Review of Fish and Fish Habitat Information from the Bearberry Creek Drainage. Alberta Conservation Kevin Fitzsimmons 1 2005 1 Alberta Conservation Association, Box 1420, Cochrane, Alberta, Canada, T4C 1B4
TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents... ii List of Figures... iii List of Tables... iii 1.0 Introduction...1 2.0 Background...1 3.0 Bearberry Creek Physiography...5 4.0 Fish and Fish Habitat Studies in the Bearberry Creek Drainage...8 4.1 Fish Stocking History...10 4.2 Brief Surveys...10 4.3 Detailed Surveys...14 4.4 Annecdotal Information...17 5.0 Summary and Discussion...18 6.0 Literature Cited...20 7.0 Appendicies...21 ii
LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Bearberry Creek, its major tributaries, and general location in Alberta....3 Figure 2. Current and historical location of Bearberry Creek near the Town of Sundre, Alberta....4 Figure 3. Gradient profile for Bearberry Creek, Smith Creek and Walton Creek...6 Figure 4. Discharge patterns in Bearberry Creek. Five day moving average for 1978 2004 and daily average for 2005....7 Figure 5. Location and dates of fish inventory sites in the Bearberry Creek drainage for which locations are known...9 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Summary of fish stocking in the Bearberry Creek Drainage...10 Table 2. Summary of fish and habitat information collected during brief surveys in the Bearberry Creek drainage...11 Table 3. Fish numbers and species captured by the Alberta Conservation Association in the Bearberry Creek drainage in 2005....17 iii
1.0 INTRODUCTION Bearberry Creek is a small stream in the foothills of Alberta that drains into the Red Deer River in the Town of Sundre, Alberta (Figure 1). Over the past half century land use practices and a loss of connectivity with the Red Deer River have degraded the condition of riparian and aquatic habitat in the Bearberry Creek drainage. As of 2004, Bearberry Creek has been reconnected to the Red Deer River, stimulating considerable interest in riparian and aquatic habitat restoration in the Bearberry Creek drainage. The purpose of this activity report is to provide a summary of current and historical fish and fish habitat data from the Bearberry Creek drainage for the purpose of planning habitat restoration projects in the Bearberry Creek drainage. The specific objectives of this report are to: Summarize the geophysical aspects of Bearberry Creek. Summarize the available fish and fish habitat information from the Bearberry Creek drainage. Provide a summary of factors leading to the degradation of fish habitat and the change in fish communities over the past 100 year Accompanying this activity report is Appendix 1; a PowerPoint presentation summarizing the information contained in this report. This presentation is intended for use in engaging stakeholders in discussion and planning of aquatic and riparian habitat restoration projects in the Bearberry Creek drainage. 2.0 BACKGROUND Bearberry Creek originates approximately 30 km west northwest of the Town of Sundre, Alberta and flows to its confluence with the Red Deer River within the corporate limits of Sundre (Figure 1). Available information indicates that Bearberry Creek was once a productive stream supporting bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus), brook trout (S. fontinalis), brown trout (Salmo trutta), rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni), northern pike (Esox lucius) and burbot (Lota lota). Non sport fish, such as lake chub (Couesius plumbeus), suckers (Catostomus spp), trout perch (Percopsis omiscomaycus), sculpin (Cottus spp), and dace (Rhinichtys spp.) have been observed in the Bearberry Creek drainage. Records also indicate that fish habitat conditions throughout the Bearberry Creek drainage have been degraded over the past half century. Historically, Bearberry Creek meandered through the Town of Sundre to the Red Deer River south of Highway 27 (Figure 2). In the 1950s, frequent flooding of Bearberry Creek caused property damage in Sundre and prompted channelization of the creek to provide flood control. The 1
channelization process created a north channel, where Bearberry Creeks now flows to its confluence with the Red Deer River north of Highway 27 (Figure 2). The sinuous south channel was burmed to prevent overland flow. This channel now contains low, but continuous flow from groundwater sources through the historic channel to the Red Deer River. Over time, the channelized section of Bearberry Creek experienced erosional headcutting. To abate this erosion, a sheet pile weir was constructed on Bearberry Creek in 1979. This weir remains a total barrier to upstream fish migration into the drainage. Continued headcutting since 1979 necessitated repairs to the existing weir and the construction of a new weir immediately downstream of the existing structure. As part of the 2004 repair and construction process, a fish bypass channel was constructed utilizing an abandoned oxbow as the channel (Figure 2). This passageway has reconnected Bearberry Creek to the Red Deer River system and permitted the first upstream fish migration in 25 years. 2
