Tributary to the Table River - 125231 - Appendix
Site Location
PSCIS crossing 125231 is located on a tributary to the Table River near the 21km mark of the Chuchinka-Table FSR. The culverts are located 0.7km from the confluence of the Table River and approximately 200m upstream of a CN Railway culvert (PSCIS 197493 - discussed below). Canfor Corporation are the primary forest licensee at this location with the Ministry of Forests as the road tenure holders.
The site was originally prioritized for replacement in A. Irvine (2020), following a habitat confirmation assessment which can be found here.
Background
The subject stream flows in a southern direction into the Table River at a point 7.9 km upstream from the confluence with the Parsnip River. At crossing 125231, the tributary to the Table River is a third order stream with a watershed area upstream of the crossing of approximately 4km2. The elevation of the watershed ranges from a maximum of 1605m to 754m at the crossing (Table 5.1).
PSCIS crossing 197493 is located on the CN Railway approximately 200m downstream of the Chuckinka-Table FSR where replacement of PSCIS crossing 125231 is planned. At the time of assessments conducted in both 2019 and 2022, the fully embedded culvert was considered passable according to provincial metrics (MoE 2011). A recently installed bridge (PSCIS 197499) is located approximately 450m upstream of the crossing and there are no other anthropogenic obstructions to fish passage upstream.
Upstream of crossing 125231, rainbow trout have previously been recorded (Norris [2018] 2024; MoE 2024). A summary of habitat modelling outputs is presented in Table 5.2. A map of the watershed is provided in map attachment 093J.120.
At the time of writing, Canfor was planning to replace crossing 125231 with a bridge. An engineering design had been completed, some of the materials have been purchased (bridge structure and abutments) and contractors were selected through a tendering process led by Canfor to complete the work. Environmental management plans had been drafted for the project and permitting was underway. The cost of replacement was estimated at $410,000. Canfor had committed to paying half with FWCP pledging the remainder.
fpr::fpr_table_wshd_sum(site_id = my_site) |>
fpr::fpr_kable(caption_text = paste0('Summary of derived upstream watershed statistics for PSCIS crossing ', my_site, '.'),
footnote_text = 'Elev P60 = Elevation at which 60% of the watershed area is above',
scroll = F)| Site | Area Km | Elev Site | Elev Max | Elev Median | Elev P60 | Aspect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 125231 | 4 | 754 | 1605 | 1183 | 1115 | SSE |
| * Elev P60 = Elevation at which 60% of the watershed area is above |
| Habitat | Potential | Remediation Gain | Remediation Gain (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| BT Rearing (km) | 0.4 | 0.4 | 100 |
| BT Spawning (km) | 0.1 | 0.1 | 100 |
| BT Network (km) | 3.4 | 3.3 | 97 |
| BT Stream (km) | 3.4 | 3.3 | 97 |
| BT Lake Reservoir (ha) | 0.0 | 0.0 | – |
| BT Wetland (ha) | 0.0 | 0.0 | – |
| BT Slopeclass03 (km) | 0.0 | 0.0 | – |
| BT Slopeclass05 (km) | 0.1 | 0.1 | 100 |
| BT Slopeclass08 (km) | 0.4 | 0.4 | 100 |
| BT Slopeclass15 (km) | 2.2 | 2.1 | 95 |
| * Model data is preliminary and subject to adjustments. |
5.1 Aerial Imagery
A survey was conducted with a remotely piloted aircraft with resulting images stitched into an orthomosaic presented in Figures 5.1 - 5.2.
model_url <- '<iframe src="https://www.mapsmadeeasy.com/maps/public/ae73e230851242d882c5cd77fec97635" scrolling="no" title="Maps Made Easy" width="100%" height="600" frameBorder ="0"></iframe>'
knitr::asis_output(model_url)my_photo = 'fig/pixel.png'
my_caption = paste0('Orthomosaic of PSCIS crossing 125231 before replacement.')
knitr::include_graphics(my_photo, dpi = NA)
Figure 5.1: Orthomosaic of PSCIS crossing 125231 before replacement.
model_url <- '<iframe src="https://www.mapsmadeeasy.com/maps/public_3D/ae73e230851242d882c5cd77fec97635" scrolling="no" title="Maps Made Easy" width="100%" height="500" frameBorder ="0"></iframe>'
knitr::asis_output(model_url)my_photo = 'fig/pixel.png'
my_caption = paste0('3D model of PSCIS crossing 125231 before replacement.')
knitr::include_graphics(my_photo, dpi = NA)Figure 5.2: 3D model of PSCIS crossing 125231 before replacement.
Fish Sampling
A total six sites were sampled in the vicinity of crossing 125231 with three sites located upstream and three sites located downstream of the Chuckinka-Table FSR. Electrofishing results are summarised in Tables 5.3 - 5.4 and Figure 5.3. A total of 59 rainbow trout were captured upstream, and 27 rainbow trout were captured downstream (Figures 5.4 - 5.7). All fish captured with a fork length greater than 60mm were tagged with Passive Integrated Transponders (PIT tags) with data stored here.
5.2 Conclusion
As PSCIS crossing 197493 located on the CN Railway approximately 200m downstream of the Chuckinka-Table FSR where replacement of PSCIS crossing 125231 is planned, is a fully embedded culvert considered pasable at the time of assessments in 2019 and again in 2022, restoration of fish passage at the FSR provides a relatively rare opportunity in the Table River watershed toremediate fish passage on a forest service road where passage is not also impeded by a CN Railway structure. Although the stream is smaller in size, it is located within an area designated as a fisheries sensitive watershed with habitat presence suitable for bull trout (Western Arctic population) which has been assessed by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada as a species of special concern (P. Beaudry 2014; COSEWIC 2012b).
