Lake Erie Basin Update - Ontario Side
Building Stream Buffers for Niagara’s Rivers Project
By Patti Green, Niagara Restoration Council
The Niagara Restoration Council (NRC) has been actively involved in
environmental projects in the Niagara River Watershed in south
eastern Ontario for over ten years. In that time we have partnered
with the community to design, implement, and monitor various
projects.Two current endeavours include a fish barrier removal project
in the Niagara River watershed, and a wildlife corridor enhancement
projectwithin the subwatersheds of the Fifteen,Sixteen,and Eighteen
Mile Creeks.
The Niagara Restoration Council (NRC), through its project, ‘Building
Stream Buffers for Niagara's Rivers,’aims to improve water quality and
enhance wildlife habitat through the planting of riparian vegetation
along watercourses in the Niagara region. In the last couple of years,
the NRC has undertaken several highly successful riparian buffer
plantings on municipal property, golf
courses and high traffic areas that provide
many opportunities for public
involvement and benefit.
The project aims to restore streamside
vegetation for the fulfillment of many
ecological purposes, such as the
provision of critical shoreline habitat for
wildlife. Buffers also promote bank
stabilization and protect stream banks
from erosion, thereby reducing
sediment loads into the creek. Plants
protect water quality through the
filtration of pesticides, fertilizers and
overland surface flow before they reach
the watercourse. Vegetation further
moderates water levels and flow velocities
through long term bank storage.
Maple Park, one of the NRC’s most recent buffer planting locations, is
a public recreation park owned by the City of Welland that has a
350 meters section of Draper’s Creek running through it. Prior to
restoration in 2004, the banks of the creek were barren of sufficient
vegetation, providing no buffering or filtration capacity to the creek,
or habitat for wildlife. Fish and wildlife sightings were essentially
non-existent.
In 2004, the City of Welland allowed the NRC to plant an
experimental section along 140 meters of the creek, and due to its
great success in the first year, further buffer plantings occurred in
2005. The “before” photograph illustrates the prime candidacy of
Draper’s creek for riparian buffer restoration.
The site was prepared through the removal of sod, and then
planted with over 20 species of native riparian grasses, shrubs, and
wildflowers including black-eyed susan, blue vervain, cardinal
flower, butterfly weed, swamp milkweed, New England aster, as
well as dogwoods and willows. Over forty volunteers and local
landowners from four of the neighbouring properties came to assist
with planting!
Due to the success after the first year of planting, the City of Welland
agreed to have the Niagara Restoration Council continue the planting
of an additional 210 meters of Draper’s Creek in Maple Park in 2005.
The project was made possible with the financial
assistance of the Government of Canada’s Great
Lakes Sustainability Fund,TD Bank Friends of the
Environment Foundation, and the Niagara
Community Foundation, as well as the logistical
and technical support from the Niagara Peninsula Conservation
Authority and other project partners.
Overall, the project has been very successful, and has realized many of
the goals of the ‘Building Stream Buffers for Niagara’s Rivers Project’.
The project has created an opportunity for the public to learn about
riparian buffer strips, and their function in an ecosystem.
Landowners have become very involved with the project, and have
agreed to help maintain the “no mow” zones alongside the creek.
Signs explaining the project have been erected on site, and provide
information regarding their importance.
The 350 meters buffer strip established has resulted in the creation of
3000 meters2 of wildlife habitat. Immediately following the planting
of vegetation, an increase in wildlife was seen, including a greater
presence of dragonflies, butterflies, and ducks. It quickly became
evident that the vegetative growth was stabilizing the banks and
reducing erosion. A few months after planting, the creek began to
form some minor bank undercutting, leading to the creation of
superior refuge areas for fish. This riparian vegetation demonstrates
the ability of buffer strips to perform vital ecological functions,while
being pleasing to the eye in a municipal park!
For more information:
Patti Green, Niagara Restoration Council
250 Thorold Rd.W. 3rd Floor • Welland, ONT L3C 3W2
PH: (905) 788-0248 • niagararestoration@becon.org
Disclaimer:
The interpretations and conclusions presented in this newsletter represent the opinions of the individual authors. They in no way represent the views of the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council, the C.S. Mott Foundation, subscribers, donors, or any organization mentioned in this publication.
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