Protecting and Restoring Habitat for Salish sucker and Nooksack Dace in the Fraser Valley

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1 Protecting and Restoring Habitat for Salish sucker and Nooksack Dace in the Fraser Valley Mike Pearson, Ph.D, R.P.Bio. Pearson Ecological

2 Salish Sucker (Catostomus sp.)

3 Global Distribution

4 Canadian Distribution

5 Habitat by Life Stage Spawning Adult Juvenile

6 March Oct April May June July Aug Sept Nov Spawning Period % Gravid % Ripe % Females

7 Distribution Within Watersheds A small amount of habitat supports most of the population Kilometers These hotspots are clumped together

8 Movement Patterns

9 Nooksack Dace (Rhinichthys cataractae ssp.)

10 Global Distribution # # # % Victoria Vancouver % Fraser River # # # # # # %# # # # Nooksack River # # Skagit River Seattle # # # # # # ## # # # # # % Olympia # # # Portland % Columbia River

11 Canadian Distribution 1: Brunette River 2: Bertand Creek 3: Pepin Brook 4: Fishtrap Creek

12 Nooksack Dace Habitat Adults prefer riffles with large substrate. Juveniles inhabit shallow pools beside riffles for their first summer

13 Distance Moved (m) Movement Patterns Time Interval (days)

14 Spawning Season % Total Catch (3) (3) (10) (2) (11) (5) (10) High Low Gravid 0.0 F M F M F M F M F M F M Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep

15 Both Species: 1. High intrinsic rate of population growth. small body size early maturation protracted (multiple?) spawning periods. 2. Probably exist as metapopulations. Populations are spatially clumped Most individuals have a small home range. Some individuals explore more widely Most are reluctant to cross minor barriers

16 Current Status Fewer than 10 populations Dangerously low numbers in some watersheds Recent extirpations documented Endangered under Species at Risk Act

17 The Historic Landscape Since % of Fraser Valley wetlands have been lost 15% of streams no longer exist Prior to 1827 Most of the Fraser (From Boyle et al. 1997) Valley was in old growth conifer

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20 Gordon s Brook: A stream restoration project in Aldergrove Lake Regional Park Mike Pearson mike@pearsonecological.com

21 Gordon s Brook, Langley, 2001

22 2004

23 Adding complexity with large woody debris

24 Riparian Planting 600 volunteer hours 3000 plants 23 species

25 Gordon s Brook, Langley August 2001 November 2001 September 2002

26 Gordon s Brook, Langley August 2002 March 2002 October 2002 November 2004

27 Salish Sucker Density 30 Frequency Aug.-Sep fish/trap (n=20) Sept fish/trap N= CPUE

28 Hand clearing channel Dealing with Canary Grass Excavation Fish Salvage Habitat Complexing

29 Restore Riparian Areas South or West North or East

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32 Fish Habitat and Flood Control Traditional ditch cleaning degrades or destroys fish habitat

33 The Problem Degraded Fish Habitat Little habitat structure Low oxygen due to overgrowth with canary grass Degraded Agricultural Land Poor drainage due to overgrowth with canary grass

34 Mountain Slough Overgrown Channel Aggrading Channel Last drainage maintenance was 25 years ago District s proposals turned down by DFO four years straight

35 Very Rich Biodiversity Oregon spotted frog Coho Salmon Salish sucker Red-Legged Frog Chum Salmon Oregon forestsnail Cutthroat Trout Great Blue Heron

36 Reconstruction of 1800 m of Channel August 2005 October 2005

37 Reconstruction of 1800 m of Channel

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39 McCallum Confluence, 2006

40 Westlin Farm, 2007

41 Native Trees Program

42 Habitat Protection under SARA Critical Habitat: is the habitat that is: 1. necessary for the survival or recovery of listed wildlife species 2. and that is identified as the species' critical habitat in the recovery strategy or in an action plan for the species. Must be identified to the extent possible in a recovery strategy.

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46 Species at Risk and Local Government: A Primer for British Columbia Mike Pearson Michael C. Healey Hosted by the Stewardship Centre of BC.

47 Thank You! George Feddes, Pepindale Nursery Langley Environmental Partners Society Matt Foy, DFO Maggie Smith Detmar Schwichtenberg. Joan Pearson John Paul Palmer Institute for Resources and Environment, UBC Habitat Stewardship Program Urban Salmon Habitat Program Habitat Conservation Trust Fund