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Report: Simms Park Refocus to Improve Side Channel Connectivity FWCP COA-F17-F-1382

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The objective of this project was to use the seed funding to build on previous work done in order to develop a refocused restoration plan and associated budget which would be cost effective and would provide the maximum benefits to fish, wildlife and the community; and therefore have a high likelihood of being implemented.

Author:  J. Sutherst

Old Reference Number:  COA-F17-F-1382

Old Reference System:  FWCP Fish Wildlife Compensation Program - Coastal

Date Published:  Feb 2017

Report ID:  52612

Audience:  Government and Public

In April of 2016 the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program (FWCP) provided seed funding to the Comox Valley Project Watershed Society (CVPWS) to develop a new restoration prescription for a high priority habitat restoration project alongside the Courtenay River. The objective of this project was to use the seed funding to build on previous work done in order to develop a refocused restoration plan and associated budget which would be cost effective and would provide the maximum benefits to fish, wildlife and the community; and therefore have a high likelihood of being implemented. The project area, located in Simms Millennium Park (Simms Park) Courtenay, B.C., is of high importance as off-channel fish habitat for juvenile salmonids. This area provides one of only three off-channel habitats for juvenile salmonids along a three kilometer stretch of upper ecotone of the Courtenay River estuary. The restoration of this area in order to provide functioning off-channel habitat will address issues to juvenile salmonids from seal predation, displacement during high flows, and the need for ecologically diverse habitats in a dynamic tidally influenced system. Currently, the off-channel fish habitat in Simms Park is marginal and there is a high potential for improvement. At present, the area has a pond and blind channel (the finger) that are separated from each other and the Courtenay Slough by high elevation culverts. The aim of the restoration is to increase the habitat quality and tidal exchange in the pond and finger. Both the pond and the finger are utilized by fish, however habitat quality is low, and tidal flushing is restricted due to the elevations of the culverts at either end of the pond. Increased access to the pond and finger will provide salmon with refuge from seals and fish with rearing and foraging opportunities. The original habitat restoration design, which was previously developed for the project in 2011 by a local biologist, was deemed too complicated, too expensive, and more suitable for an upstream habitat restoration (as it did not take into consideration the tidal influences at the site). Updated baseline data was collected and survey work undertaken by CVPWS in 2016 in order to inform the new restoration plan. The original restoration plan and budget was then reworked and vetted through the appropriate stakeholders for feedback and buy-in order to develop a new restoration prescription and associated budget. The outcome was the development of a new restoration prescription for the project which is more cost effective and maximizes fish, wildlife and community benefits; thereby increasing the chances of it being successfully funded and implemented.

Report Type
  Fish and Aquatic Habitat Information
 
Subject
  Fish Species - Coho Salmon - Oncorhynchus kisutch
  Fish Species - Sculpins (General)
  Fish Species - Stickleback (General)
  Region - Vancouver Island
  Fish and Fish Habitat - Fish Inventory
  Fish and Fish Habitat - Restoration
 


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