• Protecting Water and Farmland in Simcoe County

Wednesday  January 13: public meeting on Pine River improvements

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In Adjala-Tosorontio
Jan 4th, 2016
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Pine River

NVCA news release 

The community is invited to a meeting on January 13 in Adjala-Tosorontio to learn about enhancements planned for the Pine River in 2016.

The Pine runs from the top of the Niagara Escarpment in Mulmur Township to join with the Nottawasaga River in Angus. From there, the Nottawasaga runs through the Minesing Wetlands before it spills into Georgian Bay. Each fall, adult salmon and trout travel from the lake to the Pine to spawn.

“The Pine River is home to one of the largest spawning populations of chinook salmon and rainbow trout in all of Georgian Bay,” said Fred Dobbs, manager of stewardship services with the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority.

“It’s a great river for cold-water fish habitat, but we can take steps to make it even better,” added Mr. Dobbs.

NVCA, Township of Adjala-Tosorontio and Greenland Consulting Engineers are partnering on a new project – the Pine River Fisheries Enhancement Program. The program began this past fall with NVCA staff assessing the current health of the river. Private landowners provided NVCA staff with access to monitor water quality and examine benthic invertebrates – the tiny ‘bugs’ that make their home on the bottom of the river. Staff also surveyed the numbers and kinds of fish in the river. This work will continue in 2016, with staff monitoring at additional properties along the river.

The assessment results will be used to identify where river enhancement projects will be of most value. Projects will likely include planting stream-side trees and shrubs, stabilizing the river bank to reduce erosion, building salmon and trout cover habitats and installing fencing to keep livestock out of the river. All of these projects will enhance fish habitat and improve water quality on the Pine.

The work is made possible by a grant from Environment Canada’s Lake Simcoe/South-eastern Georgian Bay Clean-Up Fund.

NVCA is looking for additional landowners along the river to help with this project. “We need landowners along the Pine to give us permission to occasionally access the river for our monitoring and assessment,” said Mr. Dobbs. “It seems like a small thing, but having the ability to collect information all along the river will give us the best data for making decisions about our river enhancement projects.”

“We’d also like to hear from landowners that might be interested in having river enhancement projects done on their property,” added Mr. Dobbs.

The community meeting about the Pine River plan takes place Wednesday, January 13, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Township of Adjala-Tosorontio municipal offices. To learn more about the community meeting or the Pine River Fisheries Enhancement Program, contact Wil Brunner, NVCA stream habitat restoration biologist, at 705-424-1479 ext. 243 or wbrunner@nvca.on.ca.

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