Central Welland River Watershed Plan - Niagara Peninsula ...

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CENTRAL WELLAND RIVER WATERSHED PLANand hydrological programs where there is non-compromising compatibility (OMNR1992).South St. Anns Slough Forest Life Science ANSI (provincial)The provincially significant ANSI and provincially significant wetland South St. AnnsSlough Forest is comprised of over 200 hectares of privately owned land in UnnamedCreek subwatershed located in the Township of West Lincoln. The slough and ridgepatterns in this area are a good representation of the Haldimand Slough Forests. Thesloughs in this area trend in a northwest orientation and regularly alternate with broadrolling ridges with amplitude of 2 to 5 feet. The area is unique due to its expansive sizeand well developed clay plain ridge and slough basin pattern. The ridges support richQuercus-Acer-Fagus forests while the sloughs have well developed open ponds, marshand scrub communities (Macdonald 1976). The boundaries of the ANSI and PSW fallwithin the boundaries of what is known as Silverdale Woodlot, a remnant natural area.Silverdale woodlot consists of 300 hectares that extends outside Unnamed Creeksubwatershed, into the subwatersheds of Sixteen Mile Creek and Sucker Creek.The Fonthill Kame-Delta Complex Earth Science ANSI (provincial)The provincially significant Fonthill-Kame Delta Complex straddles the subwatershedboundaries of Coyle Creek, Fifteen Mile Creek and Upper Twelve Mile Creek; thereforeonly a portion falls within the study area of the Central Welland River watershed. Thisunique feature was formed at the edge of melting glacial ice during the last glacial retreatas large quantities of sand and gravel were deposited by the glacier as it melted. Most ofthe materials that the formed the Kame-Delta were deposited underwater like a riverdelta and spread southwards from the ice front (OMNR 1983).North Bismark Slough Forest Life Science ANSI (regional)The 60-hectare privately owned North Bismark Slough Forest is a regionally significantLife Science ANSI. This site has a well developed slough and rise formation, with theridges supporting upland deciduous and the sloughs supporting lowland forests andslough zone communities. In an ESA study conducted on this site, it was recommendedthat this site receive immediate protection (Macdonald 1980). This site alsoencompasses provincially significant wetland complexes Bismarck NW North CreekTributaries, Bismarck NW 16 Mile Creek Tributaries (which do not fall within theCentral Welland River watershed) and, Bismarck NW Beaver Creek Tributaries(described below). In addition, this site is also known as Bartell’s Bush, which in part isa managed woodlot through the Natural Resources Woodlot Improvement Program,which involves weeding out the american beech. The vegetation association on the eastside of the site is sugar maple/white oak/white ash, while the west side is primarily sugarmaple/american beech (Brady 1980). This site provides a rich diversity of habitats forflora and fauna due to the presence of a managed woodlot, natural mature forest andthe wetland pockets.West Bismark Slough Forest Life Science ANSI (regional)West Bismark Slough Forest, like North Bismark Slough Forest, is also a regionallysignificant Life Science ANSI. This 55 hectare intracropland woodlot straddles thesubwatershed boundaries of Unnamed Creek and Parkers Creek. This site also has a42
CENTRAL WELLAND RIVER WATERSHED PLANwell developed slough and rise formation with diverse slough zone communities andvariously-aged upland deciduous supported on the ridges (Macdonald 1980). Alsoknown as Bismarck Bush, the wetlands in this area support the headwaters for ParkersCreek and as well as provide habitat for great blue heron, ruffed grouse and deer (Brady1980).Ridgeville Swamp Forest Life Science ANSI (regional)Also a regionally significant Life Science ANSI, the Ridgeville Swamp Forest is a wetlandcomplex comprised of 6 individual wetlands that are composed of 19 percent swampand 81 percent marsh (Littleton and Stuive 1985a). A portion of these wetland segmentsalso composes part of the Fonthill Kame Wetlands, which has been designatedprovincially significant. Positioned on the south-facing slopes of the Short Hills Kame,the terrain consists of rolling sandland and slough and ridge formations with a broadbasin supporting a poorly drained wetland. The vegetation communities includemanaged upland forest of maple-oak-beech and a well-developed swamp scrublandcomplex (Macdonald 1976).Salina Formation (Welland Canal) Earth Science ANSI (regional)A 20 foot section of the Salina Formation is visible from a road cutting beneath the newWelland Canal, making this site of a regionally significant Earth Science ANSI. The areadisplays a „grey, very finely crystalline, laminated, argillaceous dolostone with abundantshale partings and numerous gypsum veins and lenses with varying thicknesses‟reaching up to 18 inches (Telford and Tarrant 1975).Onondaga Escarpment Earth Science ANSI (regional)The Onondaga Escarpment is capped with Bois Blanc from the Devonian period. In frontof the Onondaga Escarpment is bedrock from the Silurian period; the Salina formationwhich is easier to erode than Bois Blanc. The location of this site is at a road cut onHighway 58, north of Port Colborne. The escarpment is approximately 5 meters high atthis site (Telford and Tarrant 1975).WetlandsWetlands are “among the most productive and biologically diverse habitats on theplanet” (MNR No Date). Wetlands provide numerous beneficial water quality andecological functions in a watershed, including naturally filtering water resources therebyimproving water quality, act like sponges by slowing the flow of water which reduces theimpact of flooding and allows for groundwater recharge, augments low flow by raisinglocal water tables, which in turn contributes to base flows of the watercourses, and alsoprovides valuable social and educational resources. In addition, “a high proportion ofOntario‟s fish and wildlife species inhabit wetlands during part of their life cycle. Many ofthe species at risk of extinction in southern Ontario are highly dependent on wetlands”[Environment Canada (EC) 2004].The Ontario Wetland Evaluation System (OWES) is a science-based ranking systemused by the Ministry of Natural Resources to assess wetland functions and societalvalues. Wetlands are evaluated and assigned a status of „provincially significant‟ or„locally significant‟. To date, almost 65 percent of the wetlands in the Central Welland43
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