Alaska Sustainable Salmon Fund Statement of Work

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Mildred Collins
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1 Alaska Sustainable Salmon Fund Statement of Work I. Project Title: Big Lake Spawning Distribution II. Project Number: PCSRF Objective: RM&E III. Principal Investigator: Derek Hildreth, Fishery Biologist U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Anchorage Fish and Wildlife Field Office 605 W. 4 th Ave., Room G-61 Anchorage, AK Phone: (907) derek_hildreth@fws.gov IV. Project Period: 7/1/10 5/1/11 V. Project Description 1. Synopsis The Big Lake system is a significant physical feature of northern Cook Inlet, yet very little is known about sockeye and coho salmon spawning distributions in the watershed. This project will direct efforts to identify and maintain wild salmon populations and salmon habitats by describing the watershed s run-timing and spawning distributions of sockeye and coho salmon. The results will provide needed baseline data for fishery and habitat managers. 2. Introduction A significant producer of salmon, the Big Lake watershed has been heavily developed, prompting concerns as to whether salmon habitat has been degraded such that salmon production and yield are below historic levels. The Big Lake watershed drains more than 230 km 2 within Southcentral Alaska s Cook Inlet basin. The headwaters of the watershed begin approximately 10 km northwest of Wasilla and flow westward into Big Lake. The drainage ultimately enters marine waters through Fish Creek, 23 km south of Big Lake. The Matanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su) Borough has one of the fastest growing populations in the U.S. Rapid population growth and the accompanying pressures for development will increasingly challenge the ability of fishery and land managers to balance fish habitat conservation with these changes. Maintaining healthy fish habitat, including water quality and quantity, is critical to maintaining healthy fish populations in the Big Lake watershed. Major human impacts to fish habitat in the Big Lake watershed are associated with residential development. Development and uses associated with housing and urban areas include the clearing of land, construction of buildings and septic systems, and various activities on those cleared lands, all of which can impact water-bodies. The Big Lake Spawning Distribution Page 1 of 6 1/30/2013

2 primary effects of housing and urban development on salmon and their habitat are the loss of wetlands, alteration of riparian habitat, degraded water quality, and creation of impervious surfaces. Impervious surfaces in the Meadow Creek portion of the Big Lake watershed are presently estimated at 12%. The threshold response level identified for watershed health variables in other urban areas is around 5%. Concern for how to effectively protect and restore salmon production in the face of rapid development led to the formation of the Mat-Su Basin Salmon Habitat Partnership (Partnership). The Partnership is one of only five fish habitat partnerships approved nationwide under the National Fish Habitat Action Plan (NFHAP). The Partnership has developed a Strategic Action Plan, which identifies objectives, actions, and research necessary to protect salmon and salmon habitat in the Mat-Su basin. Much of the habitat conservation efforts have focused on identification and protection of critical habitats and restoration of degraded habitats, particularly those that affect fish passage. Fish habitat protection authorities and planning processes in Alaska are constrained by the extent of current knowledge of fish distributions and their habitats. The Anchorage Fish and Wildlife Field Office initiated this project to support the Partnership s Strategic Action Plan and the NFHAP by identifying and measuring spawning habitat in this drainage. The overall goal is to provide information needed for protection and restoration of the spawning habitats in the Big Lake drainage. 3. AKSSF Objective Central: 1A-3 VI. Objectives 1. Project Objectives: a. Provide for complete enumeration of the coho salmon escapement, in addition to existing sockeye salmon enumeration, through the Fish Creek weir. b. Estimate the migratory timing profiles of coho and sockeye salmon at the point of capture in the Big Lake system from July through October. c. Estimate the sex, age, and length compositions of sockeye and coho salmon in the Big Lake system such that estimates will have a 90% probability of being within 10% of the true composition. d. Estimate the proportion of sockeye salmon spawners that utilize Meadow Creek and Fish Creek versus Big Lake, by stratum, such that strata estimates will have a maximum absolute error of 0.15 with probability e. Estimate the proportion of coho salmon spawners that utilize Meadow Creek versus Fish Creek, by stratum, such that strata estimates will have a maximum absolute error of 0.15 with probability Methods Weirs will be used to describe the migratory timing of sockeye and coho salmon in the Big Lake system and radio telemetry will be used to estimate the proportions of sockeye and coho salmon venturing into spawning areas of the Big Lake watershed. ADF&G will collect 10 fish per species per stratum to accommodate the stratified sampling design. Radio telemetry will be used to identify and track individual sockeye and coho salmon to spawning grounds. Data for age-sex-length (ASL) will be collected by ADF&G according to ADF&G standard protocol; scales will be Big Lake Spawning Distribution Page 2 of 6 1/30/2013