Restoration of fish passage at crossing 125231 is lined up for the summer of 2024 with a design specifications to replace the two 1.2m round pipes (outlet drops of 0.65m) with a 12.2m steel girder/timber deck bridge on spread footing. Replacement of the crossing will provide access to habitat blocked to upstream migrating fish for likely 10 - 20 years (timeline depending on the rate of down cutting caused by the outlet drops) and the stream has no other anthropogenic obstructions to fish passage. The presence of burbot in the system is of particular interest as this fish provides good food values and in general, compared to numerous other species (ex. steelhead and coho), burbot are documented as less capable swimmers considering time-to-fatigue versus swim speed (Katopodis and Gervais 2016). The presence of burbot downstream of the crossing and absence in sample sites above could indicate that the crossing is preventing some migration of this species however sample areas were small and the habitat presence/preference may have been more a determinant of presence than the passability of the crossing.
Resampling of fish at the site in future years of the project is recommended to build our understanding of fish use, movement and health in the stream providing valueable data for monitoring the effectiveness of crossing replacement. Additionally, aquisition of aerial imagery following structure replacement is recommended so that aerial imagery and 3D models generated from the data can be compared to products generated from data gathered in 2023. These comparisons will be useful for communications related to the project as well as for providing insight into changes in stream morphology, effectiveness of environmental management plans and site rehabilitation efforts following construction.
| site | passes | ef_length_m | ef_width_m | area_m2 | enclosure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 125231_ds_ef1 | 1 | 10 | 1.6 | 16.0 | open |
| 125231_ds_ef2 | 1 | 12 | 2.6 | 31.2 | open |
| 125231_ds_ef3 | 1 | 17 | 2.2 | 37.4 | open |
| 125231_us_ef1 | 1 | 15 | 1.9 | 28.5 | open |
| 125231_us_ef2 | 1 | 19 | 1.9 | 36.1 | open |
| 125231_us_ef3 | 1 | 29 | 1.7 | 49.3 | open |
| local_name | species_code | life_stage | catch | density_100m2 | nfc_pass |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 125231_ds_ef1 | RB | fry | 8 | 50.0 | FALSE |
| 125231_ds_ef1 | RB | parr | 2 | 12.5 | FALSE |
| 125231_ds_ef2 | RB | fry | 10 | 32.1 | FALSE |
| 125231_ds_ef2 | RB | parr | 1 | 3.2 | FALSE |
| 125231_ds_ef3 | RB | fry | 5 | 13.4 | FALSE |
| 125231_ds_ef3 | RB | parr | 1 | 2.7 | FALSE |
| 125231_us_ef1 | RB | fry | 14 | 49.1 | FALSE |
| 125231_us_ef2 | RB | fry | 10 | 27.7 | FALSE |
| 125231_us_ef2 | RB | adult | 1 | 2.8 | FALSE |
| 125231_us_ef3 | RB | fry | 34 | 69.0 | FALSE |
|
* nfc_pass FALSE means fish were captured in final pass indicating more fish of this species/lifestage may have remained in site. Mark-recaptured required to reduce uncertainties. |
my_caption <- paste0('Densites of fish (fish/100m2) captured upstream and downstream of PSCIS crossing ', my_site, '.')
fish_abund |>
dplyr::filter(site == my_site & species_code != "NFC") |>
ggplot(aes(x = location, y = density_100m2)) +
geom_boxplot() +
facet_grid(species_code ~ life_stage, scales = "fixed",
as.table = T) +
theme(legend.position = "none",
axis.title.x = element_blank()) +
geom_dotplot(binaxis = "y",
stackdir = "center", dotsize = 1) +
ylab(expression(Density ~
(fish/100 ~ m^2)))+
cowplot::theme_minimal_hgrid() +
cowplot::panel_border()
Figure 5.3: Densites of fish (fish/100m2) captured upstream and downstream of PSCIS crossing 125231.
my_photo1 = fpr::fpr_photo_pull_by_str(str_to_pull = 'ds_ef2_typical1')
my_caption1 = paste0('Habitat electrofished downstream of PSCIS crossing', my_site, '.')
Figure 5.4: Habitat electrofished downstream of PSCIS crossing125231.
my_photo2 = fpr::fpr_photo_pull_by_str(str_to_pull = 'us_ef1_typical1')
my_caption2 = paste0('Habitat electrofished downstream of PSCIS crossing', my_site, '.')
Figure 5.5: Habitat electrofished downstream of PSCIS crossing125231.
my_caption <- paste0('Left: ', my_caption1, ' Right: ', my_caption2)
knitr::include_graphics(my_photo1)
knitr::include_graphics("fig/pixel.png")
knitr::include_graphics(my_photo2)my_photo1 = fpr::fpr_photo_pull_by_str(str_to_pull = 'rb2')
my_caption1 = paste0('Rainbow trout captured upstream of PSCIS crossing ', my_site, '.')
Figure 5.6: Rainbow trout captured upstream of PSCIS crossing 125231.
my_photo2 = fpr::fpr_photo_pull_by_str(str_to_pull = 'rb1')
my_caption2 = paste0('Rainbow trout captured upstream of PSCIS crossing ', my_site, '.')
Figure 5.7: Rainbow trout captured upstream of PSCIS crossing 125231.
my_caption <- paste0('Left: ', my_caption1, ' Right: ', my_caption2)
knitr::include_graphics(my_photo1)
knitr::include_graphics("fig/pixel.png")
knitr::include_graphics(my_photo2)