Fish community and fish habitat inventory of streams and constructed drains throughout agricultural areas of Manitoba (2002 - 2006)

Abstract

Recognizing the importance of well-drained agricultural land and the need to maintain drainage capacity while still protecting valuable fish habitat, the governments of Manitoba and Canada initiated an inventory of the fish community and habitat diversity of streams and constructed drains throughout agricultural areas of southern Manitoba. Over five field seasons between 2002 and 2006, field crews measured basic water chemistry, assessed fish habitat, sampled the fish community and documented conditions at 2,371 sampling sites. These data were used to classify the streams and constructed drains using the habitat classification protocol provided by the Manitoba Drain Maintenance Committee. This report lists and summarizes the fish community and fish habitat data gathered, and provides a series of map tiles displaying the classified habitat throughout the study area.