Identifying Areas with Potential to Contain High Value Fish Habitat (HVFH) June 2007 1
High Value Fish Habitat INTENT: To apply added precautionary protection to those special areas deemed of high value to fish. Where other EBM conservation measures (such as requirements for AFU s) and FRPA requirements do not seem to be adequate. 2
Definition of High Value Fish Habitat NANWAKOLAS (Central Coast) (a) Estuaries, including eel grass beds, and salmonid and eulachon rearing areas (b) Wet floodplains, including high water refuge areas and mainstem salmonid and eulachon spawning habitats, as well as off-channel habitats used for rearing and spawning (c) Marine habitats, including shallow intertidal areas, kelp beds, herring spawn areas, and other near-shore habitats used by marine invertebrates for reproduction and rearing (d) Critical habitat for fish species at risk, including the Bull trout (e) Lakes that function as spawning or rearing habitat or as waterways that connect to other habitats listed in paragraphs (a) to (d) COASTAL FIRST NATIONS (North Coast) (a) Estuaries (b) Wet floodplains and stream reaches that contain high water refuge areas and mainstem salmonid or eulachon spawning habitats, as well as off-channel habitats used for spawning or rearing (c) Shorelines and marine habitats that contain shallow intertidal areas, kelp beds, herring spawn areas and other near-shore habitats used by marine invertebrates (d) Critical habitat for fish species at risk (e) Lakes that function as spawning or rearing habitat or as waterways that connect to other habitats listed in paragraphs (a) to (d) 3
CFCI Challenge: High Value Fish Habitat Existing fish habitat inventories generally do not identify high value fish habitat (HVFH). Mapping of stream channel types and active floodplains has not been done for most areas. Until inventories are available, an approach is needed to identify, at the planning level, areas within a watershed that could potentially contain HVFH. 4
High Value Fish Habitat Premise: HVFH will be associated with alluvial streams, their active floodplains, lake shorelines, and estuaries extending to the upper tidal limit. 5
Purpose: High Value Fish Habitat Identify areas at the watershed scale (1:20,000) with a potential to contain HVFH sites. Approach: Use a coarse filter based on GIS data, airphoto interpretation and known fish information to overpredict the possible presence of HVFH sites. 6
HVFH Watershed Assessment Steps 1. Prioritize areas with development planned within the next 5 years. 2. If watershed units are not predefined, delineate watersheds and select planning units. 3. Use GIS to delineate areas with potential to contain HVFH. 4. Classify channel types using airphoto interpretation. 5. Add known fish information. 6. Narrow the possible range of HVFH. 7. To define the estuary, determine the upper limit of tidal influence. 8. Generate final coarse filter map. 7
If Fluvial Units have been mapped, this information can be included at this stage as well to help predict where alluvial streams may be present. 8
Step 4. Classify stream channel types. 9
Step 5 & 6. Add known information on fish. If upper limits of fish are confirmed, eliminate areas beyond the limits of fish. 10
Note for HVFH Active fluvial units (alluvial streams, floodplains and fans) upstream of the upper limits of fish habitat would have reserves and buffers under other provisions of the Ministerial Orders. 11
Step 7. Define estuary limit. From TRIM contours, plot channel gradient and determine upper limit of tidal reach. Use mean high tide for nearest station. Elevation, m (from TRIM contours) 4.5 m = mean high tide 400 m = tidal limit upstream from outlet Distance from outlet, m 12
Step 7. Assign reach breaks, show tidal limit and estuary. 13
Step 8. Final content to display in coarse filter product: Slope areas <10% 30 m lakeshore zone Stream channel types Fluvial units if available Known fish information such as upper limits of anadromous, upper limits of fish, lakes with fish Tidal limit Reach breaks 14
HVFH - Summary This process is a coarse filter to identify areas that could potentially contain High Value Fish Habitat. Identification of channel types, active floodplains, lakeshore zones, the upper limit of estuaries, etc. would need to be confirmed on site. The occurrence of HVFH will be different in different watersheds. Some watersheds may have numerous HVFH sites; other watersheds may have few. This approach applies only to the mid and north coast areas that are covered by the Ministerial Orders. 15
HVFH - Direction for 2007 NANWAKOLAS DEFINITION OF HVFH Minimum standard for all CFCI companies. This definition more accurately reflects the CIT s Hydroriparian Guide description of HVFH. COASTAL FIRST NATIONS DEFINITION Individual Licensees may wish to use this definition. 16
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HVFH - 2007 Default Guidance: ALL - Retain 100% of the natural riparian forest within a default buffer of 1.5 dominant tree heights either side of the HVFH. May reduce or alter the amount of forest in the buffer by 5% for: for road access, other infrastructure, or to address a safety concern. 18
HVFH - 2007 Default Guidance: ALL - Where some of the forest within the reserve has been previously altered or harvested recruit riparian forest in the reserve zone to the extent practicable. This is challenging at best on most sites This is also costly not clear who is to bear the costs. FOR NOW - if observed, note the occurrence for future considerations and/or discussion. 19