, , The Salmon River Habitat Strategy Identifying Priority Sites for Habitat Restoration in the Salmon River Watershed A project of the Canada-Ontario Agreement Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem in partnership with Lennox & Addington Stewardship Council, Frontenac Stewardship Council, Hastings Stewardship Council, Friends of the Salmon River, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Quinte Conservation Prepared by Melodie Green October 2005 The Ca"ada-Ootar;o Agreement Respecting Ille G",.t Lakes Baslll EcosYSi"", ~~~ o,\JINl'<l' (j l.- ~.....i FRONTENAC Th, '·¥··:fONT~O ~STEWARDSHlr H:lSt1ll~ Stewardship ':J ~ -~'>/~ COUNCIL _,"@di_ Ministry of N"l;l.(fl\l RcsQUt(;es. ~?J I ~ w~ CONSERVATION The Salmon River Habitat Strategy: Identifying Priority Sites for Habitat Restoration in the Salmon River Watershed October 2005 Author: Melodie F. Green Natural Heritage Planner Kingston Area Office Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Contributors: BretColman Frontenac Stewardship Council Kevin Esseltine Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Alastair Mathers Canada-Ontario Agreement Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem Peter Mabee Formerly of the Hastings Stewardship Council Gray Merriam Friends of the Salmon River Stephen Pitt Lennox & Addington Community Stewardship Council Nathalie Sorensen Friends of the Salmon River James Stewart Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Tim Trustham Quinte Conservation Nathalie Woodhouse Formerly of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Executive Summary The Salmon River Habitat Strategy has been designed to help identify the most cost-effective habitat restoration opportunities in the Salmofl River watershed, by using indicators recommended in How Much Habitat is Enough? A Framework for Guiding Habitat Rehabilitation in Great Lakes Areas of Concern (Environment Canada, 2004). The framework provides science-based information about how much wetland, riparian and forest habitat is enough to sustain biological diversity and vital natural processes. The Salmon River watershed is an area of 921 km 2 that drains into the Bay of Quinte near Shannonville, between Napanee and Belleville. The Bay of Quinte was identified as one of 43 Great Lakes Basin "Areas of Concern" in 1985. The International Joint Commission recognised that several of the Bay's beneficial uses were impaired as a result of industrial, agricultural, municipal and household practices that had contaminated the water. In addition to posing risks to human health, some of the diversity of plant and animal life had been lost. This study has found that stream bank naturalization presents the greatest opportunity to restore fish and wildlife habitat in the Salmon River watershed, especially in the southern portion. There are also areas surrounding wetlands in need of naturally vegetated buffers. Beyond identifying priority restoration sites, this report presents a broad spectrum of spatial information to assist appreciation and conservation of the watershed's natural wealth. The Salmon River Habitat Strategy: 5 Identifying Priority Sites for Habitat Restoration in the Salmon River Watershed Table of Contents Executive Summary ........................................................................................................ 5 List of Tables ................................................................................................................... 7 List of Figures ............................................................... ;' .. ~ .. : .. i: ....................................... 7 List of Maps ..................................................................................................................... 7 1.0 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 8 2.0 Background .............................................................................................................. 8 2.1 Bay of Quinte Area of Concern ........................................................................... 8 2.2 Habitat Strategy for Areas of Concern .............................................................. 11 3.0 Study Purpose .............................................................................................•.......... 12 4.0 Study Area .............................................................................................................. 12 4.1 Location ............................................................................................................. 12 4.2 Size, Surficial Geology and Soils ...................................................................... 12 4.3 Crown Land and Municipalities ......................................................................... 12 4.4 Lakes, Water Control Structures and Topography ............................................ 12 4.5 Documented Natural Features of Regional or Provincial Significance .............. 13 5.0 Method .................................................................................................................... 13 5.1 Database Compilation ....................................................................................... 13 5.2 Wetland Habitat Analysis .................................................................................. 14 5.3 Riparian Habitat Analysis .................................................................................. 14 5.4 Forest Habitat Analysis ..................................................................................... 15 5.5 Analysis of Precambrian Shield and Limestone Bedrock Portions of the Watershed ......................................................................................................... 16 6.0 Results .................................................................................................................... 16 6.1 Wetland Habitat. ................................................................................................ 18 6.2 Riparian Habitat ................................................................................................ 19 6.3 Forest Habitat. ................................................................................................... 20 6.4 Summary of Existing Habitat Conditions on the Precambrian Shield and Limestone Bedrock Portions of the Watershed ................................................. 21 7.0 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 23 References ..................................................................................................................... 24 Appendix A - Maps ....................................................................................................... 25 Appendix B - Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest .............................................. 27 Appendix C - Provincially Significant Wetlands ........................................................ 32 Appendix D - Endangered Species ............................................................................. 35 6 The Salmon River Habitat Strategy: Identifying Priority Sites for Habitat Restoration in the Salmon River Watershed List of Tables Table 1. Impaired Beneficial Uses of the Bay of Quinte Area of Concern Table 2. Minimum Habitat Requirements of any Watershed, According to Environment Canada (2004) " . Table 3. Existing Habitat within the Salmon River Watershed Table 4. Existing Wetland Habitat in the Salmon River Watershed Table 5. Existing Riparian Habitat in the Salmon River Watershed Table 6. Existing Forest Habitat in the Salmon River Watershed Table 7. Existing Habitat Conditions on the Precambrian Shield and Limestone Bedrock Portions of the Watershed List of Figures Figure 1. Location ofthe Salmon River Watershed Figure 2. Bay of Quinte Area of Concern Watershed List of Maps Map 1. Index to Ontario Base Maps Map 2. Precambrian Shield Map 3. Surficial Geology Map4. Soils Map 5. Crown Land Map 6. Lakes in the Watershed Ranked by Area Map 7. Fisheries Assessment Sites, Salmon River Water Control Structures and Named Creeks Map 8. Digital Elevation Model Map 9. Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest, and Provincially Significant Wetlands Map 10. Landscape Context Map 11. Interior Forest Habitat Map 12. Potential Restoration Sites Map 13. Water Quality Sampling Sites and Potential Restoration Sites Cover Photo: The Salmon River photographed at Lonsdale by M. Green, October 2004 The Salmon River Habitat Strategy: 7 Identifying Priority Sites for Habitat Restoration in the Salmon River Watershed 1.0 Introduction The Canadian Wildlife Service of Environment Canada has produced How Much Habitat is Enough? A Framework for Guiding Habitat Rehabilitation in Great Lakes Areas of Concern (2004) in collaboration with the Ontario Ministry, qf thE), Environment and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Currently in its second edition, the framework provides science-based information to help guide decisions regarding: • How much habitat is needed to support a naturally functioning ecosystem; and • Priority locations for wetland, riparian and forest rehabilitation and protection across a watershed or landscape, These habitat guidelines provide benchmarks for evaluating the health of a watershed, using Geographic Information Systems to analyze and portray relevant digital map data. The present study was undertaken by the Ontario Ministry Natural Resources to reveal priority sites for habitat restoration in the Salmon River watershed.