South Yuzkli Creek - 196332 - Appendix
Site Location
PSCIS crossing 196332 is located on South Yuzkli Creek , approximately 50km northeast of Quesnel, BC, in the Willow River watershed group (Figure ??). The crossing is located 1.1km upstream of the stream’s confluence with Yuzkli Creek, which flows into the Willow River. The crossing is located on 24 Y Road and is situated under West Fraser Mills Ltd. road tenure R14273 100S.
Background
At PSCIS crossing 196332, South Yuzkli Creek is a second order stream and drains a watershed of approximately 5.1km2. The watershed ranges in elevation from a maximum of 1636m to 1218m near the crossing (Table 5.12).
PSCIS crossing 196332 was first assessed with a fish passage assessment in 2014 by Hooft (2015) and ranked as a barrier to fish passage with medium value habitat documented. The crossing was reassessed in 2025 and a habitat confirmation assessment was conducted due to the presence of medium value habitat and bull trout documented just downstream of the crossing in 2014 (Norris [2018] 2024; MoE 2024).
A summary of habitat modelling outputs for the crossing are presented in Table 5.13.
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 Min | Elev Max | Elev Median | Elev P60 | Aspect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 196332 | 5.1 | 1218 | 1200 | 1636 | 1417 | 1398 | SW |
| * Elev P60 = Elevation at which 60% of the watershed area is above |
| Habitat | Potential | Remediation Gain | Remediation Gain (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| BT Rearing (km) | 2.8 | 2.8 | 100 |
| BT Spawning (km) | 0.0 | 0.0 | – |
| BT Network (km) | 6.1 | 4.7 | 77 |
| BT Stream (km) | 5.9 | 4.6 | 78 |
| BT Lake Reservoir (ha) | 0.0 | 0.0 | – |
| BT Wetland (ha) | 0.9 | 0.1 | 11 |
| BT Slopeclass03 (km) | 0.6 | 0.6 | 100 |
| BT Slopeclass05 (km) | 1.6 | 1.6 | 100 |
| BT Slopeclass08 (km) | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0 |
| BT Slopeclass15 (km) | 2.9 | 2.4 | 83 |
| * Model data is preliminary and subject to adjustments. |
Stream Characteristics at Crossing 196332
At the time of the 2025 assessment, PSCIS crossing 196332 on 24 Y Road was un-embedded, non-backwatered and ranked as barrier to upstream fish passage according to the provincial protocol (MoE 2011) (Table 5.14). The culvert had a 0.6m outlet drop and a 0.7m deep outlet pool.
The water temperature was 2\(^\circ\)C, pH was 7.2 and conductivity was 116 uS/cm.
| Location and Stream Data |
|
Crossing Characteristics | – |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 2025-10-05 | Crossing Sub Type | Round Culvert |
| PSCIS ID | 196332 | Diameter (m) | 1.2 |
| External ID | – | Length (m) | 23 |
| Crew | AI | Embedded | No |
| UTM Zone | 10 | Depth Embedded (m) | – |
| Easting | 578271 | Resemble Channel | – |
| Northing | 5895125 | Backwatered | No |
| Stream | South Yuzkli Creek | Percent Backwatered | – |
| Road | 24 Y Road | Fill Depth (m) | 3 |
| Road Tenure | W Fraser R14273 100S | Outlet Drop (m) | 0.6 |
| Channel Width (m) | 3.4 | Outlet Pool Depth (m) | 0.7 |
| Stream Slope (%) | 8 | Inlet Drop | Yes |
| Beaver Activity | No | Slope (%) | 6.5 |
| Habitat Value | Medium | Valley Fill | Deep Fill |
| Final score | 39 | Barrier Result | Barrier |
| Fix type | Replace with New Open Bottom Structure | Fix Span / Diameter | 15 |
| Comments: Steep pipe with large outlet drop. Prioritized in Hooft 2015. Bull Trout documented just downstream of the crossing in 2014. | |||
| Photos: From top left clockwise: Road/Site Card, Barrel, Outlet, Downstream, Upstream, Inlet. | |||
|
Stream Characteristics Downstream of Crossing 196332
The stream was surveyed downstream from crossing 196332 for 220m (Figure 5.8). The habitat was rated as medium value for salmonid spawning and rearing. The stream was steep with numerous step-pool features formed by large woody debris ranging from 40–60cm in height. Shallow pools were present, typically 30–40cm deep, with boulder and overhead cover distributed throughout. Total cover amount was rated as moderate with boulders dominant. Cover was also present as small woody debris, large woody debris, undercut banks, deep pools, and overhanging vegetation.The dominant substrate was cobbles with boulders sub-dominant.The average channel width was 3.4m, the average wetted width was 2.6m, and the average gradient was 7.8%.
