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

LAKE ERIE NORTH SHORE WATERSHED PLAN
Point Abino Drain Restoration Strategy
The Point Abino Drain subwatershed is primarily drained by municipal drain; Point Abino Drain. The
main channel is a Class B Drain and the northern branch is a Class F Drain. The outlet of the main
channel is evaluated as critical fish habitat and the remainder of the main branch and its tributaries
are classified as important fish habitat. The MNR has also indentified the bay at the outlet as an
important fish spawning area. The remaining watercourses in this subwatershed have not been
evaluated in terms of importance for fish habitat.
Water quality sampling conducted near the outlet of the subwatershed indicates a water quality index
of Fair and a BioMAP rating of Impaired. Factors affecting water quality include nutrient enrichment
from upstream urban and agricultural areas. The water quality at this site is influence by backflow
from Lake Erie (NPCA 2010). Promotion of the NPCA‟s education programs pertaining to agricultural
best management practices and water quality would be beneficial for the landowners. These
programs also include information on sources of funding for environmental projects on private land to
encourage adoption and implementation of best management practices.
Geomorphic assessments were conducted at six sites within Point Abino municipal drain. Relatively
deep unconsolidated sediment and organic material was deposited along the bed throughout the
watercourse and bank instability was noted near the outlet. Excessive sediment deposition can
cause problems in a watercourse such as lateral channel adjustments, increased turbidity, filling in of
pools, and impacting fish habitat (NPCA 2009b).
Land use in the subwatershed is a mix of agriculture, rural residential and seasonal and permanent
dwellings along the Lake Erie shoreline, and western portion of the subwatershed where a seasonal
trailer park is located. The shoreline in this subwatershed consists of private and public beaches.
There are several significant natural features located in the Point Abino subwatershed, including 2
identified old growth forests, Point Abino Peninsula Sandland Forest Life Science ANSI, Carolinian
Signature site and PSW, as well as numerous PSW‟s and woodlots. The MNR has identified 13
Species at Risk in this subwatershed including for example, the endangered prothonotary warbler,
acadian flycatcher, the threatened fowler‟s toad and eastern hognosed snake, and the grass pickerel
and woodland vole of which both are species of special concern. In addition, the MNR has identified
the Lake Erie shoreline in this area as habitat for the fowler‟s toad of which Niagara is one of only
three areas in Canada where this provincial and federal SAR is found.
One of the challenges presented in the Point Abino Drain subwatershed, like other subwatersheds
along Lake Erie, is the establishment and maintenance of sufficient riparian habitat when
maintenance activities are necessary on the municipal drains to facilitate in proper drainage of the
agricultural fields; primarily the headwaters where the watercourses flow through agricultural fields
with little to no vegetative buffer. Existing riparian should be preserved in the lower half of the
subwatershed where the watercourses receive cover from adjacent natural areas.
Ample of opportunity exists for filling in gaps and divots reducing edge-to-interior ratio and increasing
core interior habitat. Plenty of opportunity for enhancement of existing natural areas and the
establishment of ecological corridors is also present in this subwatershed.
The Point Abino Drain Subwatershed Restoration Strategy identifies two zones with specific
stewardship and restoration recommendations (Table 22 and Figure 33).
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