Figure 1. Bearberry Creek, its major tributaries, and general location in Alberta. 3
Review of Fish and Fish Habitat Information from the Bearberry Creek Drainage. Alberta Conservation Figure 2. Current and historical location of Bearberry Creek near the Town of Sundre, Alberta. 4
3.0 BEARBERRY CREEK PHYSIOGRAPHY Bearberry Creek originates at an elevation of approximately 1410 m on Old Baldy Mountain (Figure 1) and flows east southeast for approximately 69 km to a confluence with the Red Deer River within the Town of Sundre. Bearberry Creek has three named tributaries, Kelly, Barry, and Smith creeks. Smith Creek has Walton Creek as a tributary, which in turn has Elder and Whiskey creeks as tributary streams (Figure 1). The majority of Bearberry Creek is of low gradient (Figure 3). The exception to this is the uppermost section of Bearberry Creek and its tributaries, which are of moderate to high gradient (Figure 3). Bearberry Creek and its tributaries drain an area of approximately 260 km 2. Bearberry Creek is a fifth order stream (Strahler 1957) based upon the Alberta base data single line hydro network. Stream discharge patterns for Bearberry Creek are shown in Figure 4. In general, the discharge in Bearberry Creek is prone to rapid fluctuation within a short time period as illustrated by the discharge patterns for 2005 where, on several occasions, stream discharge rose by orders of magnitude over the course of a day. The majority of Bearberry Creek and its tributaries are within the Lower Boreal Cordilleran ecoregion (Strong and Leggat 1992). The lower 10 km of the Bearberry Creek mainstem is, however, in the Low Boreal Mixedwood ecoregion (Strong and Leggat, 1992). Climatic conditions of these ecoregions are continental, with a large range between summer and winter temperatures. Average temperatures in the Lower Boreal Cordilleran and the Low Boreal Mixedwood ecoregion ranges from 12.8 C to 13.8 C respectively in the summer and from 7.8 C to 10.5 C respectively in the winter (Strong and Leggat 1992). Average precipitation in these ecoregions is 422 mm per year, with roughly two thirds of this occurring in the summer months. The Lower Boreal Cordilleran ecoregion contains a diverse arboreal community dominated by various deciduous trees at lower elevations and coniferous trees in higher elevations. The arboreal vegetation in the Low Boreal Mixedwood ecoregion is dominated by trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) and white spruce (Picea glauca). Land use in the Lower Boreal Cordilleran and the Low Boreal Mixedwood ecoregions consists of agricultural use (mainly grazing and forage crop production), tree harvesting, and oil and gas exploration and extraction (Strong and Leggat 1992). 5
1500 1450 1400 1350 Bearberry Creek Smith Creek Walton Creek Elevation (m) 1300 1250 1200 1150 1100 1050 1000 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Distance (km) Figure 3. Gradient profile for Bearberry Creek, Smith Creek and Walton Creek. 6
1000 5 day moving average 1978-2004 Daily average 2005 Log Stream Discharge m 3 /s 100 10 1 0.1 Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Month Figure 4. Discharge patterns in Bearberry Creek. Five day moving average for 1978 2004 and daily average for 2005. 7
4.0 FISH AND FISH HABITAT STUDIES IN THE BEARBERRY CREEK DRAINAGE Review of files housed by Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, Fisheries Management, Rocky Mountain House and queries of the Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, Fisheries Management and Fish Culture Information System indicates that records of fish and fish habitat surveys in the Bearberry Creek drainage date back 67 years to 1938. Data available for Bearberry Creek can be summarized into the following four categories: Fish stocking history Brief surveys Detailed surveys Historical accounts of the fish communities in Bearberry Creek Brief and detailed surveys in the Bearberry Creek drainage that have known locations can be seen in Figure 5. The location of some surveys is unknown, and therefore do not appear on the figure, however, Figure 5 does show 26 individual fish inventory sites from 1988 2005. What follows is a summary of available fish and fish habitat information in each of the above categories. 8
Figure 5. Location and dates of fish inventory sites in the Bearberry Creek drainage for which locations are known. 9
