White sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) recovery strategy: chapter 3

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8.3 Upper Fraser River Population

Knowledge of habitat use for the Upper Fraser white sturgeon population is more limited than for other populations.  A variety of studies have been completed showing habitat associations based on capture rates, but no spawning sites have been confirmed at this time.  Recent, but limited, telemetry data exists for mature sturgeon (Cory Williamson, B.C. Ministry of Environment, personal communication). High use habitats have been identified for juvenile rearing and feeding, adult holding and feeding, and adult overwintering life stages.  This information is summarized in Table 6.

Two of the locations identified (Red Rock and Cottonwood Canyon) are downstream of the Nechako-Fraser confluence: therefore are in an area of overlap between the Upper Fraser population and the mid-Fraser population.  These areas are identified as critical habitat based solely on their influence on the Upper Fraser population.

Table 6.  Summary of information base for white sturgeon critical habitats in the Upper Fraser River. An empty cell means that the life stage does not consistently use the habitat. The table has two main columns from left to right: Location (see Figure 14 for basin overview), and Confirmed (Checkmark), Suspected (S), or Possible (question mark) Use by Life Stage and Degree of Use (H=High, M=Moderate, L=Low). The latter column has seven sub-columns from left to right: Spawn, Yolk sac larvae/feeding larvae, Early juvenile, Late Juvenile and Adult, Overwintering, Staging, and Overall assessment. Directly below column headings are 9 rows, read from left to right.

Row 1: Penny, question mark, question mark, blank cell, checkmark H, checkmark H, blank cell, Critical. Row 2: Longworth Grand Canyon, (S)M, question mark, blank cell, checkmark H, checkmark H, question mark, Critical. Row 3: Bowron River Confluence, (S) H, question mark, (checkmark) question mark, (checkmark) H, (S) H, question mark, Critical. Row 4: McGregor River to Limestone Creek, question mark, question mark, empty cell, (checkmark) H, (checkmark) H, question mark, Critical. Row 5: Giscome at Tay Creek, question mark, question mark, empty cell, (checkmark) H, (S) H, empty cell, Critical. Row 6: Willow River Confluence, (S) M, question mark, empty cell, (checkmark) H, (checkmark) H, empty cell, Critical. Row 7: Salmon River Confluence, question mark, question mark, empty cell, (checkmark) H, (checkmark) H, empty cell, Critical. Row 8: Nechako River Confluence, (S) M, question mark, empty cell, (checkmark) H, (S) H, empty cell, Critical. Row 9: Red Rock, (S) H, question mark, empty cell, (checkmark) H, (S) H, empty cell, Critical.  

Confirmed (√), Suspected (S), or Possible (?) Use by Life Stage and Degree of Use (H=High, M=Moderate, L=Low)

8.3.1 Biophysical Functions, Features and Attributes of Critical Habitat – Upper Fraser River Population

Table 7 summarizes the critical habitat function(s), features and attributes, to the extent possible, for the Upper Fraser population of white sturgeon.

Table 7. Table 7 provides a summary of the biophysical features, functions, attributes and locations of critical habitat for Upper Fraser River white sturgeon. The first column describes the geographic locations of the critical habitat, which encompass areas within the Upper Fraser River where white sturgeon reside. The second column indicates the life stage that uses each respective critical habitat area. The third column indicates the function that the particular life stage undertakes in each area. The fourth column describes the critical habitat feature that provides the function, and the fifth column details the attributes that the critical habitat feature must have in order to provide the biological function needed to support Upper Fraser River white sturgeon survival or recovery. The final column contains notes.

1 Depositional Area - typically lower velocity areas where fish can rest and prey species may congregate; often in close proximity to confluences with other water bodies providing further access to food sources

8.3.2 Geographic Identification of Critical Habitat – Upper Fraser River Population

The following locations of the critical habitat’s functions, features and attributes have been identified using the critical habitat parcel approach.

Figure 4.  Reference map for locations of Upper Fraser River white sturgeon critical habitats.

Figure 4.  This is a map of the Upper Fraser River system showing an overview of critical habitat locations. Critical habitat includes aquatic habitat features and attributes that Upper Fraser River white sturgeon use to carry out life functions.  Nine locations within the vicinity of Prince George are labelled on a map of British Columbia as follows: Red Rock, Nechako River Confluence, Salmon River Confluence, Willow River Confluence, Giscome Tay Creek, McGregor River to Limestone Creek, Bowron River Confluence, Grand Canyon Longworth and Penny. A scale and legend are provided along with an inset map showing locations are primarily in the Omineca zone of British Columbia. The map is oriented in a “north is up” direction.

Figure 5.  Map of critical habitat for Upper Fraser River white sturgeon: Penny.

