |
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Subject
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Fish Species - Chinook Salmon - Oncorhynchus tshawytscha |
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Fish Species - Chum Salmon - Oncorhynchus keta |
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Fish Species - Coho Salmon - Oncorhynchus kisutch |
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Fish Species - Cutthroat Trout (General) - Oncorhynchus clarki |
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Fish Species - Dolly Varden Char - Salvelinus malma |
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Fish Species - Pink Salmon - Oncorhynchus gorbuscha |
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Fish Species - Rainbow Trout - Oncorhynchus mykiss |
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Fish Species - Sockeye Salmon - Oncorhynchus nerka |
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Fish Species - Steelhead - Oncorhynchus mykiss |
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Region - Vancouver Island |
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Fish and Fish Habitat - Culvert Fish Passage |
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Watershed Groups - 910 - North Coast Rivers (North of Cape Caution) |
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