4.1 FISH STOCKING HISTORY From 1938 to 1988, 46 separate fish stockings of Bearberry Creek have been recorded and a total of 234,792 fish have been stocked out. Species stocked include brook trout, brown trout, rainbow trout, and cutthroat trout (O. clarki). Table 1 shows fish species, years stocked and number of fish stocked into Bearberry Creek. Table 1. Summary of fish stocking in the Bearberry Creek Drainage. Fish species Years Stocked Number of fish stocked out Brook trout 1938, 1940, 1943 48, 1952, 1962 64, and 1967 74900 Brown trout 1931 34, 1937, 1941, 1943 46, 1950, and 1960 116004 Rainbow trout 1959, 1961, 1965 69, 1973 77, and 1985 88 43843 Cutthroat trout 1956 225 4.2 BRIEF SURVEYS From 1951 to 1997, eight brief surveys have been completed in the Bearberry Creek drainage. Survey date, reference information, and fish information from the survey is presented in Table 2. Following Table 2 is a short description of each brief survey. Individual surveys are presented in bullet from. 10
Table 2. Summary of fish and habitat information collected during brief surveys in the Bearberry Creek drainage Date August 1953 Survey reference Miller and Paetz, 1953 Summary of fish and habitat information from survey Brief account of habitat. No fish captured, however it was indicated that the stream was a popular angling destination for locals. 1969 Agricultural and Rural Development Act (Anonymous 1969) 1974 Aquatic Environments Ltd. (unpublished) 1988 Pisces Environmental Consulting Services Ltd. (unpublished) Reported anglers fished for mountain whitefish, northern pike, and rainbow trout. Unknown number of brook trout, bull trout and mountain whitefish from an unknown location in the Bearberry Creek drainage. One rainbow trout captured from one location near Bearberry, Alberta. May 3, 1997 Fall 1997 Trout Unlimited Canada (unpublished) Trout Unlimited Canada (unpublished trap netting data) 148 brook trout One white sucker (C. commersoni) One brown trout Four bull trout Two brown trout 30 brook trout 200+ mountain whitefish Four burbot Various minnow species September 11
Date Survey reference Summary of fish and habitat information from survey 26, 1997 Trout Unlimited Canada (unpublished electrofishing data) 42 brook trout Two bull trout 59 mountain whitefish 30 suckers (species not given) Two longnose dace (R. cataractae) 34 burbot Three lake chub One trout perch One sculpin September 23, 1998 December 5, 2002 Trout Unlimited Canada. (unpublished) Pisces Environmental Consulting Services Ltd. (unpublished) 19 brook trout Three bull trout Four brown trout 131 mountain whitefish 18 suckers (species not given) Two longnose dace 22 burbot Three lake chub Four pearl dace (Margariscus margarita) Four white sucker On August 15, 1951 Miller and Paetz (1953) visited Bearberry Creek during a survey of Alberta s watersheds. They noted earthen stream banks that were densely vegetated with willows and other shrubs, the stream was very silty, water turbidity precluded observation of the stream bottom, considerable evidence of active and past beaver activity, and evidence of past flood events was noted. Active beaver dams near the mouth of the creek were identified as popular angling destinations. No fish samples were collected at Bearberry Creek during this survey. In 1969, Agricultural and Rural Development Act stream surveys were conducted to assess the capability of Bearberry Creek to support sport fish. In 1974 Aquatic Environments (Aquatic Environments, unpublished) electrofished at an undisclosed location in the Bearberry Creek drainage. 12
In 1988 Pisces Environmental Consulting Services Ltd. (Pisces Environmental Consulting Services Ltd. unpublished) electrofished immediately southwest of Bearberry Alberta. In 1997, two brief surveys were made by Trout Unlimited Canada (Trout Unlimited Canada unpublished). The first survey involved electrofishing approximately 180 m below the weir in the spring of 1997. The second survey (Trout Unlimited Canada unpublished) consisted of electrofishing and trap netting below the weir in the fall of 1997. Much of this data is vague and sometimes conflicting, likely because the original datasheets were lost. In the fall of 1998, Trout Unlimited Canada (Trout Unlimited Canada unpublished) conducted electrofishing below the weir. In 2002, Pisces Environmental Consulting Services Ltd. (Pisces Environmental Consulting Services Ltd. unpublished) conducted a fish and fish habitat assessment for a bridge crossing upgrade on Bearberry Creek. During this limited winter survey, 25 m of Bearberry Creek was electrofished approximately 11 linear km upstream from Sundre. 13
4.3 DETAILED SURVEYS From 1988 to 2005, four detailed surveys have been conducted in the Bearberry Creek drainage. Rees (1988) conducted a standard phase two lotic fisheries inventory in the Bearberry Creek drainage. The objective of this survey was to provide information on the abundance and diversity of sport fish, and the physical and chemical properties of flowing surface water. The second detailed survey occurred in 1993 (Brewin, unpublished). This study s objectives were to determine the distribution and abundance of sport fish in Bearberry Creek and the historical south channel, to re assess the habitat conditions at three of the sites surveyed by Rees (1988), to document features affecting aquatic resources and habitat in the Bearberry Creek drainage and to provide information that would support fisheries