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Location: Upper Fraser, Nechako River - Vanderhoof Project Summary
SUMMARY Four priority Coho habitat restoration sites will be undertaken from a list of critically eroding Coho habitat locations, identified within the 1995 watershed plan. This plan tracks sites restored and remaining riparian restoration priorities relative to a watershed scale completion threshold. Ecological indicators will be monitored at a site a by site and watershed scale. DESCRIPTION The proposed projects will undertaken on 3 or 4 priority restoration sites following standard bioengineering practices, will continue to build rapport with local landowners, and will demonstrate the value of cooperation and compliance with current riparian management practices as a means to support fish and fish habitat values. The significance of undertaking these three or 4 FSWP restoration sites is that they will be combined with two other demonstration sites that will be funded by the Habitat Conservation Fund to build momentum and support for improved riparian management practices and provide the opportunity to educate through demonstrate projects. Salmonids are important to Murray Creek and the agricultural community within the watershed, and the organization and partnership building undertaken by or group over the past4 years as a volunteer’s has been amazingly successful in moved the entire community forward. The opportunity to make the Murray Creek project into a local demonstration of success is high because most key landowners are already onside in concept, and the watershed is small enough, with relatively few key landowners that success in the watershed could be relatively quick and inexpensive to achieve as compared with the larger projects like the Salmon River Watershed Project. As a result of this project we have meet with the chairs of three area cattleman’s associations, the provincial cattleman’s association, the Regional District of Bulkley Nechako and the MOE to plan our a total watershed plan including mapping of the aquifer all of which will contribute greatly to the health of the Nechako River and of course downstream also OBJECTIVES
METHODS Restoration sites will be planned and undertaken using standard bioengineering techniques which have proven successful at previously restored Murray Creek sites, supervised by an RPBio familiar with the treatment methods local site conditions, and participating landowners. The project report will be written using pretreatment and as-built summaries of site conditions, and will be included in a GIS map showing progress toward watershed restoration goals. Two local RPBio’s have been trained by Mike Wallis and they have successful worked on and completed two projects under his supervision and two major sites on their own. Monitoring, outreach and improved water management are also important aspects of the watershed rehabilitation project. Media contact signage, meetings, local monitoring and onsite tours have helped build understanding of the key local land and water management issues as well as cooperation and participation in finding solutions. Last fall the first two sites were undertaken including education of the landowner as well as undertaking two priority sites with minimal resources gathered from a variety of contributors to “get it on the ground” . These sites have already generated interest from other local landowners willing to undertake similar improvements to riparian management practices. In the meantime the MOE (Prince George) has begun a cooperative monitoring project with students, which is now underway through local schools. Local producers are undertaking farm planning actions to implement EFP’s, local contractors are supporting the project by providing rock at a reduced cost for river rehabilitation projects, and the MOF/MOT are undertaking Culvert Assessments to contribute to the watershed planning perspective. BENEFITS By improving natural stream habitats that are critical to salmonids , as well as by inspiring human behaviour change in relation to the importance of fish, fish habitat and what it represents watershed sustainability and human health. The project is already serving as a point of education for surrounding watersheds with similar issues and interests. Murray Creek is the “go to stream” for area schools with over 500 kids and 22 classes having toured the projects, taken water samples with their Stream keeper kits and even done independent studies > Fraser Basin Council has given us two students from their leadership program this fall that brings on students to help them understand how NGO’s like ours contributes to successful rehabilitation of eco-systems. They will be working with us this winter to help our GIS systems become effective and efficient.
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