State of the Nation Report (2014) Summarizes Results and Recommendations on Forest, Wetland and River Conditions Within South Nation Conservation’S (SNC) Jurisdiction
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State of the Nation Report June 2014 ] Executive Summary The State of the Nation Report (2014) summarizes results and recommendations on forest, wetland and river conditions within South Nation Conservation’s (SNC) jurisdiction. The Report is based on data collected from 2008 to 2012. Monitoring data confirms that SNC’s programs continue to have a positive impact on the environment; however, there is room for improvement. This Report will help SNC focus its programing to areas where conservation efforts will have the most benefit. Forest Conditions Percent forest cover (29.5%) and percent forest interior (8.7%) measured within SNC’s jurisdiction are slightly below Environment Canada’s Minimum Guideline Values (30% and 10% respectively), while percent forested riparian cover (24.1%) is considered poor compared to the Minimum Guideline Value of 75%. Key Recommendations: • Continue to protect forest cover and forest interior through land securement • Continue programs that increase forest and riparian cover (stream buffers, tree planting, etc.) • Continue forest education and outreach to increase uptake in areas that need improvement Wetland Conditions Wetland cover in the SNC jurisdiction is excellent at 17% compared to Environment Canada’s Minimum Guideline Value of 10%. Key Recommendations: • Continue regulating Provincially Significant Wetlands and • Protect locally significant wetlands through land securement • Enhance education, outreach and wetland enhancement/restoration work Water Quality Conditions Using biological indicators (aquatic bugs), 77% of streams monitored are in good to fair condition. Water chemistry data shows that surface water quality is generally fair. Nitrate, chloride and zinc levels are low, with minor exceedances above Provincial objectives during high flows. Total phosphorus levels continue to have frequent exceedances. Key Recommendations: • Continue monitoring program to understand water quality conditions and track changes over time • Explore opportunities for understanding effectiveness of projects at improving water quality – before-after, control-impact monitoring • Continue working with partners, programs and Committees to promote and facilitate uptake of environmental projects in SNC jurisdiction i Table of Contents 1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Report Objectives .............................................................................................................. 1 1.2 The Study Area .................................................................................................................. 1 1.3 Physiographic Units ........................................................................................................... 6 2 Methods............................................................................................................... 7 2.1 Forest Resources ............................................................................................................... 8 2.1.1 Date and ArcGIS ............................................................................................................ 8 2.1.2 Percent Forest Cover ..................................................................................................... 8 2.1.3 Percent Forest Interior .................................................................................................. 8 2.1.4 Percent Forested Riparian Cover .................................................................................. 9 2.2 Wetland Resources ........................................................................................................... 9 2.2.1 Date and ArcGIS ............................................................................................................ 9 2.2.2 Percent Wetland Cover ............................................................................................... 10 2.3 Surface Water Quality ..................................................................................................... 10 2.3.1 Bioassessment ............................................................................................................. 10 2.3.2 Water Chemistry ......................................................................................................... 11 2.3.3 Total Phosphorus Levels Over Time ............................................................................ 12 3 Results ............................................................................................................... 13 3.1 Forest Resources ............................................................................................................. 13 3.1.1 St. Lawrence River ....................................................................................................... 15 3.1.2 Bear Brook ................................................................................................................... 15 3.1.3 Upper South Nation Watershed ................................................................................. 16 3.1.4 Castor Watershed ....................................................................................................... 17 3.1.5 Middle South Nation Watershed ................................................................................ 18 3.1.6 Lower South Nation Watershed .................................................................................. 19 3.2 Wetland Resources ......................................................................................................... 20 3.2.1 St. Lawrence River ....................................................................................................... 22 3.2.2 Bear Brook ................................................................................................................... 22 3.2.3 Upper South Nation Watershed ................................................................................. 23 3.2.4 Castor Watershed ....................................................................................................... 24 3.2.5 Middle South Nation Watershed ................................................................................ 25 3.2.6 Lower South Nation Watershed .................................................................................. 26 ii 3.3 Surface Water Quality ..................................................................................................... 27 3.3.1 St. Lawrence River ....................................................................................................... 30 3.3.2 Bear Brook ................................................................................................................... 30 3.3.3 Upper South Nation Watershed ................................................................................. 31 3.3.4 Castor Watershed ....................................................................................................... 33 3.3.5 Middle South Nation Watershed ................................................................................ 34 3.3.6 Lower South Nation Watershed .................................................................................. 36 3.4 Total Phosphorus Levels over Time ................................................................................ 39 4 Conclusions ........................................................................................................ 40 5 Recommendations ............................................................................................. 41 6 References ......................................................................................................... 42 7 Appendix A ......................................................................................................... 44 iii List of Tables Table 1: Watershed Report Card grading scheme for forest resources ............................................. 9 Table 2: Watershed Report Card grading scheme for wetland resources ....................................... 10 Table 3: Water quality parameters and their associated sources and grading schemes ................. 12 Table 4: Forest resource results for 6th order subwatersheds .......................................................... 13 Table 5: Forest resource results for St. Lawrence River .................................................................. 15 Table 6: Forest resource results for Bear Brook .............................................................................. 15 Table 7: Forest resource results for Upper South Nation River ....................................................... 16 Table 8: Forest resource results for Castor River ............................................................................ 17 Table 9: Forest resource results for Middle South Nation River ...................................................... 18 Table 10: Forest resource results for Lower South Nation River ..................................................... 19 Table 11: Wetland cover results for 6th order subwatersheds .......................................................... 20 Table 12: Wetland cover results for Bear Brook ............................................................................... 22 Table 13: Wetland cover results for Upper South Nation River ....................................................... 23 Table 14: Wetland cover results for Castor River 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