Fern Creek - 125261 - Appendix
Site Location
PSCIS crossing 125261 is located on Fern Creek near the 2.1km mark of the Chuchinka-Table FSR approximately 300m upstream from the confluence with the Parsnip River. Canfor Corporation are forest licensees within the watershed with the Ministry of Forests as the road tenure holder.
Background
The site was originally prioritized for replacement through this project in 2022 - 2023, following a habitat confirmation assessment which can be found here (A. Irvine and Wintersheidt 2023). Originally drafted to record 2023/2024 field activities, this memo has been updated in 2025 with ongoing revisions tracked here.
At crossing 125261, is a fourth order stream with a watershed area upstream of the crossing of approximately 23.5km2. The elevation of the watershed ranges from a maximum of 1137m to 730m near the crossing (Table 5.8). Fish species confirmed upstream of the FSR include burbot, rainbow trout, bull trout, sucker, reside shiner, dace and chub (Norris [2018] 2024; MoE 2024). A total of 148ha of lake and 37ha of wetland are modelled upstream. This includes Fern Lakes, a collection of three lakes that have a combined area of approximately 138ha. The outlet of the first lake in the chain is 3.3km upstream of the FSR.
Metal baffles - historically installed within the structure - indicate that there have been fish passage restoration efforts at this crossing in the past. The pipe appears undersized for the crossing, indicated by downcutting at the outlet and high flow velocities within the structure. Flows appear to be too high for the baffles to retain substrate and function effectively. Although larger fish are likely able to ascend through the crossing (depending on size of the fish, swimming ability and flow levels at the time of upstream migration) the crossing is still considered a barrier to fish passage and likely blocks migration of all juvenile life stages at all flows. Crossing characteristics are described in detail here.
A summary of habitat modelling outputs is presented in Table 5.9. A map of the watershed is provided in map attachment 093J.119.
Canfor procured preliminary engineering designs for a replacement clear-span bridge structure for crossing 125261 through internal Canfor funding. The preliminary design can be viewed and downloaded from here. The cost of replacement was estimated at $430,000 however this figure can be considered preliminary and subject to change.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 125261 | 23.5 | 730 | 1137 | 844 | 835 | SSW |
| * Elev P60 = Elevation at which 60% of the watershed area is above |
| Habitat | Potential | Remediation Gain | Remediation Gain (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| BT Rearing (km) | 14.4 | 2.7 | 19 |
| BT Spawning (km) | 4.3 | 2.7 | 63 |
| BT Network (km) | 48.3 | 6.9 | 14 |
| BT Stream (km) | 38.4 | 6.0 | 16 |
| BT Lake Reservoir (ha) | 148.1 | 0.0 | 0 |
| BT Wetland (ha) | 36.6 | 14.9 | 41 |
| BT Slopeclass03 (km) | 7.2 | 2.7 | 38 |
| BT Slopeclass05 (km) | 14.9 | 1.3 | 9 |
| BT Slopeclass08 (km) | 3.9 | 1.0 | 26 |
| BT Slopeclass15 (km) | 11.5 | 1.1 | 10 |
| * Model data is preliminary and subject to adjustments. |
5.3 Aerial Imagery
A survey was conducted with a remotely piloted aircraft with resulting images stitched into an orthomosaic presented in Figures 5.12 - 5.13.
model_url <- '<iframe src="https://www.mapsmadeeasy.com/maps/public/1237da97892043aaabca5bed64336ef9" 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 125261 on Fern Creek before replacement.')
knitr::include_graphics(my_photo, dpi = NA)
Figure 5.12: Orthomosaic of PSCIS crossing 125261 on Fern Creek before replacement.
model_url <- '<iframe src="https://www.mapsmadeeasy.com/maps/public_3D/1237da97892043aaabca5bed64336ef9" 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 125261 on Fern Creek before replacement.')
knitr::include_graphics(my_photo, dpi = NA)Figure 5.13: 3D model of PSCIS crossing 125261 on Fern Creek before replacement.
Fish Sampling
A total six sites were sampled in the vicinity of crossing 125261 with three sites located upstream and three sites located downstream of the Chuckinka-Table FSR. Electrofishing results are summarised in Tables 5.10 - 5.11 and Figure 5.14. A total of 48 fish were captured upstream, and 37 fish were captured downstream. Fish species upstream included primarily rainbow trout with some sculpin. Downstream species assemblage was more diverse including rainbow trout, sculpin, burbot and suckers (Figures 5.15 - 5.18). Length and weight was collected for all fish captured. Rainbow trout and burbot measured with a fork length greater than 60mm were also tagged with Passive Integrated Transponders (PIT tags) (Figures 5.19 - 5.20). Data collected can be accessed here.
5.4 Conclusion
Replacement of PSCIS crossing 125261 on Fern Creek is a priority for this overall project as this is a large system likely containing 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.
