GILL CREEK FISH SURVEY 2004

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Prepared for: New York Power Authority

Prepared by: Gomez and Sullivan Enigeers, P.C. and New York Power Authority

August 2005

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ABBREVIATIONS

Agencies

NYPA New York Power Authority

Units of Measure

°C degrees Celsius, degrees Centigrade

mg/L milligrams per liter

mm millimeter

μs/cm microsiemens per centimeter

Environmental

SAV submerged aquatic vegetation

Miscellaneous

NPP Niagara Power Project

RTE Rare, Threatened, and Endangered

SOC species of concern

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The New York Power Authority (NYPA) is engaged in the relicensing of the Niagara Power Project (NPP) in Lewiston, Niagara County, New York. The present operating license of the plant expires in August 2007. As part of its preparation for the relicensing of the Niagara Power Project, NYPA is developing information related to the ecological, engineering, recreational, cultural, and socioeconomic aspects of the Project.

One of the studies NYPA agreed to conduct as part of the relicensing process, at the request of the Tuscarora Environment Program, was a fish survey of Gill Creek. The purposes of the study were to provide a better description of the distribution and composition of fish species in Gill Creek during spring, summer, and fall, and a general characterization of aquatic habitat in the creek at the locations where fish were sampled.

2.0 METHODS

2.1 Investigation Area

The investigation area was the portion of Gill Creek extending from Buffalo Avenue to approximately 2,500 feet upstream of Garlow Road on Tuscarora Land, excluding Hyde Park Lake and tributaries of Gill Creek (Figure 2.1-1).

2.2 Fish Sampling and Handling

Fish sampling was done in Gill Creek on May 19-20, July 12, and September 22, 2004 by seining, electrofishing, or a combination of both.

Captured fish were identified and enumerated in accordance with Standard Operating Procedures (Appendix A) by Dennis Dunning, Jason George, Mike Krumrine, Alex Levy, and John Magee. The total length of captured largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, yellow perch and fish belonging to the pike family was also recorded.

2.3 Habitat Descriptions

Habitat descriptions were assigned using the method and descriptions of Arend (1999), Chapter 8. Aquatic habitats were generally characterized as one of the following habitat types:

Riffle: shallow reach with moderate turbulence, moderate water velocities, and a slope < 4%. Riffles are generally characterized by the occurrence of small ripples, waves, and eddies, which are caused by small hydraulic jumps over rough bed material;

Run: moderately shallow reach with non-turbulent water, no major flow obstructions and little to no surface agitation;

Pool: aquatic habitat with a gradient less than 1 % that is generally deeper and wider than the habitat directly upstream and downstream;

Glide: wide channel lacking a definite thalweg with non-turbulent low to moderate water velocities. A glide usually occurs at the transition between a pool and a riffle.

Water depths were approximated for each site and the presence of aquatic vegetation was also noted when observed.

2.4 Water Quality Sampling

Water temperature and dissolved oxygen were measured, using a YSI 55 meter, and recorded at each sampling location on May 19-20, July 12, and September 22. Conductivity was measured using a Corning CD-55 conductivity meter, and recorded during July and September. A qualitative description of water clarity was also noted at each sampling site.

2.5 Data Recording

Data recording was done using a pen computer directly into an integrated Geographical Information System (GIS). Orthophotos with a one-foot spatial resolution from the year 2002 were loaded into the pen computer along with a data dictionary before commencing field activities. Sampling sites were mapped by locating the site on the orthophotos and drawing a line along the representative portion of the creek. At each site, information was recorded on the environmental conditions (e.g., weather, water temperature, dissolved oxygen concentration, and conductivity), the sampling equipment used and specifications/settings (e.g., size of seines, and electrofisher voltage, frequency, duty cycle and effort), the number of fish captured per species, the number of fish observed, and the number of fish preserved for later identification.

