Crossing 57696 - Chuchinka-Wichcika FSR - Trib to Wichcika Creek
Site Location
Crossing 57696 is located on an unnamed Unnamed tributary to Wichcika Creek near the 17km mark of the Chuchinka-Wichcika FSR. The culvert is located 0.6km from the confluence with Wichcika Creek (Table 1). At the time of the field surveys, there appeared to be no active log hauling on the FSR however their was a mining exploration camp on the road roughly near the 5km mark and some pickup truck traffic was encountered.
Background Information
At the crossing location, the stream is 2nd order with a watershed area upstream of the road of approximately 3.2km2. The elevation of the watershed ranges from a maximum of 1500m to 1100m at the culvert. No other crossings are modeled upstream.
Provincial records indicate that Bull Trout were captured within the subject stream downstream of the crossing approximately 450m as well as near the mouth of the stream by DWB in 2016 (MoE 2019b).
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 57696 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 (1.5km) habitat with a relatively large channel size (3.97m) and potentially high value habitat as indicated by contractor habitat value assignment. Additionally, Gollner, Cain, and Russell (2013) prioritized the crossing for follow up (Table 2). The habitat confirmation was completed on August 28, 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 0.65m diameter crossing was considered a barrier to upstream fish passage with a pipe length of 20m, a culvert slope of 7% and an outlet drop of 0.6m (Table 3, Figure 1). Water temperature was 7\(^\circ\)C and conductivity was 146uS/cm.
Stream Characteristics Downstream
The stream was surveyed downstream from the culvert for 700m to the confluence of the stream and Wichcika Creek. A 1.5 m high rock falls was observed approximately 85m downstream of the crossing (Figure 2). Overall, total cover amount was rated as moderate with deep pools dominant. Cover was also present as small woody debris, large woody debris, undercut banks, and overhanging vegetation and there were occasional pockets of gravels suitable for spawning present (Figures 3 - 4). The average channel width was 4.3m, the average wetted width was 3.1m and the average gradient was 11.2% (Table 4). Riparian vegetation was comprised of a mature spruce forest. Three minnowtraps were set overnight within the 50m of channel directly below the culvert. No fish were captured. Habitat value downstream of the crossing was rated as medium.
Stream Characteristics Upstream
The stream was surveyed upstream from the culvert for 650m to the location of a 15m long cascade with gradients exceeding 30% (Figure 5). The average channel width was 3.8m, the average wetted width was 3.3m and the average gradient was 14.3% (Table 4). Riparian vegetation was comprised of a mature spruce forest and total cover amount was rated as moderate. The dominant cover form was undercut banks with small woody debris, large woody debris, boulders, and overhanging vegetation also available (Figures 6 - 7). Some pockets of gravels suitable for spawning were present and the mature channel contained frequent drops from 0.3 - 0.5m high resulting from large woody debris jams. Habitat value upstream of the crossing was rated as medium.
Conclusion
There is 650m of mainstem habitat upstream of crossing 57696 before a cascade impassable to all fish species at all life stages. Additionally, a 1.5m high falls located 85m downstream of crossing 57696 would limit access to the crossing for all species except potentially large bodied Bull Trout. Habitat in the areas surveyed upstream of the crossing was rated as medium value with moderate rearing potential for Bull Trout which have been confirmed as present downstream of the FSR. Review of Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations & Rural Development (FLNR) licensee operating areas maps indicate that the forest licensee in the area is Sinclar Group however the road tenure holder is detailed as Carrier Lumber Ltd. within the provincial forest tenure road lines layer (MoE 2019a). The crossing was ranked as a low priority for rehabilitation as habitat upstream was rated as medium value and because the 1.5m high falls located 85m below the falls may hinder access to the crossing location even for large bodied Bull Trout.
| Site | Stream | Road | Tenure | UTM (10N) | Fish Species | Habitat Gain (km) | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 57696 | Trib to Wichcika Creek | Chuchinka-Wichcika FSR | CARRIER LUMBER LTD. R21212 D 0 | 564171 6037942 |
|
0.65 | Low |
| Map 50k | Instream (km) | Lake (ha) | Wetland (ha) | Channel Width (m) | Fish Upstream | Habitat Value | Rank | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 093J115 | 1.5 |
|
0.5 | 4 |
|
High | High | Prioritized in Gollner et al. (2013). Larger stream BT observed downstream. |
| Site | Diameter (m) | Length (m) | Embedded | Backwatered | Fill Depth (m) | Outlet Drop (m) | Outlet Pool Depth (m) | Stream Width Ratio | Barrier Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 57696 | 0.6 | 20 | no | no | 1 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 6.6 | Barrier |
| Site | Location | Length Surveyed (m) | Channel Width (m) | Wetted Width (m) | Pool depth (m) | Gradient (%) | Habitat Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 57696 | Downstream | 700 | 4.3 | 3.1 | 0.4 | 11.2 | Medium |
| 57696 | Upstream | 650 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 0.4 | 14.3 | Medium |
Figure 1: Outlet of PSCIS crossing 57696 (UTM: 10N 564171 6037942).
Figure 2: 1.5m high rock drop located 85m downstream of PSCIS crossing 57696 (UTM: 10N 564085 6037947).
Figure 3: Habitat downstream of PSCIS crossing 57696 (UTM: 10N 563768 6037654).
Figure 4: Habitat downstream of PSCIS crossing 57696 (UTM: 10N 563778 6037682).
Figure 5: Downstream view of 15m long cascade with gradient of 32% located 650m upstream of PSCIS crossing 57696 (UTM: 10N 564402 6038496).
Figure 6: View of habitat upstream of PSCIS crossing 57696 (UTM: 10N 564328 6038150).
