Cooperative Fisheries Inventory Program 2001 - Summary Report for the Swan and Willow River Drainages
Author(s)
Leanne Osokin
Summary
The Slave Lake area Co-operative Fisheries Inventory Program (CFIP) is a collaborative effort of the Alberta Conservation Association (ACA), Alberta Sustainable Resource Development (SRD), Slave Lake Pulp, and Weyerhaeuser Canada Ltd. (Slave Lake Division). This was the second season of the CFIP to occur within the Industry Partner’s Forest Management Agreements (FMA’s). The priority drainages selected for 2001 were the Inverness River, a sub-basin to the Swan River, and an unnamed portion of the Willow River. Sampling began on May 22 and concluded on August 31. In total, 32 sites were completed on the Swan River drainage, and 38 on the Willow River drainage. A collaboration with the Edson CFIP team, working in Miller Western’s FMA, allowed for an additional 24 sites to be inventoried on the Inverness drainage. Sampling results, including those completed by the Edson CFIP, indicated that 28.6% of the sites completed in the Swan River drainage contained fish, 51.8% were barren of fish, and 19.6% were sampled for habitat parameters only. Sites completed on the Willow River drainage included 18.4% with fish, 71.1% sampled with no fish, and 10.4% were sampled for habitat only. The permanent sample plots (PSP’s) established in 2000 on the Marten and Sawridge Creeks were also re-sampled in 2001. Progress was made towards the predictive modeling goal with all CFIP, PSP, and historical data being incorporated into a preliminary version to be tested in the 2002 season.