Study Update Fish Distribution and Species Composition

Study Update Fish Distribution and Species Composition

Goals and Study Area Gain a better understanding of fish species composition and abundance in waters associated with the Packwood Lake Hydroelectric Project: Packwood Lake Tributaries to Packwood Lake Lake Creek below the drop structure Hall Creek Snyder Creek

Methods A variety of methods were used to gain an overall picture of the species composition and distribution within project affected waters: Literature Review Underwater Observation Electrofishing Spawning Surveys Passive Net Sets Hydroacoustic Analysis

Literature Review A literature review was conducted to summarize relevant current and historical documentation related to: Fish species presence/abundance Spawning survey information Hatchery records Biological assessments done on anadromous populations in the Cowlitz Basin Genetic studies conducted

Packwood Lake Two net sets were done on Packwood Lake using 2 vertical and 2 horizontal floating gill nets Two nets were placed in approximately 15 ft of water off of the mouth of Osprey Creek Two nets were placed in approximately 20 ft of water off of the mouth of upper Lake Creek May 2 nd and 3 rd, 2006 (Overnight) 52 rainbow were captured in the nets in front of Osprey Creek 53 rainbow were captured in the nets in front of upper Lake Creek July 19, 2006 (Fyke Net) 3 rainbow captured in the net in front of Osprey Creek 3 rainbow captured in the net in front of upper Lake Creek

Packwood Lake Netting Sites

Length Distribution of Fish Captured in Packwood Lake Near Osprey Creek 25 Netting at Osprey Point (52 Total Rainbow Captured) 20 Number of Rainbow Captured 15 10 5 0 100-125 125-150 150-175 175-200 200-225 225-250 250-275 275-300 300-325 Size Ranges (mm)

Length Distribution of Fish Captured in Packwood Lake Near Upper Lake Creek Upper Packwood Lake Netting (53 Total Rainbow Captured) 35 30 25 Number of Rainbow Captured 20 15 10 5 0 100-125 125-150 175-200 200-225 225-250 250-275 275-300 300-325 Size Ranges (mm)

Hydroacoustic Analysis Data will be put in place after analysis

Stream Surveys Packwood Lake tributary surveys were conducted on August 8, 2006 Reaches were analyzed 30m out of every 160m or 60m out of every 320m depending on overall length of the stream Fish species composition and distribution information was collected using a combination of electrofishing and snorkeling techniques Habitat characteristics were measured at all sites: Habitat types Habitat unit lengths Substrate composition Velocities

Tributary Surveys to Packwood Lake Upper Lake Creek (Snorkeled/Net at Mouth) 60m/320m Crawford Creek (Electrofished/Net at Mouth) 30m/160m Muller Creek (Electrofished/Net at Mouth) 30m/160m Osprey Creek (Electrofished/Net near Mouth) 30m/160m Trap Creek (Electrofished/Net at Mouth) 30m/160m SE Trap Creek (Electrofished) 30m/160m Beaver Bill Creek (Snorkeled) 60m/320m

Surveyed Tributaries

Tributary Fish Data Upper Lake Creek 1 rainbow observed (approximately 120mm) Crawford Creek Hundreds of rainbow fry Muller Creek No fish observed Osprey Creek No fish observed Trap Creek No fish observed SE Trap Creek No fish observed Beaver Bill Creek 4 rainbow fry observed (approximately 20mm)

Lower Lake Creek, Snyder Creek and Hall Creek 5.4 miles of lower Lake Creek was surveyed using a combination of snorkeling and electrofishing techniques The nearly 0.4 miles of Snyder Creek above the crossing with the tailrace was electrofished A 0.25 mile section of Hall Creek above Snyder Creek Road was surveyed Fish species distribution and composition data was collected The same habitat characteristics described above were documented also

RM 0.0-1.0 (Snorkel) Fish Snorkeling Observations for Lake Creek (RM 0.0-1.0) 50 45 40 Number of Fish Observed 35 30 25 20 15 Rainbow Coho Sculpin 10 5 0 0-25 25-50 50-75 75-100 100-125 125-150 150-175 175-200 Size Ranges (mm)

RM 1.0-1.9 (Electrofishing) Fish Shocking Observations for Lake Creek (RM 1.0-1.9) 9 8 7 Number of Fish Observed 6 5 4 3 Rainbow Sculpin 2 1 0 0-25 25-50 50-75 75-100 100-125 125-150 150-175 175-200 Size Ranges (mm)

