Restoration options for Nicomekl River anadromous salmonids – Elgin Road Bridge Sea Dam
Taft, John-Christopher (author) Harrison, Scott (thesis advisor) Ashley, Ken Bendell, Leah British Columbia Institute of Technology Applied and Natural Sciences (Degree granting institution) Simon Fraser University Faculty of Environment (Degree granting institution)
Dissertation/thesis
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ © John-Christopher Taft, 2017. All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright heron may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means - graphics, electronic, or mechanical including photocopying, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems - without written permission of the author.
British Columbia Institute of Technology
2017-04-28
72 pages
The Nicomekl River flows through historic Katzie First Nation territory in Surrey, British Columbia. The river provides salmon the linkage between their upland spawning and rearing grounds and the Pacific Ocean where they mature. Anthropogenic development has reduced habitat connectivity along the river, denuded the banks of vegetation, removed instream complexity, constrained the channel, regulated flow, and altered the water chemistry. A tidally controlled 7-gate sea dam is the source of the critical connectivity bottleneck on the river. It impairs free longitudinal migrations of adult and juvenile salmonids and increases adult and juvenile predation. Through literature review and site assessment, this study suggests a suite of restoration treatments to restore connectivity and site-based habitat attributes to the Nicomekl River. The study then considers management options in light of climate change, sea level rise, and how to generate public involvement to support the proposed treatments. The study concludes that urban stream restoration faces challenges as it must find a balance between the environmental and social needs of the Nicomekl River beyond simply repairing ecosystem damage and degradation.
riparian restoration salmonids migration bottlenecks: connectivity
Salmonids Riparian restoration
electronic
Master of Science
