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If you have any questions on the information presented, or require additional report data or attachments, please contact the Report Contact
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There were two main objectives as part of this habitat enhancement project:
1. Restore suitable nesting habitat conditions at the Red Devil Hill nesting site, the most important turtle nesting sites in the area around Revelstoke; and,
2. Create additional basking log habitat opportunities in the area by deploying and anchoring floating cedar logs in the Revelstoke Airport Marsh.
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Author: Okanagan Nation Alliance
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Old Reference Number: COL-F17-W-128
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Old Reference System: FWCP Fish Wildlife Compensation Program - Columbia
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Date Published: Oct 2018
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Report ID: 55498
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Audience: Government and Public
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The Western Painted Turtle (WPT) is federally recognized as a species of Special Concern and is blue-listed in the province of British Columbia (BC). The primary threats to the survival are loss or alteration of wetland habitat, and mortalities due to anthropogenic disturbances such as road development. In BC, the WPT is the only native turtle pond species. The Revelstoke area supports a sub-population of the WPT, Intermountain-Rocky Mountain Population (Chrysemys picta bellii), which is near the most northerly extent of its North America range
In 2016 and 2017, the Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA) worked in collaboration with the BC Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, local industries, and private volunteers to enhance WPT habitat around the Revelstoke area. The area provides excellent overwintering and feeding wetland habitats, but nesting and basking opportunities are either limited or degraded.
There were two main objectives as part of this habitat enhancement project:
1. Restore suitable nesting habitat conditions at the Red Devil Hill nesting site, the most important turtle nesting sites in the area around Revelstoke; and,
2. Create additional basking log habitat opportunities in the area by deploying and anchoring floating cedar logs in the Revelstoke Airport Marsh.
Prior to starting the nesting habitat enhancement trials at Red Devil Hill, ONA staff contacted the City of Revelstoke, the Revelstoke Airport Authority, and the North Columbia Environmental Society to advise of the project details. One of the tasks proposed included installing a pre-nesting spring exclusion fence on a portion of the Red Devil Hill. This would allow for in-situ hatchlings to exit the exclosure, but prevent nesting females from entering. The area excluded by the fence would then become the location to conduct nesting habitat modification trials such as replacing the top 30 cm of nesting material with new material, removing trees or tree limbs to allow for greater thermal exposure, and to construct a series of low-slope nesting locations on the steep bank. It was anticipated that these habitat improvements would create additional nesting terrain lost due to earlier roadway expansion, improve egg hatchling success with the addition of improved nesting material and the removal of vegetative roots, and increase nest site thermal exposure. After discussions with the city of Revelstoke representatives, it was decided that the majority of the Red Devil Hill nesting habitat enhancements would not be completed due to roadway slope stability concerns.
Other potential nesting habitat enhancement sites have been identified in the Revelstoke area. These sites are located at the base of the slope of Red Devil Hill, on the upper shoreline in front of the Airplane Club lease lands, and along upper the shoreline in front of the Forestry Fire Base centre. Several of the nesting sites, including the two near the Airplane Club and Fire base, were already identified through the BC Hydro Water Use Planning studies and are greater than 440.1 m above sea level, the normal max elevation for Arrow Lakes. The focus of any nesting habitat creation or enhancement should be targeted at elevations greater than 440.31 m above sea level, which also takes into account a BCH reservoir surcharge of 30 cm that can be applied to Arrow Lakes.
The lack of adequate turtle basking log and woody debris habitat in the Airport Marsh was previously identified as a habitat deficiency. In February 2016, nine basking logs were deployed onto the ice at Airport Marsh by use of a snow machine. These log deployments created additional basking habitat for use by the turtles for thermoregulation, while maintaining rapid access to the safety of the water for escape.
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Report Type
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Fish and Aquatic Habitat Information |
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Subject
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Amphibians & Reptiles - Painted Turtle: Chrysemys picta |
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Region - Kootenay |
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Water Information - Restoration |
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