RESOURCE

Trestle Channel Effectiveness Monitoring Report 2017

In 2017 Pacific Salmon Foundation (PSF) initiated a pilot project to develop standard methods for routine effectiveness monitoring (REM) of their projects. Five recently completed, PSF funded project sites in the Fraser Valley were selected for inclusion. One of these is the Trestle Channel Project, the most recent phase of restoration of the Browne Creek Wetlands in south Chilliwack. The project was led by the Fraser Valley Watersheds Coalition (FVWC) with design and construction supervision provided by the local Resource Restoration Unit of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Work was completed in March 2016. It received support, including funding and in-kind contributions from a broad range of local institutions and organizations (FVWC 2015).

REM is envisioned as a collaboration between the group(s) that led project construction, the local First Nation and professional biologists. The intent is to collect high quality data for evaluation of project success, to increase awareness of habitat issues, and help build technical capacity within First Nations and the broader community. In this case members of Soowahlie First Nation, The WaterWealth Project and the broader Chilliwack community are working with the biologists and technicians of Pearson Ecological to collect the data.

This interim report presents results from the first season of monitoring (fall 2017) of the Trestle Channel project and reference sites. It includes data from macroinvertebrate and water quality sampling, salmon spawner surveys, and fish trapping. Additional data will be collected in spring and summer of 2018 on habitat quality, riparian health, amphibian breeding and other project characteristics to complete year one of monitoring in accordance with a monitoring plan (Pearson Ecological, 2018).