photo credit: FVWC
description: A section of George's Creek on McMillan Island.                                                   

photo credit: FVWC
description: KFN and FVWC technicians monitor water quality in George's Creek on McMillan Island.                                                                                                                                                             

photo credit: FVWC
description: KFN and FVWC technicians measure the length of fish caught during monitoring efforts in George's Creek on McMillan Island.                                                                                                                                                            

Summary of Activities

• A new channel (George's Creek) was constructed on the west side of McMillan Island as an off-channel of the Fraser River. It was created to add rearing and overwintering habitat for culturally, recreationally, and aboriginally important fish species, including salmon.

• The banks of George's Creek were planted with approximately 7,800 native trees and shrubs!

• Pieces of large wood and rootwads were added to the creek to increase habitat complexity in the stream.

Monitoring - "Taking nature's pulse"

• FVWC continues effectiveness monitoring at George's Creek to help KFN determine if it is functioning as intended.
  
  
• George's Creek is monitored for 2 main things: water quality and fish presence.
  
  
  • Measuring water quality shows us if the aquatic habitat conditions in the channel are suitable for aquatic species, particularly salmon.
    
    
  • Fish presence shows what species of fish and other aquatic life (i.e. salamanders and frogs) are using or inhabiting the channel. Salmonids are weighed and measured for body length to assess life-stage and overall health of the salmon using George's Creek.

• Gee minnow trap data from 2018-2021 shows a total of 4,187 individual fish caught!
  
  
  • About 6% of those fish were salmon with 265 Coho, 1 rainbow trout, and 3 Sockeye.
    
    
  • The most abundant species caught was the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) with 3,321 individuals caught! The threespine stickleback is a small, native, freshwater fish found in BC.

photo credit: FVWC
description: Planted and maintained riparian area of McMillan Island East. Note the cattle exclusion fence protecting the area from grazing cattle.                                                                                                                                                              

photo credit: FVWC
description: FVWC technicians dig out Himalayan blackberry. Check out the size of those roots!                                                                                                                                                        

photo credit:  FVWC
description: FVWC technicians plant native trees and shrubs in the maintained riparian area along the eastern tip of McMillan Island.                                                                                                                                                         

Summary of Activities

• On the eastern tip of McMillan Island where Bedford Channel meets the Fraser River, a robust riparian area was planted and maintained to create bank stability behind the riprap and increase food and nutrients for fish in the Fraser via insect drop and leaf litter from native trees and shrubs.
  
  
• The eastern tip of the island is also a cattle field so a cattle exclusion fence was installed around the maintained riparian area to keep cows from entering.

• FVWC and KFN technicians hand cleared 4,300 m² of Himalayan blackberry (Rubus armeniacus). That's equivalent to nearly 3 hockey rinks! Stems were clipped back and the roots dug out with a shovel to reduce regrowth. Blackberry maintenance continues to be completed a few times a year.

• The McMillan Island East riparian area has been planted with over 2,000 native trees and shrubs!
  
  
  • the roots from these plants will help to stabilize the bank behind the riprap and the foliage will attract insects and provide leaf litter that will drop into the river as food for fish.

photo credit: FVWC
description: Large wood and rootwads were added to Whonnock Creek to create complex habitat for fish and other aquatic life.                                                                                                                                                      

photo credit: FVWC
description: FVWC and KFN technicians check fish traps and record the weight and length of salmonids in Whonnock Creek.                                                                                                                                               

photo credit: FVWC
description: FVWC and KFN technicians collect aquatic invertebrate samples from Whonnock Creek as a measure of stream health.                                                                                                                                          

Summary of Activities

• The section of Whonnock Creek, in Whonnock BC, that connects to the Fraser River was diverted and extended to create additional habitat for culturally, recreationally and aboriginally important fish species, particularly salmon.

• 100 m² of large wood and rootwads were added to Whonnock Creek and secured to boulders to keep them in place. Adding these wood structures to the stream protects the banks from erosion and increases aquatic habitat by adding habitat complexity.
  
  
  • Did you know? Habitat complexity is important for an ecosystem because it adds more habitat types to house a more diverse array of species. In the case of large wood and rootwads, they provide shaded space for fish to hide from the midday sun, a spot to hide from predators, and a spot with slower moving water for animals such as amphibians to lay their eggs. These are just a few of the many different benefits to adding large wood to a stream.

• Over 3,000 native trees and shrubs were planted to the riparian area surrounding the added section of Whonnock Creek.
   
  • plants included potted trees and shrubs as well as live-stakes (or branches) of species such as willow, cottonwood, and red-osier dogwood.
    
    
    • Adding live-stakes of these species is known as a method of bioengineering. Each live-stake pushed into the ground will grow into a new tree/shrub, provide riparian vegetation and bank stability via roots, and reduce erosion.
      
      
    • Additionally, a few wattle fences were built at the mouth where Whonnock Creek meets the Fraser River to reduce erosion from the tidal fluctuation of the river. Wattle fences are another form of bioengineering where a retaining wall of live-stakes (such as willow) is built to protect the bank from erosion. The willow will eventually root and grow providing additional riparian vegetation. 

Monitoring - "Taking nature's pulse"

• FVWC continues effectiveness monitoring at Whonnock to help KFN determine if it is functioning as intended.
  
  
• Whonnock Creek is monitored for 3 main things: water quality, fish presence, and stream health via aquatic macroinvertebrate sampling.
  
  
  • Measuring water quality shows us if the aquatic habitat conditions in the channel are suitable for aquatic species, particularly salmon.
    
    
  • Fish presence shows what species of fish and other aquatic life (i.e. salamanders and frogs) are using or inhabiting the channel. Salmonids are weighed and measured for body length to assess life-stage and overall health of the salmon using Whonnock Creek.
    
    
  • Aquatic macroinvertebrates are aquatic bugs. Certain species are indicators of a healthy stream because they are intolerant to pollution, therefore their presence in higher numbers may indicate a healthy stream for fish.

• Gee minnow trap data from 2018-2021 shows a total of 439 individual fish caught!
  
  
  • About 31% of those fish were salmon with 123 Coho, 10 rainbow trout, and 2 coastal cutthroat trout.
    
    
  • Some other species found include threespine stickleback, northern pike minnow, and peamouth chub which are all common, native, freshwater fish species in BC.

• Did you know? Collecting samples of aquatic macroinvertebrates and identifying the taxonomic order they belong to can be an indicator of stream health. There are 3 orders to look for that are considered pollution intolerant and are used as an index to determine a score for stream health.
   
  • These taxonomic orders are Ephemeroptera (mayflies), Plecoptera (stoneflies), and Trichoptera (caddisflies) - hence the name of the index used to score stream health is EPT after these 3 pollution intolerant orders.
    
    
• Aquatic invertebrate sampling in Whonnock Creek between 2019 and 2021 found a total of 4,251 aquatic bugs. Of those bugs 75% were of the species considered to be pollution intolerant! That's one healthy stream.