Assessing the Impact of Habitat Actions

1
Assessing the Impact of Habitat Actions

• Major Considerations
• Life cycle of the species
• Spatial scale of the action(s)
• Expected change from the action(s)
• Availability of baseline information
• Potentially confounding factors

2
Life Cycle Considerations

• Yearling type chinook and steelhead
• Egg to Parr Survival
• Spawning and Incubation
• Emergence and early distribution/rearing
• Late summer/fall migrations
• Overwintering Survival
• Downstream Migration

3
What types of habitat actions will we need to
assess?

• Some examples
• Improve Tributary flows
• Address diversions
• Remedy barriers
• Address sedimentation problems
• Address water quality problems
• Restore Riparian function
• Restore upland habitats

4
How do proposed actions relate to target
populations?

• Relative to production from a particular spawning
  reach
• Immediate area
• Downstream effects
• Overwintering areas
• Migration corridor

5
What do we need to measure?

• Population Status
• Lambda - an index of trends in spawner counts
• Return per Spawner info
• Life Stage Survivals
• Escapement to spawner
• Egg to Parr
• Egg to Smolt

6
Key Questions for Assessment

• What is the baseline population growth rate?
• What life stage is affected by the action(s)?
• For that life stage, what is the baseline
  survival rate for the population ?
• What is the change in survival associated with a
  particular action (or actions)?
• What proportion of the population benefits from
  the action(s)?

7
What can we do in the next six months?

• Review Watershed assessments to
  identify/categorize major habitat action
  opportunities
• Review proposed early actions
• Identify high priority opportunities to monitor
  change from habitat actions
• Develop a draft long-term monitoring and
  evaluation strategy incorporating those
  opportunities