FHAP Flashcards
What are the 3 steps in the Fish Habitat Assessment Procedure (FHAP)? (3)
Overview Assessment (office based) - gather existing information from maps, reports, etc.
Level 1 survey - field reconnaissance, habitat card
Level 2 survey - more detailed, site-specific measurements to clarify objectives for restoration at specific site
FHAP Overview Assessment steps (7)
Delineate and ID watershed (name, UTM, region, ownership, stakeholders etc.)
Assemble existing information (fish species/distribution, abundance, habitat use etc.)
Establish stream reaches (maps, aerial photos)
ID target fish species, trends in abundance, map distribution by life stage, ID heavily impacted reaches etc.
Evaluate habitat conditions or sensitivity using existing info and aerial photos
ID areas of special concern (e.g. barriers)
Suggest preliminary rehabilitation strategies (restorative/mitigation measures)
What do you do for a FHAP Level 1 Survey? (5)
Objectives: confirm or revise the nature, location, extent, and severity of forest harvest impacts on fish habitat by sampling for 8 different features and comparing them to specific values
If watershed or regional criteria for habitat conditions do not exist, run diagnostic criteria to evaluate conditions in the reach (Poor, Fair, Good FHAP rating table)
Provide sufficient information to identify and prioritize restoration projects
Identify need for Level 2 Assessment
Prepare initial budgets and schedules for restoration projects
What are the main habitat features for a Level 1 FHAP? (8)
Adult holding pools Spawning gravel and quality Rearing pool area and frequency Cover in pools and riffles LWD frequency and distribution Substrate characteristics of the stream bed Off-channel habitat Nutrient concentrations during the summer growing season
What time of year should an FHAP be conducted and why? (2)
Summer base flow conditions, as habitat characteristics may vary with discharge and you want to see what conditions are in low flow
Much safer sampling
What are the habitat unit types that the Level 1 FHAP divides each stream reach into? (5)
Pools (both scour and dammed) Glides Riffles Cascades Other
What are pools?
Areas of relatively slower, deeper water, with a concave bottom and a gradient of 0% that follow minimum dimension guidelines listed in the FHAP
What are glides?
Shallow, non-turbulent, fast-flowing water with relatively flat bottoms
What are riffles? (2)
Turbulent, fast-flowing water
Gravel or cobble substrates with material projecting above water surface
What are cascades? (3)
Higher-gradient riffles
Strep, stepped areas of bedroom or emergent cobble and boulders
Gradient >4%
What is considered an “other” habitat unit?
Wetlands complexes that lack an identifiable primary channel, sloughs, lakes, and areas of sub-surface flow, or areas where the channel cannot be observed (e.g. under a log jam)
What are the 3 habitat unit categories?
In a FHAP, habitat units should be classified into 3 categories:
Primary habitat units: habitat units in the stream channel that occupy more than 50% of the wetted width
Secondary habitat units: habitat units in minor channels that are isolated from the main channel by a vegetated island (common in braided streams)
Tertiary habitat units: significant, identifiable units within the main channel that meet the minimum size criteria but occupy less than 50% of the wetted width
Once reaches have been delineated, what characteristics do we measure for each in the Habitat Survey Data Form? (20)
Length (m) Gradient (%) Mean Wetted Width (m) Mean Bankfull Width (m) Mean Water Depth (m) Bankfull water depth (m) Maximum Pool Depth (m) Riffle-Crest Depth (m) Residual Pool Depth (m) Pool Type Dominant and Sub-Dominant Bed Materials Presence of Spawning Gravels Type of Spawning Gravels LWD Tally Functional LWD Cover Type and percentage (%) Off-Channel Habitat Disturbance Indicators Riparian Vegetation Fish Useable Habitat Area
Length (m)
Measure the length along the thalwag using surveyors tape or a laser
Gradient (%)
Measure the gradient using a Clinometer or an Abney Level
Mean Wetted Width (Ww) (m)
Measure the wetted width of the unit as the horizontal distance perpendicular to the channel from the waters edge on one side to the waters edge on the opposite side
Mean Bankfull Width (Wb) (m) (3)
Measure as the horizontal distance perpendicular to the channel between the tops of the stream banks on opposite shades of the stream
High flow water level delineated by looking at change in sediment or lack of vegetation
Do not include vegetated islands, but if there are many, you can sum the distances between them at the end
Mean Water Depth (m)
Average 3 depths taken at equal intervals across the transect perpendicular to the flow at a “representative” site within the habitat unit (at 1/4, 1/2, 3/4)
Bankfull Water Depth (m)
Measure the vertical distance from a horizontal line at the height of the bankfull width to the waters surface and add to average depth calculation
Maximum Pool Depth (m)
Measure the depth of the deepest point of the pool
Riffle Crest Depth (m)
Measure the depth of the water at the riffle crest (where the pool outlet is)
Residual Pool Depth (m)
Subtract the riffle crest depth from the maximum pool depth to get the residual pool depth (the depth of the pool when there is no flow occurring)
Pool Type
Classify pool type as S = Scour, D = Dammed, or U = Unknown
Dominant and Sub-Dominant Bed Materials
Estimate and record the size-classes of the substrate materials that cover the largest proportion (dominant) and second largest proportion (sub-dominant) of bed materials (e.g. F = sand, silt, clay, SC = small cobble etc.)
Presence of Spawning Gravels
Classify area based on presence of suitable spawning gravels
N = no suitable gravels L = Little suitable gravels H = extensive areas of gravels
Type of Spawning Gravels
Classify the spawning gravels present based on their suitability for certain fish species
R = Suitable for resident trout or char A = Suitable for anadromous salmon RA = suitable for both
Large Woody Debris Tally
Tally all LWD having a diameter 10cm or larger and over a minimum of 2m length within the bankfull channel
Functional Large Woody Debris
Count as functional LWD only if it influences channel morphology but causing scour or impoundment (three size classes: 10-20cm, 20-50cm, >50cm)
Cover Type and Percentage (%) (2)
Structural element within 1m of surface that acts as suitable refugia
Estimated by percentage of total surface area into cover types (e.g. SWD = Small Woody Debris, B = boulders, C = undercut banks etc.)
Off-Channel Habitat (3)
Document the off-channel habitat by type (e.g. SC = side channel), fish access (e.g. N = no access), and measure or estimate the length and area of the off-channel habitat unit
Disturbance Indicators
Record type and length of disturbance indicators (e.g. extensive areas of scour)
Riparian Vegetation (3)
Record the type (dominant vegetation type within 20m of channel)
Record the structure (structural stage of the dominant vegetation type in the riparian area)
Record the canopy closure (percent cover of canopy closure over the stream
Fish Useable Habitat Area
Estimate the total usable habitat area within the habitat unit for steelhead fry and parr (width x depth)