management decisions. The third detailed survey (Pisces Environmental Consulting Services Ltd. 2004), was an evaluation of the effectiveness of the fish bypass channel constructed on Bearberry Creek in the Town of Sundre. The final detailed survey was conducted in 2005 by the Alberta Conservation Association. The survey consisted of electrofishing and habitat surveys at randomly selected sites in the Bearberry Creek drainage. This study was designed to obtain current fisheries information from the Bearberry Creek drainage. The first comprehensive study of the Bearberry Creek drainage was in the summers of 1986 and 1987 (Rees, 1988). This study included the following: Fish and fish habitat sampling at three sites on Bearberry Creek one site on the historic south channel, three sites on Smith Creek, and two sites on Walton Creek. Sites were chosen close to access points, to sample different tributary watersheds, and to sample varying habitat types. Continuous water temperature monitoring at one location on Bearberry Creek and a maximum/minimum thermometer was utilized at one location on Smith Creek. Water chemistry measurements at six locations on Bearberry Creek, four locations on Smith Creek, and two locations on Walton Creek. During the summer of 1986 and 1987, 1227 m of stream was electrofished in the Bearberry Creek drainage. Mountain whitefish, and burbot were the only sport fish captured in the mainstem of Bearberry Creek. These fish were all captured below the weir. In the mainstem of Bearberry Creek above the weir, only non sport fish were captured. Brook trout, burbot, and non sport fish were captured in Smith Creek, while brook trout, brown trout, and mountain whitefish were captured in the historic south channel of Bearberry Creek. 14
Rees characterized fish habitat in the Bearberry Creek drainage into three divisions. The first division is in the lowermost, channelized section of Bearberry Creek. This section is wide and shallow, with cobble substrates and non eroding banks. The second division is Bearberry Creek and its tributaries upstream of Highway 22 to the forested foothills area. This area has been referred to as the Bearberry Prairie (Rees 1988). Streams in this division have deep earthen banks, are highly sinuous, have numerous deep pools and runs, and have few riffles. Deep, extensive layers of fines dominated stream substrates in this section. Stream banks in this area were observed to be extensively eroding into the stream. Cattle and beaver activity and tilling to the stream banks were presumed to be hastening stream bank erosion. The final habitat division includes the upper reaches of Bearberry Creek and its tributaries. Stream banks in this area were found to be extensively vegetated and erosional problems were less frequent. Fines did not dominate stream substrates in this area as extensively as in the Bearberry Prairie. Summer stream temperatures in Bearberry Creek were found to approach, but not exceed the upper lethal limits for trout survival. The mean maximum water temperature for the warmest seven day period was 21.5 C. The maximum stream temperature recorded in Smith Creek was 27 C. This temperature was recorded on a maximum/minimum thermometer, therefore the duration of sustained high water temperature is unknown. Water chemistry analysis indicated that all parameters were within the guidelines for the survival of aquatic life. The next comprehensive study in the Bearberry Creek drainage was prepared by Trutta Environments and Management (unpublished) in 1993 for Trout Unlimited Canada, Sundre Fish and Game Association, and Alberta Fish and Wildlife. Electrofishing and habitat measurements occurred at seven sites in this study. Two sites were below the weir, one on the historical south channel, one immediately upstream and one immediately downstream of Highway 22, and one site at each of the next two bridged road crossings upstream of Highway 22. Similar to Rees (1988), brook trout, brown trout, mountain whitefish, and non sport fish were captured in the historical south channel of Bearberry Creek. Below the weir, brook trout, brown trout, mountain whitefish, burbot, and non sport fish species were captured. Above the weir, brook trout and non sport fish species were captured. Habitat observations conducted by Trutta Environments and Management (unpublished) concluded the channelized portion of Bearberry Creek is a very stable section of stream and is not prone to erosion. Substrates in the channelized section are relatively free of sediments. Above the channelized reach, habitat was observed to be degraded from stream bank erosion. One site was, however, located within a 15
