The Majestic Nottawasaga River

“Nottawasaga”…from the Algonquin translation referring to the outlet of the river where Huron would battle their mortal enemies, the Iroquois

 As a child of the 1950s, growing up in Toronto near the old stock yards of St. Clair Avenue, it was a real treat to join our family and head up to Wasaga Beach with its long reaches of sparkling white sand and rolling waves of water lapping on its seemingly endless shores. Off in the distance I could see the striking escarpment peaks above the haze rising off the waters of Notttawasaga Bay.

Somehow, within me, was there was a spiritual enrichment that was growing. That emotional connection to this area would kindle the passion to preserve its majestic elegance. As I became an angler, following in the footsteps of my father whom I fished with on the Nottawasaga River, through my early years, I understood that this wonderful watershed together with its bay and beaches was speaking to me and asking for my assistance in its preservation.

As I began to travel the varied and uniquely different reaches of the Nottawasaga and its numerous tributaries, I was rewarded with beautiful images of tranquility and a symbiotic connection of the various flora, fish and fauna that made their homes within and by its waters. From the gurgle of the headwaters of the Pine River arising from percolating cold springs of the Amabel limestone, where colourful brook trout would rise to grab an emerging fly hatching from the surface, to its meeting with larger flow downstream near Angus, the stream flow whispered an evolving story. By this time its energetic flow has slowed and it contributes its pristine waters just before it prepares to enter the mystery of the Minesing.

(I will discuss the Minesing in my upcoming blog as it deserves a whole chapter). The “Notty” has many tributaries (11), together with many secondary feeder tributaries each with their own unique characteristics. So much so, that rainbow trout actually have developed their instinctive homing capabilities from the tributaries’ distinctive geo-morphological characteristics. These tributaries are McIntyre Creek, Little Marl Creek, Marl Creek, Willow Creek, Mad River, Bear Creek, Pine River, Boyne River, Innisfil Creek, Sheldon Creek and the Upper Nottawasaga reaching as far as Orangeville.

After the Minesing, past the hamlet of Edenvale, the Notty broadens and slows and begins its meandering journey through varied countryside including Jack’s Lake and then down through into the community of Wasaga Beach. It makes a series of bends while preparing to arrive at Nottawasaga Bay, through the Oxbow.

In 2012 the Federal government under the Harper Conservatives replaced the Navigable Waters Protection Act with the Navigation Protection Act and by doing so removed the Nottawasaga not only as a popular and recognized navigable river but from it environmental  protection. Some 40,000 lakes and 2.5 million rivers previously protected have now been reduced to 100 lakes and 61 rivers and the majestic Notty is not one of them. A movement and petition to re-instate the Notty has been started and driven by many including AWARE Simcoe and recently the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority. It is critical that the Nottawasaga receive its due recognition. Anything other than this represents a glaring, purposeful omission and a travesty by an uncaring government with ulterior motives.

See AWARE Simcoe’s Message

Here are some points about the Notty I thought I would share with you. Indeed she is a Majestic Lady well worthy of our recognition, appreciation and protection.

Did you know that…

• The Nottawasaga River encompasses an area of 3361 square kilometers, comparable in size to that of the Maitland River.
• The Nottawasaga River watershed also encompasses 3 counties and 18 municipalities.
  • The main branch of the Nottawasaga River is approximately 122 kilometers in length of which 70 kilometers is open to steelhead fishing year round.
  • Three of the Nottawasaga River tributaries (Mad River, Pine River and Innisfil Creek) are larger than the Bighead River.
  • The Nottawasaga River provides spawning habitat for many species of fish (75) including rare native lake sturgeon, a threatened species, which can migrate 70 kilometers upstream.
  • The name “Nottawasaga” is derived from the Algonquin words for “Outlet of the River” where the Iroquois war parties attacked the Huron.
  • During the War of 1812, the last remaining British warship “Nancy” was critical in maintaining supply lines to the upper Great Lakes. She was sunk in the Nottawasaga River by U.S. forces and is now a museum in the town of Wasaga Beach. The present day boundaries of Canada are due in part to the Nancy’s defense in maintaining the upper Great Lakes supply lines.
  • During the early 1800s the Nottawasaga River was a key lumber river and the boom created a proposed rail and road connection with the city of York (Toronto). It’s failure as a sound harbour after a ship from Buffalo scuttled in a storm, sealed its fate.
  • The first Canadian over-seas flight originated from Wasaga Beach on August 8^th, 1934. The plane “Trail of the Caribou” landed in Heston, England some 31 hours later.
  • The Nottawasaga River watershed and adjoining land was formed initially by Pleistocene glacial formation some 20, 000 years ago.
  • Much of the Nottawasaga River bedrock is covered by gravel and glacial sand from the Wisconsin glaciation. This is about the time that the unique sand dunes of the area were formed.
  • Today, 3 chief features define the area the river traverses geologically… The Niagara Escarpment, The Rolling Moraines and The Broad Simcoe Flatlands.
  • The main bedrock of the valley watershed is shale and limestone between 300 and 400 million years old as evident in the Niagara Escarpment.
  • The watershed also comprises some 1400 sq hectares of critical wetland, the largest being the Minesing Wetlands, home to many rare flora and fauna including over 206 species of birds and the spawning grounds for one of only two North American swamp spawning species of walleye (now rare) and the Hines Emerald dragonfly now recognized as “endangered”.
  • Ground (spring) water is a perfect moderator on the Notty, cooling the river in the summer and warming it in the winter and is essential for its health.
  • Cold ground water is extremely critical in the support of brook trout and rainbow trout nursery habitat on the Nottawasaga River and its tributaries.
  • 1,940 farms involving 150,000 hectares are in the watershed
  • Population as of 2011, in the watershed is over 180, 000 (1/4 of this is from the City of Barrie). This population is expected to increase to over 250,000 in the next 5-10 years