Stream Characteristics Upstream of Crossing 196332
The stream was surveyed upstream from crossing 196332 for 400m (Figure 5.9). The habitat was rated as medium value. The dominant substrate was cobbles with boulders sub-dominant.The average channel width was 3m, the average wetted width was 2.3m, and the average gradient was 8.8%.Total cover amount was rated as moderate with boulders dominant. Cover was also present as small woody debris, large woody debris, undercut banks, and overhanging vegetation. The stream was steep with good flow and numerous step-pool features ranging from 30–50cm in height. Shallow pools were 30–40cm deep with pockets of gravel suitable for resident bull trout spawning. Large woody debris was abundant throughout.
Environmental DNA Sampling
eDNA samples were collected both upstream and downstream of crossing 196332 on 24 Y Road, with sampling techniques summarized in Table 5.15.
my_caption <- paste0("Summary of eDNA samples collected at site ", my_site, ".")
tab_edna |>
dplyr::filter(site == my_site) |>
dplyr::select(-site) |>
dplyr::arrange(Site) |>
fpr_kable(caption_text = my_caption, scroll = FALSE)| Site | Stream | Habitat Type | Sample Method | Filter Type | Filter Size (um) | Volume filtered (L) | Site Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 196332_ds_ed1 | S. Yuzkli Creek | – | grab | mce | 1 | 1.9 | 220m downstream of culvert on 24 Y Road. Left bank. |
| 196332_us_ed1 | S. Yuzkli Creek | riffle | grab | mce | 1 | 1.9 | Immediately upstream of culvert on 24 Y Road. Left bank. |
Structure Remediation and Cost Estimate
Should restoration/maintenance activities proceed, replacement of the 24 Y Road crossing (196332) with a bridge (15m span) is recommended. At the time of reporting in 2025, the cost of the work is estimated at $450,000.
Conclusion
The habitat upstream of PSCIS crossing 196332 on 24 Y Road was documented as medium value for salmonid spawning and rearing, and the crossing is rated as a high priority for replacement due to the large outlet drop and presence of bull trout documented downstream of the crossing.
tab_hab_summary |>
dplyr::filter(Site %in% c(my_site)) |>
fpr::fpr_kable(caption_text = paste0("Summary of habitat details for PSCIS crossing ", my_site, "."),
scroll = F) | Site | Location | Length Surveyed (m) | Average Channel Width (m) | Average Wetted Width (m) | Average Pool Depth (m) | Average Gradient (%) | Total Cover | Habitat Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 196332 | Downstream | 220 | 3.4 | 2.6 | 0.3 | 7.8 | moderate | medium |
| 196332 | Upstream | 400 | 3.0 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 8.8 | moderate | medium |
my_photo1 = fpr::fpr_photo_pull_by_str(str_to_pull = 'ds_typical_1_')
my_caption1 = paste0('Typical habitat downstream of PSCIS crossing ', my_site, '.')
Figure 5.8: Typical habitat downstream of PSCIS crossing 196332.
my_photo2 = fpr::fpr_photo_pull_by_str(str_to_pull = 'us_typical_1_')
my_caption2 = paste0('Typical habitat upstream of PSCIS crossing ', my_site, '.')
Figure 5.9: Typical habitat upstream of PSCIS crossing 196332.
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)