This gallery contains 12 photos.
Native Tree and Shrub planting at Bickell’s Creek, Gore Bay The Gore Bay and United Fish and Game Club and local volunteers helped Manitoulin Streams plant 2810 native trees and shrubs along Bickell’s Creek in Gore Bay
This gallery contains 15 photos.
Another great year with Little Current Fish and Game Club providing educational hands on teaching to Little Current Public School and Lakeview Public School about our fishery and how they can do their part in conservation
Bickel’s creek is a 5.6km tributary of Lake Huron and is a well known rainbow trout and salmon spawning area. With drier summers and less precipitation this creek is becoming less navigable for fish to reach these critical spawning habitats.
The objective of the stream restoration plan will be to work with the United Fish and Game Club and Gore Bay Fish and Game Club to improve 0.4km of the tributary by creating vortex weirs near the mouth in the vicinity of the confluence with the bay to prevent sediment and sand build up, improving the vertical access up the tributary by narrowing and creating weeping weirs to deepen water levels, construction of fish habitat structures (placing spawning gravel and random boulders, weeping weirs and woody material, etc.) and planting native trees and shrubs to create shade, reduce water temperatures and to provide protection from predators. Dependent on availability, native trees and shrubs species including white cedar, willow, red osier dogwood, Balsam Fir, American Highbush Cranberry, American Elderberry etc. will be planted along the creek. This will help keep the water to stay cooler, which will help to maintain an ideal overall water temperature for all cold water biota as well as to provide future suitable shelter and shade for a variety of aquatic and wildlife species.
Furthermore, plant root systems will allow for natural stabilization of the creek banks to prevent further erosion and sediment deposits onto spawning ground and other aquatic habitat. Community volunteers (First Nations, OMNR Ontario Rangers, local landowners, Gore Bay Fish and Game Club, the United Fish and Game Club, local citizens) will be called on to help with riparian vegetation planting and installing in-stream habitat (weeping weirs, vortex weirs, spawning gravel, woody material etc.). Stream restoration at Bickel’s Creek will increase the reproductive potential for spawning Chinook and Coho salmon in the fall and Rainbow trout in the spring. This project will demonstrate the valued benefits of this community stewardship initiative, increasing angling opportunities and creating economic spin-offs.
Funding applications to support this project have been submitted and upon approval, a call for volunteers will be announced to help with this project.
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Manitoulin Streams is extremely excited to be the recipients of the 2012 Canadian Recreational Fisheries Award.
Paul Moffatt, Seija Deschenes & Michael Mantha ( MPP Algoma-Manitoulin)
Manitoulin Streams would like to thank the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) for the $35,000 one year funding contribution that will go towards the Manitoulin Streams program manager position to implement stream rehabilitation projects across Manitoulin island to enhance and protect aquatic and fish habitat. http://www.otf.ca/en/index.asp
This gallery contains 30 photos.
Brook Trout Eyed Egg Event 2012….Success! What a wonderful day! Over 60 volunteers showed up for the brook trout eyed egg event. Thank you to the MNR and Hill’s Lake Fish Hatchery, Little Current Fish and Game Club, Lake Manitou … Continue reading
Manitoulin Streams would like to invite you to join us on Wednesday Dec 12, 2012 at 9:30am for the Brook Trout Eyed Egg Event held at 2247 Bidwell Road to help transfer 10,000 brook trout eggs into Scotty boxes and stocking t
hem into Norton’s Creek.
For more information or a map for directions call (705) 859-1653. Please RSVP so we know how many volunteers will be attending. Hope to see you there!