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Publish Year |
Description |
Filename |
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Surveys of Species at Risk and their Associated Habitats in the Clowhom Watershed - Year 1
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2014
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Wetlands and riparian areas are essential to a multitude of wildlife species. These fragile and ecologically important ecosystems are also among those most affected by dam construction and hydro operations. On the Sunshine Coast, the installation of BC Hydro's Clowhom Dam in the 1950s flooded two existing lakes to create Clowhom Reservoir, resulting in the loss of lowland riparian forests and wetlands. There is an urgent need to map and assess remaining wetland and riparian areas in the Clowhom watershed, survey associated species at risk, and identify and carry out restoration and enhancement activities to benefit these habitats and species. To this end, "riparian and wetland mapping and restoration" and "amphibian surveys" have been identified as two of the five top priorities for FWCP funding in the Clowhom Basin. This report describes the first year of a multi-year project in the Clowhom watershed. Our objectives are: (1) to identify, assess and map wetlands and riparian ecosystems; (2) to undertake comprehensive surveys of species at risk and their critical habitat; (3) to work with partners to develop, implement, monitor and adaptively manage multi-species restoration, management and enhancement plans; and (4) to carry out an active outreach, education and community engagement program. Through these activities we aim to identify sensitive habitats; locate new occupied sites for threatened and endangered species; highlight sites of future inventory activities; identify opportunities and prioritize areas for habitat restoration, enhancement, conservation, and threat mitigation; increase and improve habitat for wildlife; reduce direct threats to populations of species at risk; increase community participation in wildlife and habitat stewardship activities; and improve awareness of the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program and its program partners. Field survey activities carried out between April 2013 and March 2014 included locating, ?
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wsi_5316_rpt_2014.pdf
(15.9 MB)
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Surveys of Species at Risk and their Associated Habitats in the Clowhom Watershed - Year 2
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2015
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Wetlands and riparian zones are essential to wildlife. These fragile and ecologically important ecosystems are also among those most affected by hydroelectric development and operations. On British Columbia's Sunshine Coast, the installation of the Clowhom dam in the 1950s flooded the lower Clowhom valley, causing substantial loss of riparian forests and wetlands. Widespread forest harvesting triggered further negative impacts to wildlife by altering hydrology and limiting the suitability and availability of terrestrial habitats adjacent to streams and water bodies. The 2011 Clowhom Watershed Plan prioritizes the need to map and assess remaining wetland and riparian ecosystems, survey associated wildlife, and design and carry out restoration and enhancement activities to benefit these habitats and species. This report describes the second year of a multi-year project in the Clowhom watershed. Our objectives are: (1) to identify, assess and map wetlands and riparian ecosystems; (2) to undertake comprehensive surveys of species at risk and their associated habitat; (3) to work with partners to develop, implement, monitor and adaptively manage multi-species restoration, management and enhancement plans; and (4) to carry out an active outreach, education and community engagement program. Through these activities, we aim to identify sensitive habitats; locate new occupied sites for threatened and endangered species; highlight locations for future inventory efforts; prioritize sites for habitat conservation, restoration, and enhancement; increase and improve habitat for wildlife; reduce direct threats to populations of species at risk; increase community participation in wildlife and habitat stewardship activities; and improve public awareness of FWCP. This year, we continued with activities initiated in Year 1, including wetland mapping and assessment, and surveys of pond-breeding amphibians and Western Screech-Owls. We also launched new activ ...
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wsi_5316_rpt_2015.pdf
(6.2 MB)
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Surveys of Species at Risk and their Associated Habitats in the Clowhom Watershed Year 3
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2016
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Wetlands and riparian areas are essential to a multitude of wildlife species. These sensitive ecosystems are also among those most affected by dam construction and hydro operations. The installation of BC Hydro's Clowhom Dam on the Sunshine Coast in the 1950s flooded two existing lakes to create Clowhom Reservoir, resulting in substantial loss of lowland riparian forests and wetlands. The Clowhom Basin Watershed Plan has prioritized the need to map and assess remaining wetland and riparian areas in the watershed, survey associated species at risk, and identify and carry out restoration and enhancement activities to benefit these habitats and species. Our team has been working in Clowhom for the past three years. The objectives of our multi-year project are: (1) to identify, assess and map wetlands and riparian ecosystems; (2) to undertake comprehensive surveys of species at risk and their associated habitat; (3) to work with partners to develop, implement, monitor and adaptively manage multi-species restoration, management and enhancement plans; and (4) to carry out an active outreach, education and community engagement program. Through these activities, we aim to identify sensitive habitats; locate new occupied sites for threatened and endangered species; highlight locations for future inventory efforts; prioritize sites for habitat conservation, restoration, and enhancement; increase and improve habitat for wildlife; reduce direct threats to species; increase community participation in wildlife and habitat stewardship activities; and improve public awareness of FWCP and its program partners. Between April 2015 and March 2016, project activities included: surveys of pond-breeding amphibians at 14 wetland sites, including 26 hours of shoreline perimeter searches and over 500 amphibian trap hours; surveys for Western Screech-Owls at 55 call-playback stations; monitoring of 4 occupied Screech-Owl territories and habitat assessment within t ...
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wsi_5316_rpt_2016.pdf
(11.3 MB)
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Surveys of Species at Risk and their Associated Habitats in the Clowhom Watershed - Year 4
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2018
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Wetlands and riparian areas are essential to a multitude of wildlife species. These sensitive ecosystems are also among those most affected by dam construction and hydro-electric operations. The installation of BC Hydro's Clowhom Dam on the Sunshine Coast in the 1950s flooded two existing lakes to create Clowhom Reservoir, resulting in substantial loss of lowland riparian forests and wetlands. Both the 2011 and the recently updated 2017 Clowhom River Watershed Action Plans prioritized the need to map and assess remaining wetland and riparian areas in the watershed, survey associated species at risk, and identify and carry out restoration and enhancement activities to benefit these habitats and species.
This was our final year of a four-year project. Our goals were: (1) to identify, assess and map wetlands and riparian ecosystems; (2) to undertake comprehensive surveys of species at risk and their associated habitat; (3) to work with partners to develop, implement, monitor and adaptively manage multi-species restoration, management and enhancement plans; and (4) to carry out an active outreach, education and community engagement program. Through these activities, we aim to identify sensitive habitats; locate new occupied sites for threatened and endangered species; highlight locations for future inventory efforts; prioritize sites for habitat conservation, restoration, and enhancement; increase and improve habitat for wildlife; reduce direct threats to species; increase community participation in wildlife and habitat stewardship activities; and improve public awareness of FWCP and its program partners.
A key achievement of this final project year was the construction of two new wetlands to increase available habitat for amphibians and other wildlife species in the watershed and to mitigate for harmful effects of water level fluctuations associated with hydro operations. Two new wetlands were created in October 2016. Restored Wetland 4b (adjacent to Wetlan ?
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wsi_5316_rpt_2018.pdf
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