reach of stream where exclusion fencing precluded livestock grazing. In this reach, stream bank erosion was observed to be minimal and the riparian area was well vegetated. The third detailed study of Bearberry Creek was conducted in 2004 to assess the effectiveness of the fish bypass channel (Pisces Environmental Consulting Services Ltd. 2004). In this study, a trap net was set in Bearberry Creek upstream of the fish bypass channel and was operated for a total of 481 hours between September 1 and October 29, 2004. During the course of trapping, mountain whitefish, brook trout, bull trout, burbot, and non sport fish were captured. This study concluded that the fish bypass channel is effective in allowing the upstream movement of fish in the Bearberry Creek drainage. The Alberta Conservation Association conducted the most recent comprehensive survey of Bearberry Creek in 2005 (unpublished). In this study, the goal was to randomly sample three sites in each stream order using backpack electrofishing gear. The three sites in each order were randomly selected from a pool of all possible sites where streams and public access points intersected. This sampling protocol was followed to provide a snapshot of the fisheries community in Bearberry Creek in 2005, and to provide information regarding the variability in fish distribution and abundance in the Bearberry Creek drainage. Between August 15 and October 14, 2005, 12 sites were visited in the Bearberry Creek drainage (Figure 4), 3950 m of stream (9994 seconds) were electrofished. All sites sampled in 2005 were above the weir and the fish bypass channel. In this study, brook trout and mountain whitefish were captured immediately above the channelized section of Bearberry Creek, and brook trout were captured in Smith Creek. Non sport fish were captured throughout the Bearberry Creek drainage, and one burbot was observed in Smith Creek. The number of fish by species, fork length range and average fork length for fish captured in the Bearberry Creek drainage is shown in Table 3. All fish captured in this study were from stream orders three, four and five. All fish and habitat data during this study is located in the Alberta Sustainable Resource Development Fisheries management database under inventory project Id. 6558. 16
Table 3. Fish numbers and species captured by the Alberta Conservation Association in the Bearberry Creek drainage in 2005. white lake longnose mountain brook trout brook mountain Species sucker chub dace sucker stickleback perch trout whitefish Number captured 140 74 99 39 8 10 57 1 Fork length(mm) 44 266 51 105 10 112 63 157 52 81 29 68 80 377 177 range Average 111 74 60 98 62 51 180 177 4.4 ANNECDOTAL INFORMATION In 1996, a number of long time residents of the Bearberry Creek area were contacted and interviewed regarding their recollection of the fish community in the Bearberry Creek drainage (Alberta Sustainable Resource Development unpublished). Several reports indicated that large bull trout were angled from the mid reaches of Bearberry Creek in the 1920s. Bull trout were not observed in the Bearberry Creek drainage past the 1950s. In the 1950s and 1960s, good fishing for brook trout was reported in upper Bearberry Creek and its tributaries and in the lower reaches near Sundre. Several interviews indicated that large runs of suckers were observed in the 1970s. It is presumed that these fish migrated from the Red Deer River into Bearberry Creek to spawn. 17
5.0 SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION Historical information indicates that Bearberry Creek once supported both native and stocked sport fish. Excluding the historical south channel, information presented here based upon a comprehensive literature review and the 2005 study indicates that sport fish populations in the Bearberry Creek drainage are limited to brook trout in the lower reaches of Bearberry Creek and in Smith Creek. Burbot were incidental in catches below the weir and in the Smith Creek drainage. Brook trout in the Bearberry Creek drainage likely became established from fish stocking in the 1950s and 1960s. Despite the stocking of nearly a quarter of a million fish between 1938 and 1988, it appears that brook trout are the only species that have established self sustaining populations in the Bearberry Creek drainage. With the exception of a few bull trout having been observed to migrate through the recently constructed fish bypass structure, native bull trout have, for all intents and purposes, disappeared from the Bearberry Creek drainage over the past half century. Declines in sport fish in the Bearberry Creek drainage may be representative of an overall shift in habitat conditions within the drainage. A shift in the Bearberry Creek drainage from cool waters with clean un embedded substrates and abundant woody debris to that of warmer waters with a high percentage of fines would favour a minnow and sucker based fish community over a trout based fish community (Post and Johnston 2002). This shift in fish communities may have occurred in the Bearberry Creek drainage. Declines and extirpation of sport fish from Bearberry Creek are likely due to a number of factors. Perhaps the largest factor is the degradation of fish habitat resulting from land use practices in the drainage. Intensive livestock grazing around the creek and