Figure 2.1-1

Investigation Area and Fish Survey Sites

3.0 RESULTS

The gear used and descriptions of the habitat characteristics at each site are listed in Table 3.0-1. The taxa of fish caught in Gill Creek are listed alphabetically by common name in Table 3.0-2 and phylogenetically by scientific name in Table 3.0-3. The numbers of fish caught are listed by species, month, method of capture, and site number in Table 3.0-4 through Table 3.0-19. Total lengths (mm) of measured fish are presented by month, method of capture, and site number in Table 3.0-20 through Table 3.0-25.

Water quality data are presented in Appendix B.

Table 3.0-1

Gear Used and General Habitat Characteristics by Site in Gill Creek During 2004

Site #	Gear	General Aquatic Habitat Characteristics
1	Blocking seine	Shallow (<1 ft), low gradient riffle
1	Electrofishing downstream into a blocking seine	Shallow (<1 ft), low gradient riffle
2	50-foot seine haul	Shallow (<2 ft), lentic area
3	Blocking seine	1-3 ft deep, pool and short, low gradient riffle
3	Electrofishing downstream into a blocking seine	1-3 ft deep, pool and short, low gradient riffle
4	50-foot seine haul	3 ft deep pool
5	Electrofishing	1-3 ft deep pool
6	20-foot seine haul	<1 ft deep, in open box culvert on Hyde Park Golf Course
7¹	Electrofishing downstream into a blocking seine	1-3 ft deep run and pool
7¹	Blocking seine	1-3 ft deep pool
7¹	Electrofishing	1-3 ft deep run and pool and <1 ft deep low gradient riffle
8	Blocking seine	1-2 ft deep glide and run
8	Electrofishing downstream into a blocking seine	1-2 ft deep glide and run
9	Electrofishing	1-2 ft deep glide and run
10	Electrofishing	1 ft deep run and <1 ft deep low gradient riffle
11	20-foot seine haul	1-2 ft deep glide
11	Electrofishing	1-2 ft deep run and low gradient riffle
12	Electrofishing	1-3 ft deep run and glide
13	Electrofishing	1-3 ft deep glide
14	Blocking seine	1-3 ft deep pool
14	Electrofishing downstream into a blocking seine	1-3 ft deep pool
15	Electrofishing	1 ft deep run
16	20-foot seine haul	1-2 ft deep pool
16	Electrofishing	1-2 ft deep pool with submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) and small woody debris

¹Dense SAV precluded sampling with a seine or blocking net in September. Only electrofishing was conducted in September.

Table 3.0-2

Common and scientific Names of Fishes Caught in Gill Creek by Seining and Electrofishing During May, July, and September 2004 listed Alphabetically by Common Name

Common Name	Scientific Name
Alewife	Alosa pseudoharengus
Banded killifish	Fundulus diaphanus
Black crappie	Pomoxis nigromaculatus
Blacknose dace	Rhinichthys atratulus
Bluegill	Lepomis macrochirus
Bluntnose minnow	Pimephales notatus
Brook stickleback	Culaea inconstans
Brown bullhead	Ameiurus nebulosus
Carp	Cyprinus carpio
Central mudminnow	Umbra limi
Central stoneroller	Campostoma anomalum
Common shiner	Luxilus cornutus
Creek chub	Semotilus atromaculatus
Creek chub/fallfish	Semotilus sp.
Emerald shiner	Notropis atherinoides
Fathead minnow	Pimephales promelas
Golden shiner	Notemigonus crysoleucas
Green sunfish	Lepomis cyanellus
Largemouth bass	Micropterus salmoides
Logperch	Percina caprodes
Minnow sp.	Cyprinidae
Mottled sculpin	Cottus bairdi
Pumpkinseed	Lepomis gibbosus
Rainbow darter	Etheostoma caeruleum
Rock bass	Ambloplites rupestris
Round goby	Neogobius melanostomus
Sculpin	Cottus sp.
Smallmouth bass	Micropterus dolomieui
Spotfin shiner	Cyprinella spiloptera
Spottail shiner	Notropis hudsonius