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Chehalis River Aquatic Species - Preliminary Results
Chehalis Basin Strategy “Reducing Flood Damage and Enhancing Aquatic Species”
Policy Workshop November 13, 2013
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Presentation Outline
• Aquatic species in the basin
• Data gaps relative to dam assessment
• Fish and habitat studies
• Information collected to date
11/12/2013
Map by Andrew Weiss, WDFW
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Native fishes in the Chehalis Basin
11/12/2013
Olympic Mudminnow
Redside Shiner
Northern Pikeminnow
Longnose Dace
Largescale Sucker
Sculpin (6 species)
• Mountain whitefish • Eulachon (?) • Pacific lamprey • River lamprey • Western brook lamprey • White Sturgeon • Green Sturgeon • Peamouth • Speckled Dace • 3-spine stickleback
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Exotic fishes in the Chehalis Basin
11/12/2013
Smallmouth bass
Largemouth bass
Rockbass
Brown bullhead
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Stillwater-Breeding Amphibians in Chehalis Basin
11/12/2013
Northern red legged Frog
Western Toad
Oregon Spotted Frog
Pacific Treefrog Northwestern Salamander
Photos by Marc Hayes, WDFW except where indicated.
Andrew O’Connor
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Salmon and steelhead in the Chehalis Basin
11/12/2013
0
20000
40000
60000
80000
100000
120000
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
Num
ber
of
Spaw
ners
Return Year
Coho
Fall Chinook
Spring Chinook
Steelhead
Other salmonids • Chum • Cutthroat
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Chehalis Basin Contribution to WA Coast
11/12/2013
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
70000
80000
90000
Willapa Chehalis Queets Hoh Quillayute
Nu
mb
er
of
Sp
aw
ne
rs
Winter Steelhead
Coho
Fall Chinook
Spring/Summer Chinook
Data are average spawner escapement, 1996-2012.
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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
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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
11
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
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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
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Fish habitat influenced by river flows
11/12/2013
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct
Mea
n M
on
thly
Flo
w (
cfs)
Rain Dominant Hydrology
Data souce: USGS 12020000 (Doty gage)
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Fish and habitat studies
11/12/2013
• Adult spawners
• Smolt abundance
• Riverscape fish & habitat
• Reach scale fish & habitat
• Fish movements (summer & winter)
Area above dam site
Area above Skookumchuk
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ADULT SPAWNER SURVEYS What is adult fish abundance, timing, and distribution?
• Spawner counts, timing, location, age composition
• Chinook (spring & fall), Coho, Steelhead
11/12/2013
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SMOLT TRAP What is outmigrant fish abundance, timing, and diversity?
• Abundance, migration timing
• All species moving downstream including salmonid smolts
11/12/2013
Chehalis River smolt trap is operated near river mile 108 (Picture is not
Chehalis).
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RIVERSCAPE SURVEYS Where does summer rearing occur for what species?
• Snorkel (fish) & foot (habitat) surveys
• Include species observable using snorkel methods
11/12/2013
Downstream snorkel surveys on the Chehalis River
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REACH SURVEYS Which habitats are associated with which fish species?
• Snorkel, electrofish, seine
• All fish species
11/12/2013
Seine collections of fish in the Chehalis River
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FISH MOVEMENTS (SUMMER & WINTER) Importance of cool water refugia for summer rearing and mainstem for overwinter rearing
• Juveniles tagged and released
• Tag detection arrays
• Chinook, Coho, Steelhead
11/12/2013
PIT antenna array near RM 108 on Chehalis River
Field crew tagging juvenile salmonids
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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
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Fish-Habitat Studies During Summer Rearing Period
• Riverscape surveys
• Summer movements
11/12/2013
Data collection period July 15 – October 25, 2013
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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.
11/12/2013
John Winkowski, WDFW Mara Zimmerman, WDFW
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Riverscape Survey Area
11/12/2013 Map by Andrew Weiss, WDFW
P8140008
P8140174
P8150197
P8220200
P9100054 (sand)
P9120024
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Summer Fish Distribution
• Counts by species and life stage
• Limited to pelagic species
11/12/2013
Photo by Pete Caster, The Chronicle
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0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Survey Kilometer
Salmon 0+
11/12/2013
Co
un
t
Summer Fish Distribution
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Summer Fish Distribution
11/12/2013
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
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
Co
un
t
Salmon 0+
0
500
1000
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
Co
un
t Trout 0+
0
100
200
300
400
0 20 40 60
Co
un
t Trout 1+
0
20
40
60
80
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
Pikeminnow
0
1000
2000
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
Redside Shiner
0
1000
2000
3000
0 20 40 60
Co
un
t
Dace
0
20
40
60
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
Smallmouth Bass
0
2
4
0 20 40 60
Bluegill
Survey Kilometer Survey Kilometer
Survey Kilometer
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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
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Summer Movement of Juvenile Salmonids
Direction and distance of summer movements.
Applicable to fish passage needs at dam site and summer thermal refugia.
11/12/2013
John Winkowski , WDFW Mara Zimmerman, WDFW
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PIT Arrays Detect Tagged Fish
11/12/2013
Mainstem PIT Antenna Array near potential dam site
Rock Creek PIT Antenna Array
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Locations of PIT Arrays
11/12/2013
Coho = 405 Steelhead = 28
Coho = 670 Steelhead = 60
Coho = 539 Steelhead = 144
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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
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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