Preliminary Results Chehalis Basin Strategy Reducing Flood Damage - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Chehalis River Aquatic Species - Preliminary Results Chehalis Basin Strategy “Reducing Flood Damage and Enhancing Aquatic Species” Policy Workshop November 13, 2013

Presentation Outline • Aquatic species in the basin • Data gaps relative to dam assessment • Fish and habitat studies • Information collected to date 11/12/2013 2

Map by Andrew Weiss, WDFW

Native fishes in the Chehalis Basin • Northern Pikeminnow Olympic Mudminnow Mountain whitefish • Eulachon (?) • Pacific lamprey • River lamprey • Western brook lamprey • White Sturgeon • Green Sturgeon Redside Shiner • Peamouth • Speckled Dace • 3-spine stickleback Largescale Sucker Longnose Dace Sculpin (6 species) 11/12/2013 4

Exotic fishes in the Chehalis Basin Rockbass Smallmouth bass Brown bullhead Largemouth bass 11/12/2013 5

Stillwater-Breeding Amphibians in Chehalis Basin Northern red legged Frog Oregon Spotted Frog Andrew O’Connor Pacific Treefrog Northwestern Salamander Western Toad Photos by Marc Hayes, WDFW except where indicated. 11/12/2013 6

Salmon and steelhead in the Chehalis Basin Other salmonids 120000 Coho • Chum Fall Chinook • Cutthroat 100000 Number of Spawners Spring Chinook Steelhead 80000 60000 40000 20000 0 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 Return Year 11/12/2013 7

Chehalis Basin Contribution to WA Coast 90000 Winter Steelhead 80000 Coho Fall Chinook Number of Spawners 70000 Spring/Summer Chinook 60000 50000 40000 30000 20000 10000 0 Willapa Chehalis Queets Hoh Quillayute Data are average spawner escapement, 1996-2012. 11/12/2013 8

Fish species in the Upper Chehalis Basin • Limited information on all fish distribution, especially around and upstream of proposed dam site. • Field studies in 2013 improve measure of salmon and steelhead above dam site (spawner and smolt). Will be compared to entire basin. • Upper Chehalis is not in a steady state. Re- colonization occurring following flood events. 11/12/2013 9

Presentation Outline • Aquatic species in the basin • Data gaps relative to dam assessment • Fish and habitat studies to fill data gaps • Information collected to date 11/12/2013 10

Data Gaps Relative to Dam Assessment • What will be lost in impoundment area? • What will change in river below dam? • What will the impact be to fish spawning and rearing above impoundment? • What kind of fish passage allowances are needed? • How would changes in river temperature affect fish? 11/12/2013 11

Presentation Outline • Aquatic species in the basin • Data gaps relative to dam assessment and ASEP • Fish and habitat studies to fill data gaps • Information collected to date 11/12/2013 12

Fish habitat influenced by river flows Rain Dominant Hydrology 1400 Mean Monthly Flow (cfs) 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Data souce: USGS 12020000 (Doty gage) 11/12/2013 13

Fish and habitat studies • Adult spawners Area above dam site • Smolt abundance • Riverscape fish & habitat Area above • Reach scale fish & habitat Skookumchuk • Fish movements (summer & winter) 11/12/2013 14

A DULT S PAWNER S URVEYS What is adult fish abundance, timing, and distribution? • Spawner counts, timing, location, age composition • Chinook (spring & fall), Coho, Steelhead 11/12/2013 15

S MOLT T RAP What is outmigrant fish abundance, timing, and diversity? • Abundance, migration timing • All species moving downstream including salmonid smolts Chehalis River smolt trap is operated near river mile 108 (Picture is not Chehalis). 11/12/2013 16

R IVERSCAPE S URVEYS Where does summer rearing occur for what species? • Snorkel (fish) & foot (habitat) surveys • Include species observable using snorkel methods Downstream snorkel surveys on the Chehalis River 11/12/2013 17

R EACH S URVEYS Which habitats are associated with which fish species? • Snorkel, electrofish, seine • All fish species Seine collections of fish in the Chehalis River 11/12/2013 18

F ISH M OVEMENTS (S UMMER & W INTER ) Importance of cool water refugia for summer rearing and mainstem for overwinter rearing • Juveniles tagged and released • Tag detection arrays • Chinook, Coho, Steelhead PIT antenna array near RM 108 on Chehalis River Field crew tagging juvenile salmonids 11/12/2013 19

Presentation Outline • Aquatic species in the basin • Data gaps relative to dam assessment and ASEP • Fish and habitat studies to fill data gaps • Information collected to date 11/12/2013 20

Fish-Habitat Studies During Summer Rearing Period • Riverscape surveys • Summer movements Data collection period July 15 – October 25, 2013 11/12/2013 21

Riverscape View: Patterns of Fish and their Habitat Describes which fish and how many fish are using mainstem during summer flows above and below dam site. John Winkowski, WDFW Mara Zimmerman, WDFW 11/12/2013 22

Riverscape Survey Area Map by Andrew Weiss, WDFW 11/12/2013 23

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Summer Fish Distribution • Counts by species and life stage • Limited to pelagic species Photo by Pete Caster, The Chronicle 11/12/2013 32

Summer Fish Distribution Salmon 0+ 3500 3000 Count 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Survey Kilometer 11/12/2013 33

Summer Fish Distribution Pikeminnow Smallmouth Bass Salmon 0+ 4000 60 80 Count 3000 60 40 2000 40 20 1000 20 0 0 0 0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30 33 36 39 42 45 48 51 54 57 60 63 66 69 72 75 0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30 33 36 39 42 45 48 51 54 57 60 63 66 69 72 75 0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30 33 36 39 42 45 48 51 54 57 60 63 66 69 72 75 1000 Redside Shiner 4 Trout 0+ Bluegill 2000 Count 500 2 1000 0 0 0 0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30 33 36 39 42 45 48 51 54 57 60 63 66 69 72 75 0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30 33 36 39 42 45 48 51 54 57 60 63 66 69 72 75 0 20 40 60 400 3000 Survey Kilometer Trout 1+ Dace Count 300 2000 Count 200 1000 100 0 0 0 20 40 60 0 20 40 60 Survey Kilometer Survey Kilometer 11/12/2013 34

Improved Understanding from Riverscape Study • Continuous measure of fish and habitat above, within, and below impoundment area. • Other aquatic species (amphibians, mussels). • Numbers are relative to the Chehalis River. Can’t be directly compared to other systems. 11/12/2013 35

Summer Movement of Juvenile Salmonids Direction and distance of summer movements. Applicable to fish passage needs at dam site and summer thermal refugia. John Winkowski , WDFW Mara Zimmerman, WDFW 11/12/2013 36

PIT Arrays Detect Tagged Fish Mainstem PIT Antenna Array near potential dam site Rock Creek PIT Antenna Array 11/12/2013 37

Locations of PIT Arrays Coho = 405 Steelhead = 28 Coho = 539 Steelhead = 144 Coho = 670 Steelhead = 60 11/12/2013 38

Improved Understanding from Summer Movement Study • Do fish move upstream through the dam site during summer months? Summer fish movement observed upstream and downstream through the dam site • What are the movement patterns? • Is movement correlated with river temperature? 11/12/2013 39

Summary to Date (Preliminary Results) • Chehalis River supports a diverse assemblage of aquatic species. • Different fish assemblages use different parts of the mainstem river for summer rearing. • A high proportion of the salmon and steelhead summer rearing in the mainstem is confined to areas above the proposed dam site. • Summer movements of coho and steelhead were documented through the proposed dam site. 11/12/2013 40