Figure 5. Figure 5 is a map of a section of the Upper Fraser River, British Columbia, showing the critical habitat location of Penny. The map depicts a polygon that has been identified as critical habitat for Upper Fraser River white sturgeon. In the identified polygon, critical habitat includes aquatic habitat features and attributes that Upper Fraser River white sturgeon use to carry out life functions. The coordinates denoting various points of the polygon’s boundary are listed in Table 8. The critical habitat polygon in the Penny map is also labeled with codes that correspond to codes used to identify the polygon in Table 8. A scale of 1:15,000 and legend are provided along with an inset map showing locations are primarily in the Omineca zone of British Columbia. The map is oriented in a “north is up” direction.

Figure 6.  Map of critical habitat for Upper Fraser River white sturgeon: Longworth Grand Canyon.

Figure 6. Figure 6 is a map of a section of the Upper Fraser River, British Columbia, showing the critical habitat location of Longworth Grand Canyon. The map depicts a polygon that has been identified as critical habitat for Upper Fraser River white sturgeon. In the identified polygon, critical habitat includes aquatic habitat features and attributes that Upper Fraser River white sturgeon use to carry out life functions. The coordinates denoting various points of the polygon’s boundary are listed in Table 8. The critical habitat polygon in the Longworth Grand Canyon map is also labeled with codes that correspond to codes used to identify the polygon in Table 8. A scale of 1:36,000 and legend are provided along with an inset map showing locations are primarily in the Omineca zone of British Columbia. The map is oriented in a “north is up” direction.

Figure 7.  Map of critical habitat for Upper Fraser River white sturgeon: Bowron River confluence with the Fraser River.

Figure 7. Figure 7 is a map of a section of the Upper Fraser River, British Columbia, showing the critical habitat location Bowron River confluence with the Fraser River. The map depicts a polygon that has been identified as critical habitat for Upper Fraser River white sturgeon. In the identified polygon, critical habitat includes aquatic habitat features and attributes that Upper Fraser River white sturgeon use to carry out life functions. The coordinates denoting various points of the polygon’s boundary are listed in Table 8. The critical habitat polygon in the Bowron River confluence with the Fraser River map is also labeled with codes that correspond to codes used to identify the polygon in Table 8. A scale of 1:18,000 and legend are provided along with an inset map showing locations are primarily in the Omineca zone of British Columbia. The map is oriented in a “north is up” direction.

Figure 8.  Map of critical habitat for Upper Fraser River white sturgeon: McGregor River confluence with the Fraser River to Limestone Creek confluence.

Figure 8. Figure 8 is a map of a section of the Upper Fraser River, British Columbia, showing the critical habitat location McGregor River confluence with the Fraser River to Limestone Creek confluence. The map depicts a polygon that has been identified as critical habitat for Upper Fraser River white sturgeon. In the identified polygon, critical habitat includes aquatic habitat features and attributes that Upper Fraser River white sturgeon use to carry out life functions. The coordinates denoting various points of the polygon’s boundary are listed in Table 8. The critical habitat polygon in the McGregor River confluence with the Fraser River to Limestone Creek confluence map is also labeled with codes that correspond to codes used to identify the polygon in Table 8. A scale of 1:107,000 and legend are provided along with an inset map showing locations are primarily in the Omineca zone of British Columbia. The map is oriented in a “north is up” direction.

Figure 9.  Map of critical habitat for Upper Fraser River white sturgeon: Giscome at Tay Creek.

Figure 9. Figure 9 is a map of a section of the Upper Fraser River, British Columbia, showing the critical habitat location Giscome at Tay Creek. The map depicts a polygon that has been identified as critical habitat for Upper Fraser River white sturgeon. In the identified polygon, critical habitat includes aquatic habitat features and attributes that Upper Fraser River white sturgeon use to carry out life functions. The coordinates denoting various points of the polygon’s boundary are listed in Table 8. The critical habitat polygon in the Giscome at Tay Creek map is also labeled with codes that correspond to codes used to identify the polygon in Table 8. A scale of 1:16,000 and legend are provided along with an inset map showing locations are primarily in the Omineca zone of British Columbia. The map is oriented in a “north is up” direction.

Figure 10.  Map of critical habitat for Upper Fraser River white sturgeon: Willow River confluence with the Fraser River.

Figure 10. Figure 10 is a map of a section of the Upper Fraser River, British Columbia, showing the critical habitat location Willow River confluence with the Fraser River. The map depicts a polygon that has been identified as critical habitat for Upper Fraser River white sturgeon. In the identified polygon, critical habitat includes aquatic habitat features and attributes that Upper Fraser River white sturgeon use to carry out life functions. The coordinates denoting various points of the polygon’s boundary are listed in Table 8. The critical habitat polygon in the Willow River confluence with the Fraser River map is also labeled with codes that correspond to codes used to identify the polygon in Table 8. A scale of 1:30,000 and legend are provided along with an inset map showing locations are primarily in the Omineca zone of British Columbia. The map is oriented in a “north is up” direction.

