Keifer Ecological Services

• Kinbasket Reservoir Revegetation Program
• Arrow Lakes Reservoir Revegetation Program
• Silviculture, Wildfire and Forest Stand Effects on Huckleberries
• Spalding’s Campion Inventory and Habitat Assessment
• MOE Elder Creek Prescribed Burn
• Spatial and Quality Attributes of Culturally Important Plants
• Rare Plant Propagation and Restoration, Waneta Expansion Project
• Whitebark and Limber Pine Restoration in BC
• Impact of Accelerated Timber Harvesting on NTFPs
• Aberfeldie Channel and Revegetation Program
• Effects of Mountain Pine Beetle on NTFRs
• Revegetation of Disturbed Wetlands in Westpath Expansion Area
• Managing Saskatoon and other Traditionally Important Plants
• Invasive Plant Inventories at Provincial Parks
• Profile of NTFRs in the Cascade Forest District
• Invasive Species Mitigation Practices after Forest Management Activities
• Ethnobotanical Inventory, Invermere
• Reconnaissance Level Wetland Testing on TaTa/Skookumchuck Range
• Revegetation Monitoring - Kootenay 230 kV System Transmission Line
• Cultural Plants of the Creston Wetlands
• Morels in the East Kootenay, BC

Arrow Lakes Reservoir Revegetation Program

The Arrow Lakes Reservoir is a massive body of water that extends from near Castlegar to Revelstoke, B.C., a straight-line distance of over 180 km.  The shoreline elevation ranges from roughly 440 m at full pool to as low as 420 m, leaving vast expanses of land exposed at low water levels.

Limiting factors to vegetation growth are a direct result of fluctuating water levels associated with hydro-electric generation, as well as slope and substrate limitations.  In a typical year in the Arrow Lakes Reservoir, plants are exposed and able to start growing in much of the drawdown zone in late March to early April; by mid-June they are usually flooded.  In some years, depending on the water regime, plants can also have fall growth starting in September.  This relatively short growth period, coupled with potential fluctuations in the water table of more than 20 m in elevation and associated erosion processes, constrains the ability of plant communities to evolve to a state where they are dominated by perennial native species.  Such species are known to be effective in holding substrates while providing wildlife and littoral habitat.

The key environmental and social objectives of the program are to:
1) maximize vegetation growth in the drawdown zone,
2) provide benefits to littoral productivity and wildlife habitat through increased habitat diversity,
3) increase the diversity of native plants, particularly those of interest to First Nations, and
4) provide increased protection for known archaeological sites, where possible.

Soil physical data collected in 2007 in the Kinbasket Reservoir (Keefer et al. 2007) indicates that substrate and texture at most sites can be generally described as sandy, silty or organic.  Chemical analysis has determined that all sites are deficient in nitrogen, most sites are deficient in phosphorous, potassium, boron and chlorine, and some sites are deficient in sulphur and manganese.  Several of the chemical elements listed above are water soluble, so late spring fertilization application with conventional fertilizers may not be an efficient use of resources.  Additionally, it is not known whether or not individual elements are limiting to individual plant species.

Soil quality factors show that most silty sites have high pH levels.  Organic sites are generally neutral or slightly acidic.  Sandy sites are more variable.  Organic matter content was found to be highly variable and may influence vegetation growth and establishment on some sites.

Work began in the spring of 2008, when KES was contracted to conduct a fertilization trial in the Arrow Lakes Reservoir, to plant seedlings and to collect seed from native plant species suitable for revegetation of the targeted sites.  The fertilization trial was designed to test the efficacy of using fertilizer to enhance both natural reservoir plant communities and planted sedge seedlings.

Specific trial locations and fertilizer applications were finalized after a preliminary site investigation and once the soil data had been acquired.  Sites were grouped by physical and chemical attributes, and a subset was selected on which to conduct fertilizer trials. It was felt that the chosen site should be large enough to allow for all treatments, have some diversity of substrates, have good access and be in need of vegetation enhancement. 

In the fall of 2008, KES was awarded a two year contract to extend revegetation efforts to large portions of the reservoir drawdown zone, as identified in the previous year.  Activities under this contract include: propagating and planting nursery stock, collecting seed, developing and implementing revegetation prescriptions including; fertilizing existing vegetation, planting seedlings, and fertilizing plantings, installing monitoring systems, data collection and analysis, and reporting.