• 4,000 smolts / 520 adults (based on Lirette 1984 and Ptolemy 1998 (low end))
• Conservation Concern Level @ 30% of Habitat Capacity is 156 adults

Existing Habitat:
watershed area (km2):	147.5		Comments
mean annual discharge (m3/s):	7.3		This system is unique in that it is a long-standing flow regulation, hatchery and spawning channel project built by DFO (beginning circa 1958) solely for the purpose of salmon enhancement. The absence of winter freshets has, however, resulted in impacts in terms of natural stream flushing processes. DFO cleans part of the stream using heavy equipment in the summer months. Baseflow alkalinity moderate at 38 mg/L and predicted capacity per steelhead size class is 225 g/Unit.
Summer Base Flow (%mad):	12 (nat) 31 (reg)
accessible length (km):	10
productivity:	Moderate

HABITAT RESTORATION TO DATE

• Numerous channel improvement projects
• Diversion of Hunt's Creek to reduce siltation.

SPECIAL HABITAT PROTECTION REQUIREMENTS:

• Urban development on the FN reserve and along watershed boundaries requires adequate protection buffers.

STEELHEAD OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES

• Rebuild naturally-spawning stocks into the Routine Management Zone capable of supporting a catch and release steelhead fishery in this system.
• Complete an updated biophysical inventory to reflect the extensive habitat restoration program over the last decade.

IDENTIFIED RECOVERY OPTIONS

• To increase the supply of marine-derived nutrients, distribute salmon carcasses upstream of hatchery rearing and spawning channels but below hatchery incubation facility near Horne Lake dam.

NOTES: System has received extensive habitat restoration but persistent infiltration by Quadra sands necessitates annual in-river scarification to clean spawning gravel. All possible bank armoring has been done according to Fisheries and Oceans. Horne Lake spillway being rebuilt 2002. New rule curve will increase peak winter flows, but not above bank-full levels unless a 200-year flood occurs when the spillway is overtopped.

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Over the last several years, provincial fisheries staff have worked cooperatively with the (Big) Qualicum River Hatchery manager to restore productive rearing habitat in this system. Work funded by DFO and the province's Habitat Conservation Trust Fund has included boulder/large woody debris placements, as well as construction of side-channels, over-wintering alcoves and Newbury boulder riffles (restoration reach 1 on watershed map).

This was necessitated by a misguided stream clearance project done in the 1970s, when debris in streams was thought to limit salmon production. In addition, DFO's original construction of a dam at Horne Lake for regulation of downstream flows has fundamentally changed the river's hydrograph, such that natural processes which create habitat complexity are less effective (i.e., channel flushing flows have been reduced). This same phenomenon has contributed to consolidation of streambed substrates, resulting in the annual need to scarify spawning gravel. It is expected about three more years of rearing habitat complexing will be required to reverse much of the past damage of debris removal from stream channels.

In addition to rearing habitat improvements, hatchery staff must ensure adequate escapements of salmon to upper reaches of the river for nutrient replacement needs. Carcass management strategies are being developed (2002) which would maximize the benefit of carcasses to juvenile fish and replace the old practice of composting carcasses which collect on hatchery fence panels in the fall.

Thirdly, it would be worthwhile exploring the options for re-creating artificial "floods" intended to produce scouring around fish rearing structures, as well as flushing sand from some spawning areas (particularly in the river above the chum spawning channel). The biological risks and benefits of such a strategy should be carefully weighed, including flooding effects on hatchery facilities, roads and Indian Reserve properties.

Reports:

Big Qualicum River Habitat Complexing, HCTF Final Report (2000).

East Coast Vancouver Island Salmon Carcass Retention/Distribution Program - Seed Project. Summary Report, Craig & Wright (2003) (1.1MB PDF, opens in new browser window).