Figure 11.  Map of critical habitat for Upper Fraser River white sturgeon: Salmon River confluence with the Fraser River.

Figure 11. Figure 11 is a map of a section of the Upper Fraser River, British Columbia, showing the critical habitat location Salmon River confluence with the Fraser River. The map depicts a polygon that has been identified as critical habitat for Upper Fraser River white sturgeon. In the identified polygon, critical habitat includes aquatic habitat features and attributes that Upper Fraser River white sturgeon use to carry out life functions. The coordinates denoting various points of the polygon’s boundary are listed in Table 8. The critical habitat polygon in the Salmon River confluence with the Fraser River map is also labeled with codes that correspond to codes used to identify the polygon in Table 8. A scale of 1:15,000 and legend are provided along with an inset map showing locations are primarily in the Omineca zone of British Columbia. The map is oriented in a “north is up” direction.

Figure 12.  Map of critical habitat for Upper Fraser River white sturgeon: Nechako River confluence with the Fraser River.

Figure 12. Figure 12 is a map of a section of the Upper Fraser River, British Columbia, showing the critical habitat location Nechako River confluence with the Fraser River. The map depicts a polygon that has been identified as critical habitat for Upper Fraser River white sturgeon. In the identified polygon, critical habitat includes aquatic habitat features and attributes that Upper Fraser River white sturgeon use to carry out life functions. The coordinates denoting various points of the polygon’s boundary are listed in Table 8. The critical habitat polygon in the Nechako River confluence with the Fraser River map is also labeled with codes that correspond to codes used to identify the polygon in Table 8. A scale of 1:24,000 and legend are provided along with an inset map showing locations are primarily in the Omineca zone of British Columbia. The map is oriented in a “north is up” direction.

Figure 13.  Map of critical habitat for Upper Fraser River white sturgeon: Red Rock.

Figure 13. Figure 13 is a map of a section of the Upper Fraser River, British Columbia, showing the critical habitat location Red Rock. The map depicts a polygon that has been identified as critical habitat for Upper Fraser River white sturgeon. In the identified polygon, critical habitat includes aquatic habitat features and attributes that Upper Fraser River white sturgeon use to carry out life functions. The coordinates denoting various points of the polygon’s boundary are listed in Table 8. The critical habitat polygon in the Red Rock map is also labeled with codes that correspond to codes used to identify the polygon in Table 8. A scale of 1:70,000 and legend are provided along with an inset map showing locations are primarily in the Omineca zone of British Columbia. The map is oriented in a “north is up” direction.

Table 8. Geographic Coordinates of Critical Habitat Areas for Upper Fraser River white sturgeon. A footnote on the word “coordinates” in the previous sentence states the following: Coordinate points were digitized using various orthophotos provided by Fisheries and Oceans Canada. The resolution of the various orthophotos varied significantly - ranging from 0.2 m cell size to 24 m cell size. This should be taken into consideration when evaluating the accuracy of the coordinates associated with these points. For geographic coordinate points, their boundary represents the annual high water mark (Hatfield et al. 2012). Note: For the Fraser River, relative locations are measured as “river kilometers”, which increase from the river mouth (Rkm 0) upstream to the farthest extent possible.

The table has eight columns read left to right: Critical Habitat Name, Coordinate Marker, Waterbody, River Kilometer, Latitude (DD), Longitude (DD), Latitude (DMS), Longitude (DMS). DD refers to Decimal Degrees and DMS refers to Degrees, Minutes, Seconds. Directly below the column headings there are 52 rows. Eight rows correspond to the Fraser – Bowron River Confluence area, four to the Fraser – Giscome at Tay Creek area, four to Fraser-Longworth Grand Canyon area, six to the Fraser McGregor River Confluence to Limestone Creek area, eight to the Fraser - Nechako River Confluence area, four to the Fraser – Penny area, four to the Fraser – Red Rock area, six to the Fraser – Salmon River Confluence area, and eight to the Fraser – Willow River Confluence area. 

¹¹ Coordinate points were digitized using various orthophotos provided by Fisheries and Oceans Canada. The resolution of the various orthophotos varied significantly - ranging from 0.2 m cell size to 24 m cell size. This should be taken into consideration when evaluating the accuracy of the coordinates associated with these points. For geographic coordinate points, their boundary represents the annual high water mark (Hatfield et al. 2012).
Note: For the Fraser River, relative locations are measured as “river kilometers”, which increase from the river mouth (Rkm 0) upstream to the farthest extent possible.