Recapture of fish PIT tagged during 2023 fieldwork will build our understanding of fish movement and health at the site with information collected useful for monitoring the effectiveness of crossing replacement. Additionally, aerial imagery and 3D models can be used to monitor changes in stream morphology and effectiveness of environmental management plans as well as site rehabilitation efforts following construction. The work is tentatively scheduled for 2025 with engineering design led by Canfor.
# Due to uncertainties related to timber extraction in the greater Table River watershed (see section on [Challenges and
# Uncertainties](#challenges-opportunities), Canfor has expressed uncertainty around replacement of the structure in 2025.
# Restoration of fish passage at Fern Creek is a priority for this overall project and we will explore options for
# replacement of the structure including (among others) acquisition of addition funds from other sources to fund more than
# 50% of the project costs.
fpr_table_fish_site()| site | passes | ef_length_m | ef_width_m | area_m2 | enclosure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 125261_ds_ef1 | 1 | 21 | 4.3 | 90.3 | open |
| 125261_ds_ef2 | 1 | 35 | 3.5 | 122.5 | open |
| 125261_ds_ef3 | 1 | 14 | 2.8 | 39.2 | open |
| 125261_us_ef1 | 1 | 13 | 3.8 | 49.4 | open |
| 125261_us_ef2 | 1 | 18 | 2.4 | 43.2 | open |
| 125261_us_ef3 | 1 | 16 | 4.3 | 68.8 | open |
| local_name | species_code | life_stage | catch | density_100m2 | nfc_pass |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 125261_ds_ef1 | CC | – | 1 | 1.1 | FALSE |
| 125261_ds_ef1 | RB | fry | 8 | 8.9 | FALSE |
| 125261_ds_ef1 | RB | parr | 6 | 6.6 | FALSE |
| 125261_ds_ef1 | RB | juvenile | 1 | 1.1 | FALSE |
| 125261_ds_ef2 | RB | fry | 5 | 4.1 | FALSE |
| 125261_ds_ef2 | RB | parr | 5 | 4.1 | FALSE |
| 125261_ds_ef3 | BB | – | 3 | 7.7 | FALSE |
| 125261_ds_ef3 | CC | – | 3 | 7.7 | FALSE |
| 125261_ds_ef3 | RB | fry | 2 | 5.1 | FALSE |
| 125261_ds_ef3 | RB | parr | 2 | 5.1 | FALSE |
| 125261_ds_ef3 | SU | – | 1 | 2.6 | FALSE |
| 125261_us_ef1 | CC | – | 4 | 8.1 | FALSE |
| 125261_us_ef1 | RB | fry | 7 | 14.2 | FALSE |
| 125261_us_ef1 | RB | parr | 2 | 4.0 | FALSE |
| 125261_us_ef2 | CC | – | 1 | 2.3 | FALSE |
| 125261_us_ef2 | RB | fry | 2 | 4.6 | FALSE |
| 125261_us_ef2 | RB | parr | 3 | 6.9 | FALSE |
| 125261_us_ef2 | RB | juvenile | 1 | 2.3 | FALSE |
| 125261_us_ef2 | RB | adult | 1 | 2.3 | FALSE |
| 125261_us_ef3 | CC | – | 8 | 11.6 | FALSE |
| 125261_us_ef3 | RB | fry | 16 | 23.3 | FALSE |
| 125261_us_ef3 | RB | parr | 1 | 1.5 | FALSE |
| 125261_us_ef3 | RB | juvenile | 2 | 2.9 | 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 5.14: Densites of fish (fish/100m2) captured upstream and downstream of PSCIS crossing 125261.
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 5.15: Habitat electrofished downstream of PSCIS crossing125261.
my_photo2 = fpr::fpr_photo_pull_by_str(str_to_pull = '_us_ef3_bottom')
my_caption2 = paste0('Habitat electrofished upstream of PSCIS crossing', my_site, '.')
Figure 5.16: Habitat electrofished upstream of PSCIS crossing125261.
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 = '_rb1_')
my_caption1 = paste0('Rainbow trout captured downstream of PSCIS crossing ', my_site, '.')
Figure 5.17: Rainbow trout captured downstream of PSCIS crossing 125261.
my_photo2 = fpr::fpr_photo_pull_by_str(str_to_pull = '_bb1_')
my_caption2 = paste0('Burbot captured downstream of PSCIS crossing ', my_site, '.')
Figure 5.18: Burbot captured downstream of PSCIS crossing 125261.
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 = '_lw_')
my_caption1 = paste0('Collecting length and weight of all fish captured at Fern Creek.')
Figure 5.19: Collecting length and weight of all fish captured at Fern Creek.
my_photo2 = fpr::fpr_photo_pull_by_str(str_to_pull = '_pt1_')
my_caption2 = paste0('PIT taggging rainbow trout and burbot >60mm fork length at Fern Creek.')
Figure 5.20: PIT taggging rainbow trout and burbot >60mm fork length at Fern Creek.
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)