/DNH+XURQ St. Clair River HU Y Watershed Plan 5L LU OD & December, 2009 6W AOC Area 1-A /DNH6W&ODLU Acknowledgements Author – Patty Hayman Contributors – Rick Battson, Muriel Andreae, Donald Craig, Heather MacKenzie, Brian McDougall, Chris Durand Reviewers – Jody Wingfield, Environment Canada and April White, Environment Canada Input provided by Ted Briggs, Ministry of the Environment, Sandra Kok, Environment Canada and Luca Cargnelli, Environment Canada Photos – St. Clair Region Conservation Authority Published by the St. Clair Region Conservation Authority, December 2009 Unless otherwise noted, the maps were produced by the SCRCA GIS Department under license with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources copyright Queen’s Printer for Ontario, 2008 Table of Contents 1 Chapter 1 Introduction and Background ...............................................................................................................................................................1 1.1 Introduction........................................................................................................................................................................................................1 1.2 Purpose ................................................................................................................................................................................................................1 1.3 AOC General Description ...............................................................................................................................................................................1 1.4 Goals and Objectives .......................................................................................................................................................................................2 1.4.1 St. Clair River RAP Goals .............................................................................................................................................................2 1.4.2 St. Clair River RAP Work Plan ....................................................................................................................................................8 2 Chapter 2 Watershed Characterization ...................................................................................................................................................................9 2.1 Physical Characteristics ..................................................................................................................................................................................9 Soils and Topography ..................................................................................................................................................................................11 Soils ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................11 Shorelines .........................................................................................................................................................................................................11 St. Clair River Shoreline ...............................................................................................................................................................................11 Lake St. Clair Shoreline ................................................................................................................................................................................11 Lake St. Clair Delta Shoreline ....................................................................................................................................................................11 Terrestrial Ecology ........................................................................................................................................................................................11 Wetlands ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................15 Riparian Zones ................................................................................................................................................................................................15 Woodlands .......................................................................................................................................................................................................18 2.2 Aquatic Characteristics ................................................................................................................................................................................20 Habitat ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................20 Fisheries ............................................................................................................................................................................................................20 Mussels ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................22 Aquatic (Benthic) Macroinvertebrates ..................................................................................................................................................23 Species at Risk ................................................................................................................................................................................................23 Mussels ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................23 Fish .....................................................................................................................................................................................................................23 Reptiles ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................23 Dragonflies and Damselflies ......................................................................................................................................................................24 Invasive Species .............................................................................................................................................................................................24 2.3 Human Characteristics .................................................................................................................................................................................24 Population and Population Distribution ...............................................................................................................................................24 Population Projections ................................................................................................................................................................................25 2.4 Climate ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................27 Climate Trends ................................................................................................................................................................................................29 The Great Lakes and Connecting Channels System .........................................................................................................................29 Predicted Changes in the Regional Climate ........................................................................................................................................30 2.5 Hydrology, Water Use and Water Value .................................................................................................................................................31 First Nations .....................................................................................................................................................................................................31 Fishing ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................31 Small Game Hunting ...................................................................................................................................................................................31 Reptiles and Amphibians ..........................................................................................................................................................................32 Waterfowl Hunting ......................................................................................................................................................................................32