3 pressed and aged by ADF&G personnel (separately funded). Sockeye and coho salmon captured for ASL data-taking will be handled in water in a padded cradle. Selection will be the first 10 adults of each species having a minimum length of 400 mm, collected for ASL, during each stratum. Radio transmitters developed by Advanced Telemetry Systems, Inc. (ATS) will be gastrically implanted. Transmitters will be digitally encoded, equipped with a mortality sensor, and will not exceed 2% of the fish s body weight. Radio transmitters will be dispersed over multiple frequencies with a goal of 12 coded transmitters per frequency, with stratified deployment arranged to minimize the number of same-frequency tags being deployed in each stratum. Using the binomial probability distribution model, 10 tagged fish will minimally satisfy the criteria of objectives d and e; 10 radio transmitters will be allocated to each species in each stratum. Fixed receiver stations will be used to initially track tagged fish. Stations will include a data logging receiver (ATS model 4500), a Yagi antenna, a 12-volt deep cycle battery, a solar panel, and a voltage regulator. Data from fixed receiver stations will be downloaded weekly to a notebook computer. Mobile surveys will be used to identify spawning locations. Bi-weekly aerial surveys flown at approximately m above ground will be conducted from July through October, tracking with an ATS model 4520c receiver. A global positioning system built into the receiver will identify the latitude and longitude coordinates of each located fish. Ground-based tracking conducted from boats, rafts or inflatable kayaks, highway vehicles, allterrain vehicles, and on foot will use similar techniques. Daily weir catches will be entered into a spreadsheet. ASL characteristics of sockeye and coho salmon will be summarized by tagging strata. Length bias will be examined using a goodness of fit, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test; sex and age will be examined using a chi-square test of homogeneity. Radio telemetry information collected with various tracking methods will be integrated into one database that archives the dates, locations, and fate of radio-tagged coho salmon. Locations will be recorded as decimal latitude and longitude coordinates and displayed on a geographic coverage of the Big Creek watershed using ArcMap software. The study period for each radiotagged salmon will be defined as the number of days between transmitter implantation and the date of final radio contact or last observed movement, as indicated by the motion sensors in the radio transmitters. The collection of tagged fish known to enter the study area will constitute the sample for purposes of estimating spawning distribution from each stratum. The exact spawning location of each tagged fish will be determined, if possible. Fish determined to be harvested, dead, or to have regurgitated tags will be excluded from the study. Fish whose spawning location cannot be determined with reasonable certainty will be placed into an unknown category. The usual unbiased estimators of the probabilities of the multinomial distribution will be used to estimate the spawning distribution of all sockeye and coho salmon passing the capture site during each stratum. A finite population correction will not be calculated, as the strata sample sizes for each species are expected to be small relative to the total number of fish expected to migrate past the weir during the period of sampling. Big Lake Spawning Distribution Page 3 of 6 1/30/2013

