Crossing 57690 - Chuchinka FSR - Trib to Wichcika Creek
Site Location
Crossing 57690 is located on an unnamed tributary to Wichcika Creek near the 751km mark of the Chuchinka FSR. The culvert is located 0.3km from the confluence of Wichcika Creek (Table 1). At the time of the field surveys, there was active log hauling on the FSR.
Background Information
At the crossing location, the stream is a 3rd order stream with a watershed area upstream of the road of approximatley 10.8km2. The elevation of the watershed ranges from a maximum of 1000m to 800m at the culvert. No other crossings are modeled upstream.
Provincial records indicate that Rainbow Trout, Mountain Whitefish, Sculpin, and Burbot have been captured just downstream in Wichcika Creek near the mouth of the subject stream (MoE 2019).
Hagen et al. (2015) have identified the upper end of the Wichcika Creek mainstem as containing critical spawning and juvenile rearing habitat for large body Bull Trout with an estimated minimum spawner abundance of less than 50 fish.
Following office review, PSCIS stream crossing 57690 was ranked as a high priority for follow up with habitat confirmation due to the potential for rehabilitation of the crossing to provide access to modeled instream (15.3km) and wetland (13.3ha) habitat with a relatively large channel size (5.2m) and potentially high value habitat as indicated by review of photographs in the PSCIS database (Table 2). The habitat confirmation was completed on September 01, 2019. A map of the watershed including areas surveyed is provided in Attachment 1 – Map 093J115.
Stream Characteristics at Crossing
At the time of the survey, the un-embedded and non-backwatered double (1.8m each) crossing was considered a barrier to upstream fish passage with pipe lengths of 38m, a culvert slope of 5% and an outlet drop of 0.8m (Table 3, Figure 1). Water temperature was 11\(^\circ\)C and conductivity was 297uS/cm.
Stream Characteristics Downstream
The stream was surveyed downstream from the culvert for 260m to the confluence at Wichcika Creek (Figure 2). Overall, total cover amount was rated as moderate with undercut banks dominant (Figures 3). Cover was also present as small woody debris and overhanging vegetation. Some patches of gravels suitable for spawning were present. The average channel width was 4.2m, the average wetted width was 3.7m and the average gradient was 2% (Table 4). A corrugated culvert pipe was located downstream of the crossing within the stream channel (Figure 4). Habitat value downstream of the crossing was rated as medium as it had moderate rearing potential and few pools present for overwintering.
Stream Characteristics Upstream
The stream was surveyed upstream from the culvert for 650m. A Rainbow Trout (~120mm long) was observed approximately 60 m upstream of culvert. The average channel width was 5.6m, the average wetted width was 4.7m and the average gradient was 7.7% (Table 4). Riparian vegetation was comprised of a mature mixed coniferous/deciduous forest and instream cover quantity was rated as moderate. Overall, total cover amount was rated as moderate. The dominant cover form of cover was deep pools with small woody debris, large woody debris, boulders, undercut banks, and overhanging vegetation also available. Some gravels suitable for spawning were present intermittently throughout the area surveyed (Figures 5 - 6). Multiple drops and rock chutes were present in the area surveyed beginning 350 m upstream of the culvert and a 1.4 m high vertical falls was located 650 m upstream of the culvert (Figure 7). Habitat value upstream of the crossing was rated as medium.
Conclusion
There is approximately 4km of mainstem habitat and 1.5km of 2nd order tributary modeled as less than 22% gradient upstream of crossing 57690. However, large bodied Bull Trout are likely the only species capable of getting over the 0.8m high falls located 350m upstream of the crossing and may be limited in upstream distribution by the 1.4m falls located at 650m upstream if fish passage was restored at crossing 57690. The relatively low maximum elevation and likely wetland like character of much of the upper watershed (indicated by review of satellite aerial imagery) may not be overly conducive to Bull Trout spawning and rearing although this is unconfirmed. Habitat in the 650m surveyed upstream of the crossing was rated as high value for salmonids with Rainbow Trout presence confirmed upstream of the FSR in this relatively large stream. The forest licensee in the area are Sinclar Group and the road tenure holder is the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations & Rural Development. Overall, the crossing located on the Chuchinka FSR was ranked as a high priority for rehabilitation.
| Site | Stream | Road | Tenure | UTM (10N) | Fish Species | Habitat Gain (km) | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 57690 | Trib to Wichcika Creek | Chuchinka FSR | FLNRORD 5506 01 0 | 555027 6046138 | RB | 0.65 | High |
| Map 50k | Instream (km) | Lake (ha) | Wetland (ha) | Channel Width (m) | Fish Upstream | Habitat Value | Rank | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 093J115 | 15.3 |
|
13.3 | 5.2 |
|
Low | High | Large stream. Habitat appears good in photos. |
| Site | Diameter (m) | Length (m) | Embedded | Backwatered | Fill Depth (m) | Outlet Drop (m) | Outlet Pool Depth (m) | Stream Width Ratio | Barrier Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 57690 | 1.8 | 38 | no | no | 6 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 2.3 | Barrier |
| Site | Location | Length Surveyed (m) | Channel Width (m) | Wetted Width (m) | Pool depth (m) | Gradient (%) | Habitat Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 57690 | Upstream | 650 | 5.6 | 4.7 | 0.5 | 7.7 | Medium |
| 57690 | Downstream | 260 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 0.3 | 2 | Medium |
Figure 1: Outlet of PSCIS crossing 57690 (UTM: 10N 555027 6046138).
Figure 2: Confluence with Wichcika Creek downstream of PSCIS crossing 57690 (UTM: 10N 555225 6046046).
Figure 3: Habitat downstream of PSCIS crossing 57690 (UTM: 10N 555183 6046053).
Figure 4: Corrugated culvert structure located downstream of PSCIS crossing 57690 (UTM: 10N 555118 6046103).
Figure 5: View of habitat upstream of PSCIS crossing 57690 (UTM: 10N 554990 6046171).
Figure 6: View of habitat upstream of PSCIS crossing 57690 (UTM: 10N 554576 6046307).
Figure 7: View of 1.4m high falls located approximately 650m upstream of PSCIS crossing 57690 (UTM: 10N 554488 6046241).
References
Hagen, John, Susanne Williamson, Mike Stamford, and Ray Pillipow. 2015. “Critical Habitats for Bull Trout and Arctic Grayling Within the Parsnip River and Pack River Watersheds.”
MoE. 2019. “Known Bc Fish Observations and Bc Fish Distributions.” Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy - Knowledge Management. https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca/dataset/known-bc-fish-observations-and-bc-fish-distributions.