East Coast Vancouver Island Salmon Carcass Program Implementation, Wright (2004) (1.5MB PDF, opens in new browser window)

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Given DFO's ownership of riparian property along the lower river (i.e., below Horne Lake), the (Big) Qualicum River has had few of the land use conflicts affecting other east coast Island streams. This is particularly true since the river's lower intertidal reach and estuary fall within an Indian Reserve, where there has been little development pressure so far. In spite of the comparatively favourable riparian situation, upslope private land logging, as well as highway and natural gas pipeline developments, have introduced silt and sand into the mainstem in recent years. This has been difficult to mitigate, given the lack of flushing flows below the Horne Lake dam. DFO and MWLAP habitat protection staff must remain vigilant for new sediment sources related to land developments in this important watershed.

Sediment loading has necessitated an annual program of spawning gravel scarification. This is done in early July by a bulldozer raking the gravel with "teeth" on its blade, releasing accumulated sand and silt downstream. While recognizing the value of this maintenance in terms of improved egg-to-fry survival, provincial fisheries staff still have concerns about chronic impacts on steelhead fry and fish food organisms (i.e., the biomass and diversity of aquatic invertebrates). Substantially more effort needs to be directed at evaluating this program in the near future.

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Snorkel survey counts should only be treated as a relative index of stock abundance.

Snorkel survey counts should only be treated as a relative index of stock abundance.

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• 4,320 smolts / 560 adults (based on Lirette, Hooton, Lewensky 1987)
• Conservation Concern Level @ 30% of Habitat Capacity is 168 adults

Existing Habitat:
watershed area (km2):	248.9		Comments
mean annual discharge (m3/s):	11.8		Experiences low flow augmentation from storage on Cameron Lake, diversions, sediment problems, logging damage, urbanization, agricultural impacts. Baseflow alkalinity moderate at 31 mg/L and predicted capacity per steelhead size class is 202 g/Unit.
Summer Base Flow (%mad):	14.7
accessible length (km):	9.5
productivity:	moderate

HABITAT RESTORATION TO DATE

• Stablization of large clay slide on lower Kinkade Creek
• Dam breach on Whisky Creek

SPECIAL HABITAT PROTECTION REQUIREMENTS

• Agricultural impacts need to be addressed.
• Urbanization impacts need to be minimized including flood protection impacts.
• Ensure good logging practices are followed - resolve chronic sedimentation from private lands.
• Avoid any further flow diversions and maintain/ restore frequency, quality of large woody debris.

STEELHEAD OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES

• Return wild stocks (including returns from LGB smolt releases) to levels well within the Routine Management Zone capable of supporting a catch and release fishery based on 3000 angler days per year.
• Increase enforcement of angling regulations, where/when applicable.
• Determine feasibility of slow release organic enrichment (water supply intakes are downstream).
• Investigate possible improvements to Cameron Lake weir and spawning channel cleaning operations.
• Investigate potential side channel work in areas of suitable gradients for steelhead.

IDENTIFIED RECOVERY OPTIONS

• Construct well-anchored LWD complexing and refuge alcoves on main stem. (Gaboury 2002 recommends 73 LWD sites for a total cost of $193,073.)
• LGB experimental smolt introductions (underway 2001 to continue until at least 2004).
• Distribute salmon carcasses from federal spawning channel and hatchery upstream to increase marine-derived nutrients in upper mainstem.

NOTES: Continue seasonal closure until stock shows more positive signs of recovery. LGB experiment underway - needs full evaluation. Fisheries and Oceans spawning channel, hatchery and low flow enhancement storage/regulation weir on Cameron Lake.

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An assessment of potential fisheries restoration opportunities in five Vancouver Island watersheds, including the Little Qualicum, was recently completed (Gaboury and McCulloch 2002). Using prescriptions from this report, a total of 24 mainstem habitat complexing sites were completed in the summer of 2002. This work focused on an important steelhead-producing reach between the Little Qualicum River Hatchery Fence and the Kinkade Creek confluence (restoration reach 1 on watershed map). These projects were aimed at increasing the quality, diversity and stability of steelhead and coho rearing habitat in this reach. The 24 sites represent approximately one-third of 77 Little Qualicum sites flagged for restoration in the Gaboury and McCulloch (2002) report. The intent is to undertake a similar number of sites in this river in the summer of 2003.

