Crossing CV1 - CN Railway - Trib to Table River
Site Location
Crossing CV1 is located on an unnamed tributary to the Table River under the CN Railway near the 17km mark of the Chuchinka-Table FSR. The culvert is located approximately 230m upstream from the FSR and 0.3km upstream from the confluence of the Table River (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 3rd order with a watershed area upstream of the road of km2. The elevation of the watershed ranges from a maximum of approximately 1600m to 780m at the culvert. A newly installed bridge is located just upstream of CV1 on a forestry road as well as downstream on the Chuchinka-Table FSR.
Provincial records indicate that Rainbow Trout have been captured downstream of the crossing near the confluence of the stream by DWB in 2017 (MoE 2019).
Hagen et al. (2015) have identified the Table River watershed and several of it’s tributaries as containing critical spawning and juvenile rearing habitat for large body Bull Trout with an estimated minimum spawner abundance of 100 fish.
The Table River (along with the Anzac River) is identified as the primary core of post-Williston Arctic Grayling distribution in the Parsnip River watershed with life history, migration behaviours and critical habitats summarized in Hagen et al. (2015). The mainstem of the Table River contains critical habitats for all life stages of Arctic Grayling with adults observed moving among mainstem locations and tributaries during summer (Hagen et al. 2015).
In 2018, the Table River watershed was designated as a fisheries sensitive watershed under the authority of the Forest and Range Practices Act (FSW identifier f-7-022) due to significant downstream fisheries values and watershed sensitivity (Beaudry 2014). Special management is required in the crossing’s watershed to protect habitat for Bull Trout and Arctic Grayling and includes measures (among others) to limit equivalent clearcut area, reduce impacts to natural stream channel morphology, retain old growth attributes and maintain fish habitat/movement (Forest and Range Practices Act 2018).
The stream associated with crossing CV1 is situated in a location approximately 230m to the west of the location mapped in the provincial freshwater atlas stream layer. There was no data available for the crossing in the PSCIS system however potential habitat gains for the site are likely similiar to those associated with modeled crossing 16603266 which provides access to approximately 6.6km of modeled instream habitat. The habitat confirmation was completed on September 05, 2019. A map of the watershed including areas surveyed is provided in Attachment 1 – Map 093J120.
Stream Characteristics at Crossing
At the time of the survey, the un-embedded and non-backwatered culvert (3m diameter) was considered a barrier to upstream fish passage with a pipe length of 28m and a culvert slope of 5% (Table 2, Figure 1). Water temperature was 9\(^\circ\)C and conductivity was 61uS/cm.
Stream Characteristics Downstream
The stream was surveyed downstream from the culvert for 310m to within the floodplain of the Table River. The bridge located downstream 235m on the Chuchinka-Table FSR had a span of 9m and a width of 5m (Figure 2). Overall, total cover amount was rated as moderate with undercut banks dominant (Figures 3 - 4). Cover was also present as small woody debris, large woody debris, deep pools, and overhanging vegetation. The average channel width was 4.2m, the average wetted width was 3.8m and the average gradient was 2.5% (Table 3). Three minnow traps were set downstream of the crossing and left to soak overnight. One Rainbow Trout (102mm fork length) was captured. A 1.4m high beaver dam was located downstream of the crossing approximately 120m (UTM 10N 547419 6063849). Habitat value downstream of the crossing was rated as high.
Stream Characteristics Upstream
The stream was surveyed upstream from the culvert for 425m. The average channel width was 3.8m, the average wetted width was 3.5m and the average gradient was 3.5% (Table 3). Riparian vegetation was comprised of a mature coniferous forest and instream cover quantity was rated as abundant. The dominant cover form was large woody debris with small woody debris, undercut banks, deep pools, and overhanging vegetation also available (Figure 5. Gravels suitable for spawning were present throughout the area surveyed and a suspected Bull Trout spawning redd (40 - 50cm diameter gravel “egg nest”) was observed (Figure 6- 7). A 20cm long salmonid (suspect Bull Trout) and young of year salmonids were also observed. Channel morphology was riffle-pool. An open span bridge was located upstream of the culvert approximately 100m (Figure 8). Three minnow traps were set upstream of the crossing and left to soak overnight. One Rainbow Trout (48mm fork length) was captured (Figure 9). Habitat value upstream of the crossing was rated as high.
Conclusion
There is approximately 3.4km of mainstem habitat upstream of crossing CV1 modeled as less than 22% gradient. Habitat surveyed was rated as high value for salmonids with confirmed Rainbow Trout and suspected Bull Trout presence upstream. Bull Trout in the Parsnip River watershed are provincially and federally listed as a species of special concern. There are newly installed open span structures located both upstream and downstream of the crossing with no obstacles other than beaver dams structures and CV1 obstructing fish passage in the lower sections of the watershed. At the time of the survey CN Rail was responsible for this crossing and the structure was ranked as a high priority for rehabilitation.
| Site | Stream | Road | Tenure | UTM (10N) | Fish Species | Habitat Gain (km) | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CV1 | Trib to Table River | CN Railway | CN Rail | 547303 6063955 | RB, (BT) | 3.4 | High |
| Site | Diameter (m) | Length (m) | Embedded | Backwatered | Fill Depth (m) | Outlet Drop (m) | Outlet Pool Depth (m) | Stream Width Ratio | Barrier Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CV1 | 3 | 28 | no | no | 2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 1.4 | Barrier |
| Site | Location | Length Surveyed (m) | Channel Width (m) | Wetted Width (m) | Pool depth (m) | Gradient (%) | Habitat Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CV1 | Downstream | 310 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 0.4 | 2.5 | High |
| CV1 | Upstream | 425 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 0.3 | 3.5 | High |
Figure 1: Outlet of crossing CV1 (UTM: 10N 547303 6063955).
Figure 2: Newly installed bridge located downstream of crossing CV1 (UTM: 10N 547474 6063810).
Figure 3: Habitat downstream of crossing CV1 (UTM: 10N 547344 6063925).
Figure 4: Habitat downstream of crossing CV1 (UTM: 10N 547394 6063890).
Figure 5: View of 40 - 50cm diameter redd (suspect Bull Trout) located upstream of crossing CV1 (UTM: 10N 547159 6064093).
Figure 6: View of habitat upstream of crossing CV1 (UTM: 10N 547192 6064075).
Figure 7: View of habitat upstream of crossing CV1 (UTM: 10N 547076 6064120).
Figure 8: View of bridge located upstream of crossing CV1 (UTM: 10N 549707 6064989).
Figure 9: Rainbow Trout captured upstream of crossing CV1 (UTM: 10N 547265 6063985).
References
Beaudry, Pierre G. 2014. “Assessment and Assignment of Sensitivity Ratings to Sub-Basins of the Table Watershed in Parsnip Drainage – Ominieca Region. Contract Number: GS15823011.” Report. http://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/acat/public/viewReport.do?reportId=51634.
Forest and Range Practices Act. 2018. “Order - Fisheries Sensitive Watershed Prince George Forest District.” http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/frpa/fsw/approved.html.
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.