Mv,r~ L;;;;, f i f!./ ("'\. J-(J ~ ~ ~+ J",or ~ <:.>p .A... (..1 F / " .' Draft Document Backgrounder - Wildlife and Wildlife Habitat of the Bay of Quinte Prepared by: Brad McNevin Prepared For: The Bay of Quinte Remedial Action Plan - Restoration Council March 2005 Moira River, Napanee Region and Prince Edward Region Conservation Authorities Quinte Conservation R.R.#2, 2061 Old Highway #2 Office: 613-968-3434 Fax: 613;968-8240 CONSERVATION Belleville, Ontario K8N 4Z2 Email: [email protected] ,Website: www.quinteconservation.ca , ~. April 20, 2005 RE: Final Draft of the Backgrounder - Wildlife and Wildlife Habitat of the Bay of Quinte Watershed Dear Steering Committee Members, Enclosed please find the final draft of the "Backgrounder - Wildlife and Wildlife Habitat of the Bay of Quinte Watershed". The vast 18,519 km2 drainage area of the Bay ofQuinte Watershed is a mixture of urban, industrial, commercial, agriculture and natural areas. I hope that this initial review phase of the wildlife and wildlife habitat found in the Bay of Quinte Watershed, will serve as a spring board for future wildlife projects. I would like to thank you all for your input and assistance with this document. Just a note, the company that made the copies of the figures apologized for the discoloration of the background colour. The true colour is a grey but because this is a draft I felt it was acceptable. Yours truly, /.~. -""" ~/pt=-- Brad McNevin, BQRAP - Wildlife Strategy Coordinator R.R. ff2, 2061 Old Highway ff2 Belleville, Ontario K8N 4Z2 Telephone: (613) 968-3434 ext. 107 Fax: (613) 968-8240 email: [email protected] Website: VNIW. gUinteconservation.ca Enclosure Backgrounder - Wildlife and Wildlife Habitat of the Bay of Quinte Watershed March 2005 Tablt} of Contents 1.0 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background ............................................: ........................................................................ 1 1.2 What is wildlife and wildlife habitat? ............................ ,.................................................. 7 1.3 The Bay of Quinte Watershed ............................... :.. ~ .. :... ;.... ,; ......................................... 7 1.4 Physiography of the Bay of Quinte Watershed ............................................................... 9 2.0 Wildlife Habitat of the Bay of Quinte Watershed ............................................................... 10 2.1 Wetland Habitat ............ :: ............................................................................ , ................. 13 2.2 Terrestrial Habitat ......................................................................................................... 15 3.0 Habitat Coverage and Characteristics ..................................... : ........................................ 17 3.1 GUll-Burnt River Sub-Watershed .................................................................................. 17 3.2 Kawartha Lakes and Scugog Watershed Area ............................................................. 20 3.3 Otonabee Region Sub-Watershed Area ....................................................................... 22 3.4 Crowe River and Lower Trent River Watershed Area ..................................•............... 24 3.5 Moira River Watershed ...................................... , .......................................................... 26 3.6 Blessington Creek Watershed ...................................................................................... 29 3.7 Salmon River Watershed .............................................................................................. 29 3.8 Prince Edward County Watershed Area .......................... ,............................................ 33 3.9 Napanee River Watershed ............................................. ; ............................................. 35 3.10 Hay Bay and Surrounding Watersheds (Including Amherst Island) ............................. 35 4.0 Changes to the Habitat of the BQW .................................... ,............................................. 40 4.1 Past Changes ............................................................................................................... 40 4.2 present Changes and Threats ...................................................................................... 41 5.0 Indicator Species and Population Monitoring ................................................................. : ..47 6.0 Agency Roles and Responsibilities ........................... : ...................................................... ;49 6.1 Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR) ........................................................... 49 6.2 Ministry of the Environment (MOE) ...................... : ....................................................... 49 6.3 Conservation Authorities (CA) ...................................................................................... 50 6.4 Environment Canada (EC) ............................................................................................ 50 6.5 Natural Resources Canada (NRC) ............................................................................... 50 6.6 Parks Canada - Trent Severn Waterway ..................................................................... 51 6.7 Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) ................................................................ 51 6.8 Other Groups and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) ....................................... 51 7.0 Programs and Stewardship Initiatives ...............•.......................................................... ,..•. 54 7.1 Conservation Authorities ............................................................................................... 54 7.2 Ducks Unlimited ............................................................................................................ 54 7.3 OMNR, ...... : ......... , ......................................................................................................... 54 7.4 Eco-Gift Program through Environment Canada .......................................................... 55 7.5 The Ontario Woodlot Association ................................................................................. 55 7.6 Habitat Enhancement Program - BQRAP (EC Sustainability Fund) ........................... 56 7.7 Wetland Habitat Fund ................................................................................................... 56 7.8 Wildlife Society Technical Review ................................................................................ 57 7.9 Provincial Initiatives ...................................................................................................... 58 7.10 BQRAP Initiatives ......................................................................................................... 58 8.0 Recommendations ............................................................................................................ 60 9.0 References ........................................................................................................................ 64 Table of Contents Backgrounder - Wildlife and Wildlife Habitat of the Bay of Quinte Watershed March 2005 List of Tables Table 1: Summary of IBU and their Significance to the BOW .......................................................... 3 Table 2: IBU's, Recommendations, Delisting Targets and Target.Measurements .......................... 5 Table 3: Summary of NHIC Identified Vegetation Communities'in Counties of the BOW ............. 11 Table 4: Summary of Watershed Features .......................................... : ......................................... 39 Table 5: Human Population Statistics for the Counties of the BOW .... :: ........................................ 42 Table 6: Non-native Invasive Species of the BOW and Surrounding Area .................................. .44 Table 7: Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Sector, 1998 ................................................................. .46 List of Figures Figure 1: The Bay of Ouinte Watershed .......................................................................................... 8 Figure 2: Sub-Watersheds of the Bay of Ouinte ............................................................................ 18 Figure 3: Gull-Burnt River Watershed Characteristics ................................................................... 19 Figure 4: Kawartha and Scugog Lake Watershed Characteristics ............. : .................................. 21 Figure 5: Otonabee Watershed Characteristics ............................................................................. 23 Figure 6: Crowe River and Lower Trent Watershed Characteristics ............................................. 25 Figure 7: Moira River Watershed Characteristics .......................................................................... 27 Figure 8: Blessington Creek Watershed Characteristics ............................................................... 30 . Figure 9: Salmon River Watershed Characteristics ...... ~ ................................................................ 32 Figure 10: Prince Edward County Watershed Characteristics ............................ : .......................... 34 Figure 11: Napanee River Watershed Characteristics ............................................................ :