A large clay slide on lower Kinkade Creek was the focus of stabilization efforts in the mid-1990s involving DFO, MWLAP and the property owner, MacMillan Bloedel Ltd. (now Weyerhaeuser Canada Ltd.). Work included "toe" revetment, slope terracing and revegetation. Thus far, it appears to have been largely successful in reducing sediment loading of downstream fish habitat. In October 1998, MWLAP and a community stewardship group also breached an old irrigation dam on Whisky Creek, a Little Qualicum tributary, in an attempt to provide upstream passage for coho salmon and other species. This could potentially access an additional 8 km of anadromous fish habitat (A. Boom, formerly Dam Safety Officer, MWLAP, pers. comm.).

Reports and Media:

Oceanside Star, August 14, 2002.
Reviving a River: Crews recreate natural conditions to bolster struggling fish stocks by Shari Cummins.

The News Weekender August 16, 2002.
Lending Mother Nature a hand by Adrienne Mercer.

Construction of Artificial Fish Habitat for the Little Qualicum River, 2002, Craig (2003) (3.7MB PDF, opens in new browser window).

East Coast Vancouver Island Salmon Carcass Retention/Distribution Program - Seed Project. Summary Report, Craig & Wright (2003) (1.1MB PDF, opens in new browser window).

Fish Habitat Restoration Designs for Five East Vancouver Island Watersheds, Gaboury & McCulloch (2002) (10.8MB PDF, opens in new browser window)

Construction of artificial fish habitat in the Little Qualicum River, 2003, Craig (2004) (2.6MB PDF, opens in new browser window)

East Coast Vancouver Island Salmon Carcass Program Implementation, Wright (2004) (1.5MB PDF, opens in new browser window)

Construction of Artificial Fish Habitat in the Little Qualicum River, 2004, Craig (2005) (1.7MB PDF, opens in new browser window)

Vancouver Island Riparian Restoration Recommendations and Prescription - Quinsam, Chemainus, Englishman, Little Qualicum, and Oyster Rivers. Poulin (2005) (2.3MB PDF, opens in new browser window)

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There are numerous habitat protection problems affecting wild steelhead in the Little Qualicum. For example, DFO annually scarifies its chum spawning channel in mid-to-late June, releasing suspended sediment into the lower river. While substantial progress has been made in reducing total sediment volumes and concentrations, there are still concerns about the effects on recently emerged steelhead fry. In addition, DFO operates a licenced storage weir at the outlet of Cameron Lake. Water released through the weir is intended to assist in dilution of suspended sediment during channel scarification, as well as augmenting fall migration flows for spawning salmon. To date, regional MWLAP staff have done little to monitor the weir's operation according to licence conditions, including measuring diversion flows through the chum channel in the summer months. In summer, channel flows are supposed to be lower than in the adjacent natural stream, but deviations have been observed in the past (D. Rimmer, Biologist, MWLAP, pers. comm.). DFO and the province have recently pledged to re-examine the weir's operation relative to steelhead rearing requirements in the lower river, and to examine the potential for upgrading the weir's design and storage capacity following a feasibility study. Funds are now being sought to facilitate such a study.

Other habitat issues include chronic sediment loading from private land logging in the upper (Cameron River) watershed, hobby farm land clearing and drainage practices, and urban impacts on the lower river, mainly related to flood protection near residential and resort properties. All of these factors have combined to reduce the productivity of steelhead habitat in the Little Qualicum River.

Snorkel survey counts should only be treated as a relative index of stock abundance.

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In response to the 1990s steelhead conservation crisis on the east coast of Vancouver Island, the province's Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection developed an experimental Living Gene Bank program (LGB) at the Vancouver Island Trout Hatchery in Duncan in 1998. The LGB includes three winter steelhead stocks from the Keogh, Quinsam and Little Qualicum rivers. These stocks were selected based on: 1) potential for rebuilding a self-sustaining wild population; 2) opportunity to critically evaluate success, and c) geographic location within the region where steelhead stocks were most at risk.

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