4 Spawning locations will be defined based on the tracking results. A tagged fish that migrates to a particular location and remains in the area for an extended period of time (> 1 week) without activating the mortality sensor will be considered to have identified a potential spawning location. The hypothesis that the distribution of spawners is identical among all strata will be tested using chi-square tests of homogeneity. Given the relatively small stratum sample size and the potential existence of small spawning aggregations, the stratum-by-location contingency table is expected to be sparse and the distribution of the Pearson test statistic for a test of homogeneity may not be well approximated by a chi-square distribution. For that reason, the statistical significance of chi-square tests of homogeneity will be estimated using re-sampling techniques. Prior to commencement of project activity, PI will obtain ADF&G Fish Collection, Fish Resource, Fish Transport, and/or other required permits, as appropriate. VII. Benefits Improved understanding of salmon spawning habitat use in the Big Lake watershed will enhance fish habitat management on the Big Lake system as well as fisheries management in Upper Cook Inlet. By identifying and mapping locations of essential salmon spawning and incubating habitat, local land managers will be better informed to protect salmon habitat from current and future development in the Big Lake watershed. VIII. Products, Milestones, and Timelines May June 2010: Procure equipment and permits (funded separately). June July 2010: Crew training and preparation (funded separately). July September 2010: Sockeye and coho tagging. August October 2011: Telemetry searches. October 2010 February 2011: Data analysis. March 2011: Draft report for review. May 2011: Final report published. PI will submit PCSRF performance metrics, semiannual, and project completion reports according to the AKSSF schedule, as well as copies of any other report/product/ deliverable produced with this funding. All invoices will be submitted for payment within 30 days of the project end date in accordance with the current AKSSF invoicing P&P. Any report or product distributed as a result of this funding will include the following language: This [report/video/website] was prepared by [recipient/author name] under award NA07NMF from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, administered by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Department of Commerce, or the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Big Lake Spawning Distribution Page 4 of 6 1/30/2013

5 IX. Partners ADF&G X. Project Budget USFWS FY11 Total 100 Personnel $37,250 $37, Travel $0 $0 300 Contractual $0 $0 400 Supplies $0 $0 500 Equipment $0 $0 Subtotal $37,250 $37,250 USFWS 22% $8,195 Project Direct Total $45,445 ADF&G 3% $1,363 Project Total $46,808 Budget Narrative: Line 100: Personnel Personnel costs are for the following USFWS non-permanent positions that were hired or retained specifically for this project: Crew Leader: 40 hours/week for 20 $22.75/hour plus 8 hours/week overtime for 20 $34.13/hour: (40 x 20 * $22.75 = $18,200) + (8 x 20 x $34.13 = $5,461) = $23,661 Biological Science Technician: 40 hours/week for 18 $16.90/hour plus 8 hours/week for 7 $25.37/hour: (40 x 18 x $16.90 = $12,168) + (8 x 7 x $25.37 = 1,421) = 13,589. Total: $37,250 Line 600: Indirect: USFWS s indirect cost recovery rate is 22%. USFWS contracting contact: Bob Leonard US Fish & Wildlife Service Phone: (907) ; Bob_Leonard@fws.gov The indirect rate accepted at the time of project set-up will not be increased during the life of the project regardless of whether the organization s indirect rate increases during that time. This project will not fund any federal employee s salary that is also being paid through other sources (no duplicate funding). Big Lake Spawning Distribution Page 5 of 6 1/30/2013

6 Budget adjustments between line items are allowed for amounts equal to or less than 10% of the total award without prior AKSSF approval; any amount above 10% requires prior AKSSF approval. All costs in lines must represent actual cash expenditures. All expenses shall be adequately documented and filed. All invoices shall be submitted for payment within 30 days of the project end date. Invoices submitted after that deadline will not be reimbursed. Expenses incurred after the project end date will not be reimbursed. Big Lake Spawning Distribution Page 6 of 6 1/30/2013

Alaska Sustainable Salmon Fund Statement of Work

Alaska Sustainable Salmon Fund Statement of Work I. Project Title: Gulkana River Chinook Escapement Phase 1 II. Project Number: PCSRF Objective: RM&E III. Principal Investigator Scott Maclean, Assistant