Central Welland River Watershed Plan - Niagara Peninsula ...

CENTRAL WELLAND RIVER WATERSHED PLANName: Jersey Woods (Mill Race Creek)Formerly: Jersey Woodlot (Brady et al., 1980)Site ID: WF-12-00-00-00-00Municipality: Township of WainfleetSize: 181 hectaresSubwatershed: This study area drains west to East Kelly Drain and to Big Forks Creekto the east (not in study area)General Summary This study site is located north of the feeder canal and south ofForks Road. It stretches to just east of Overholt Road and is bound on the west byJohnson Road.Summary: The dominant community throughout this study site is Deciduous Swampdominated by Green Ash with White Elm. The understory was a mix of regeneratingcanopy species, Silky Dogwood, Western Poison-ivy, and Spotted Touch-me-not. Thereare variations in canopy cover and soils due to the presence of deeper areas in theswamp where water is retained for longer periods of time. Some of these areas hadstanding water at the time of survey or bare soil which is generally an indicator of longerretention time for standing water.The upland Deciduous Forests recorded were dominated by Red Oak and Sugar Maple,with American Beech and Shagbark Hickory. The understory was mostly regeneratingcanopy species with a herbaceous layer of Large-leaved Aster, Thicket Creeper, andCanada Mayflower. A total of 193 taxa were recorded for this study site.This site is also in part designated as Headwaters of Big Forks Creek ProvinciallySignificant WetlandName: Wainfleet BogFormerly: Wainfleet Bog (Brady et al., 1980)Site ID: WF-13-00-00-00-00Municipality: Township of Wainfleet, City of Port ColborneSize: 2080 hectaresSubwatershed: The majority of this study site is part of the Biederman Drainsubwatershed with a portion in the west draining to the Mill Race Creek subwatershed.General Summary: It is bordered on the east by the Welland Canal, on the west byDixie Road. It is located south of the feeder canal and stretches to south of Highway 3Summary: This large study site can be subdivided into three areas; the OnondagaEscarpment, Mud Lake, and the remnant marsh locally known as the Wainfleet Bog.(Brady et al., 1980)Onondaga Escarpment Sites:In places along the Onondaga Escarpment, vertical, open cliff face is periodicallyexposed. The most impressive spot to view the Onondaga Escarpment is along RidgeRoad in the Township of Fort Erie as the elevation change including the talus slope isapproximately 6-7 meters.The Onondaga Escarpment contains the wooded scarp itself, which is surrounded byagriculture, and is the southern boundary of the Wainfleet Bog. The community occurringin large patches along the drier escarpment rim supports large, spreading Red Oaks thatdominate the canopy with Sugar Maple as a close co-dominant. Associates includeBitternut Hickory, American Beech, Black Cherry and occasionally, Red Elm. Thesubcanopy is dominated by Sugar Maple with Hop Hornbeam, Black Maple andAmerican Elm occasionally occurring. White Ash and Choke Cherry form a very sparseshrub layer. On the ground layer, Blue Cohosh, Wild Leeks, Herb Robert, RunningStrawberry and False Solomon‟s Seal cover between 25-60% of the rocky\stony shallow61