Lake Erie North Shore Watershed Plan - Niagara Peninsula ...

LAKE ERIE NORTH SHORE WATERSHED PLAN
Bearss Drain Restoration Strategy
Like several of the subwatersheds along the Lake Erie shoreline, the Bearss Drain subwatershed is
drained predominately by a series of municipal drains; Neff Drain, Bearss Drain, Silver Bay Drain,
and William-Michael Drain. Bearss Drain and Silver Bay Drain are both Class C municipal drains and
Neff Drain and William-Michael Drain are Class F Drains. The main channel and some of its
tributaries have been classified as important fish habitat. The remaining watercourses in this
subwatershed have not been evaluated in terms of importance for fish habitat. The NPCA does not
conduct water quality sampling in this subwatershed.
The NPCA conducted geomorphic assessments on four sites in the Bearss Drain subwatershed.
Bank instability was present at all sites and two of the four sites have relatively deep unconsolidated
sediment deposited along the channel bed. Excessive sediment deposition can cause problems in
the watercourse, such as lateral channel adjustments, increased turbidity, filling in of pools, and
impacting fish habitat (NPCA 2009b).
Land use in this study area is a mix of agriculture, rural residential and seasonal residential along the
shoreline. Empire Beach Backshore Basin Forest PSW and Life Science ANSI are located along the
Lake Erie shoreline and numerous wetlands and woodlots are scattered throughout the
subwatershed. Several SAR have indentified by the MNR in the Bearss Drain subwatershed,
including the endangered prothonotary warbler, the threatened fowler‟s toad, and the cerulean
warbler which is a species of special concern. In addition, the MNR has identified Lake Erie‟s
shoreline in this area as habitat for the fowler‟s toad of which Niagara is one of only three areas in
Canada where this SAR is found.
The scattered arrangement of natural features in this subwatershed provides plenty of opportunity for
infilling between natural areas and corridor creation providing linkages between features. Like other
subwatersheds a challenge of Bearss Drain will be the establishment and preservation of riparian
habitat when maintenance activities are necessary on the municipal drains to facilitate in proper
drainage of the agricultural fields. However, these riparian habitats are important linkages between
fragmented natural areas.
The Bearss Drain Subwatershed Restoration Strategy identifies two zones with specific stewardship
and restoration recommendations (Table 21 and Figure 32).
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