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Fish Abundance And Habitat Recommendations Of The Lake Whatcom Tributaries, Ariel Edwards

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

The tributaries of Lake Whatcom, Austin/Beaver, Anderson, Olsen, and Smith Creeks, provide essential habitat for many fish species native to the Pacific Northwest. However, development in the watershed has contributed to habitat alterations and even degradation of habitat quality. In this report, fish abundance and diversity, and habitat quality is compared both temporally, and among different streams. Anderson Creek was found to have the greatest species diversity. Cutthroat trout was the most abundant fish at each stream throughout the study period and was observed at every study site. Restoration recommendations for each stream were aimed at supporting existing native fish …