Barrie Creeks, Lovers Creek, and Hewitt's Creek Subwatershed Plan

The Barrie Creeks, Lovers Creek and Hewitt’s Creek Subwatershed Plan
5.2.3 Rare and Endangered Species
There are no known aquatic Species at Risk in the Barrie Creeks, Lovers Creek, or Hewitt’s
Creek subwatersheds.
Key Points - Current Aquatic Natural Heritage Status:
• While there are no specific studies on the spawning of species for these
subwatersheds, there is evidence indicating that brook trout may be successfully
spawning and surviving in Kidd’s and Whiskey Creek.
• Barrie Creeks is a diverse area with six main (and two smaller) tributaries spread
across the subwatershed. The conditions of the creeks varies from Sophia Creek,
which is in the poorest condition with no fish having been captured and much of the
watercourse being altered, to Whiskey and Kidd’s Creek, which both have generally
good conditions near the mouth but poorer conditions closer to the headwaters.
• Kidd’s, Hotchkiss and Whiskey Creeks all have historical presence of brook trout (a
key indicator species), with only Hotchkiss no longer having a current population.
Hotchkiss does have historical and current presence of mottled sculpin though, as
does Whiskey Creek.
• The condition of Lovers Creek, with 26 monitoring stations, varies along the main
branch and along the tributaries. Fish and benthic data are somewhat different in
their results. Along the main branch fish communities average around ‘fair’. For
benthic communities, sites are ranked as ‘very good’ near the mouth, while they vary
between ‘fairly poor’ and ‘good’ in the headwaters on the various branches.
• Lovers Creek has both historical and current presence of the key indicator species,
brook trout and mottled sculpin. Each of current populations are in the same areas
as their historic populations, with the exception of brook trout which are no longer
found in the headwaters
• Hewitt’s Creek, with 14 monitoring sites, also has a varied rating along the main
branch, but averages around fair. Even though there are few barriers to fish
movement and little bank hardening or channelization, the ecological integrity of the
system, based on the analyses of the fish and benthic communities, range from poor
to excellent.
• Hewitt’s Creek has both historical and current presence of the key indicator species,
brook trout and mottled sculpin, with each of current populations in the same areas
as their historic populations.
• While Figure 5-2 shows the general shifts in fish community composition within a
system – from sites with cold water species to the next sites with only warm water
(generalist) species, currently data is not available to pinpoint when shifts take place
and what caused them to do so.
• The lake nearshore community around the City of Barrie shoreline is in relatively
poor condition based on having a substantial increase in plant biomass, high
sediment nutrient concentrations and presence of aquatic invasive species.
Chapter 5: Aquatic Natural Heritage 224