cultivation up to the stream s banks have resulted in a reduction or loss of riparian vegetation in large portions of the drainage. This devegetation of the riparian area has led to deposition of substantial amounts of sediment into Bearberry Creek. In contrast, it was noted in 1951 (Miller and Paetz, 1953) that the banks of the stream were overgrown with willows and other shrubs. Trutta Environments and Management (unpublished) did note that within an area that was protected by exclusion fencing, the riparian area was much more intact. This suggests that altering current land use practices on properties adjacent to Bearberry Creek may lead to reduced erosion and sediment input into the creek. Within the Bearberry Creek drainage, it is likely that bull trout populations were on the decline before land use practices and their subsequent effects on fish habitat became an issue to bull trout survival and reproduction. This decline is most likely 18
due to overharvest by anglers in the early part of the 1900s. Declines in bull trout may also have been accelerated by the competition between bull trout and introduced non native fish species. Declines in sport fish numbers may also be attributed to the construction of the weir and the subsequent loss of spawning migrations from the Red Deer River into the Bearberry Creek drainage. Evaluation of the fish bypass channel (Pisces Environmental Consulting Services Ltd. 2004) suggests that it is effective in permitting the passage of fish upstream of the weir. In the 2004 study it was observed that burbot had successfully negotiated the fish bypass channel. This is of particular importance as burbot have been recognized as having particularly low swimming stamina (Scott and Crossman 1973; Jones et al. 1974). If burbot can negotiate the bypass channel, it is likely that most other fish species will also be able to. With the construction of the fish bypass channel, the 25 year disconnect of Bearberry Creek with the Red Deer River system has been restored. However, the establishment of sport fish in the Bearberry system from fluvial migration may be limited due to the current degraded state of riparian and aquatic habitat throughout the drainage. In general, the establishment of riparian vegetation along Bearberry Creek and its tributaries would be beneficial to aquatic communities. Riparian vegetation would act to stabilize and protect stream banks from erosion, thus reducing sediment and nutrient input into the creek, provide increased shade cover and consequently reduced water temperatures, and would provide more suitable fish habitat. The establishment of riparian vegetations is particularly important in the Bearberry Creek drainage where deep soil profiles are found throughout and rapid rises in stream discharge are common. The benefit to aquatic ecosystems from the protection of riparian areas has been documented by agencies, such as the Alberta Conservation Association and Cows and Fish. For Bearberry Creek to support healthy sport fish populations near or at its carrying capacity, the protection and restoration of riparian habitat is necessary. 19
6.0 LITERATURE CITED Anonymous. 1969. Agricultural and Rural Development Act Stream Survery. 82 O. Alberta Fish and Wildlife Division, Edmonton Alberta. Jones, D. R., J.W. Kiceniuk and O.S. Bamford. 1974. Evaluation of the swimming performance of several fish species from the Mackenzie River. Canada. Fisheries Research Board. 31:1641 1647. Miller, R.B. and M.J.Paetz. 1953. Preliminary biological surveys of Alberta watersheds, 1950 52. Alberta Fish and Wildlife Division, Edmonton Alberta. Pisces Environmental Consulting Services Ltd. 2004. Evaluation of a fish bypass at the Alberta Environment Weir on Bearberry Creek in Sundre, Alberta. Prepared for Alberta Transportation, Civil Projects Branch. Edmonton, Alberta. Post, J.R. and F.D. Johnston. 2002. Status of bull trout (Salevelinus confluentus) in Alberta. Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, Fish and Wildlife Division, and Alberta Conservation Association. Wildlife Status Report # 39, Edmonton Alberta. 40pp. Rees, K. 1988. A Phase 2 survey of the Bearberry Creek watershed (5 3 33 5 W5). Department of Forestry lands and Wildlife. Fish and Wildlife Division. Calgary Alberta. Scott, W.B. and E.J. Crossman. 1973. Freshwater Fishes of Canada. Fisheries Research Board of Canada Bulletin. 184. Strahler, A.N. 1957. Quantitative analysis of watershed geomorphology. Transactions Geophysical Union 38:913 920. Strong, W.L. and K.R. Leggat. 1992. Ecoregions of Alberta. Prepared for Alberta Forestry, Lands and Wildlife. Edmonton, Alberta. 20
7.0 APPENDICIES Appendix 1. Power Point presentation summarizing the information contained in this report. This appendix can be found on the compact disk provided with this activity report. This presentation is intended for use in engaging stakeholders in discussion and planning of aquatic and riparian habitat restoration projects in the Bearberry Creek drainage. 21