RM 1.9-5.17 (Snorkel) Fish Snorkeling Observations for Lake Creek (RM 1.9-5.17) 70 60 50 Number of Fish Observed 40 30 20 Rainbow 10 0 0-25 25-50 50-75 75-100 100-125 125-150 150-175 175-200 200-225 225-250 250-275 275-300 300-325 Size Ranges (mm)

RM 5.17-5.4 (Electrofishing) Fish Snorkeling Observations for Lake Creek (RM 5.17-5.4) 6 5 Number of Fish Observed 4 3 2 Rainbow 1 0 0-25 25-50 50-75 75-100 100-125 125-150 150-175 175-200 200-225 225-250 250-275 275-300 300-325 Size Range (mm)

Lower Lake Creek Habitat Percentages by Reach Lake Creek Habitat Percentages by Reach 60 50 40 Percent 30 20 10 0 0.0-0.7 0.7-1.3 1.3-3.5 3.5-4.9 4.9-5.4 Reach (RM) Pools Glides Runs Riffles High Gradient Riffles Plunge Pools Falls Cascades

Lower Lake Creek Habitat Utilization by Species Habitat Utilization by Species Captured on Lower Lake Creek 140 120 100 Number of Fish 80 60 40 20 0 Pool Plunge Pool Glide Run Riffle HGR Cascade Habitat Type Rainbow Coho Sculpin

Snyder Creek Analysis Westslope cutthroat, coho juveniles, and sculpin were observed in Snyder Creek All of the coho were observed in SS 1 below a small falls just downstream of an USFS Road 1260-013 Cutthroat were the only species observed above the falls

Snyder Creek Study Sites Falls

Snyder Creek (Electrofishing) Fish Shocking Observations for Snyder Creek 25 20 Size Ranges (mm) 15 10 Cutthroat Coho Sculpin Lamprey 5 0 0-25 25-50 50-75 75-100 100-125 125-150 150-175 175-200 200-225 225-250 250-275 275-300 300-325 Number of Fish Observed

Hall Creek (Snorkel) 19 Rainbow Trout between 75 mm and 250 mm were observed 10 cutthroat trout were observed between 75 mm and 225 mm 1 sculpin measuring 50 mm was observed All fish but 2 were observed in a single plunge pool immediately upstream of the confluence with Jonathan Creek

Hall Creek Study Sites

Resident Spawning Surveys Eight spawning surveys were conducted on the pertinent tributaries to Packwood Lake in May and June 2007: Upper Lake Creek Beaver Bill Creek Crawford Creek Muller Creek SE Trap Creek Trap Creek Osprey Creek The Anadromous Habitat and Spawning Study Report addresses issues pertaining to anadromous spawning in waters potentially impacted by the Project

Packwood Lake Rainbow Trout Spawner Survey Tributaries

Rainbow Trout Spawner Use by Tributary to Packwood Lake

Enter Data Out Migrant Timing

Conclusions Lower Lake Creek is segmented into a series of isolated reaches by natural barrier falls 81% (N=319) of the rainbow trout observed in lower Lake Creek were documented between RM 1.3-4.9 A large falls exists at RM 1.95 precluding upstream passage to all species 68% of the rainbow observed below the barrier were smaller than 100 mm 63% of the rainbow observed above the barrier were larger than 100 mm The lack of larger adult rainbow trout in the lower 1.95 miles of lower Lake Creek is likely because of less diverse habitat Rainbow trout below the barrier at RM 1.95 may outmigrate to the Cowlitz River once their forage and habitat capacity has been exceeded

Conclusions All 24 coho juveniles were observed in SS 1, below the cascade immediately downstream of the FS culvert The only species observed above the cascade was westslope cutthroat trout

Conclusions Hydroacoustic Data Conclusions

Conclusions Rainbow trout were the only species captured/observed in Packwood Lake and the tributaries 105 of the 111 rainbow trout captured in Packwood Lake were collected prior to spawning migration into the tributaries Three likely reasons exist for the lack of captures in the lake after the spawning period High mortality of spawning adults Due to high mortality during gill net sets, sampling equipment was changed Adults may go deep after spawning

Conclusions There doesn t appear to be a large resident population of rainbow trout in the tributaries of Packwood Lake Only 1 adult rainbow was observed in the tributaries to Packwood Lake during surveys in August, 2006 A very healthy adfluvial population of rainbow trout utilize the tributaries for spawning and rearing purposes Outmigrant traps were placed in the pertinent tribs to determine out migrant timing. No juveniles were captured These fish likely out migrate from the tribs very quickly after emerging allowing them to easily pass through the mesh in the traps Add out migrant conclusions when data are available