Wheatley River Improvement Group

July , 2009

The Wader’s Report Greetings to all in the Wheatley River and associated watersheds! My name is Sam Arnold, summer work supervisor for WRIG this year. We are just in the planning stages of the work but things are shaping up and looking good.

So far we’ve been contacting various government offices and landowners and looking at the work to be done. WRIG now has new, updated property owner data for the watershed, courtesy of the good folks at the provincial Taxation and Property Records Department. Also, thanks go to Mary-Lynn McCourt and the people at Forests, Fish and Wildlife for helping us obtain a new set of maps for the area. Last but not least, Candy MacDonald, Government Coordinator for the watershed groups in this area, dropped by to give us the stream alteration permits required to carry out our work. We hope she’ll be by again later in the summer to comment on our work. We have adopted several creeks for attention this year – in fact, almost all of the work planned for the current season is located upstream on Horne’s Creek (also called Matheson Creek), which opens into Rustico Bay directly east of the Wheatley River. Last year's supervisor (Adam Vessey) and I did some work on this stream in 2008 and I plan to continue there this season.

Sam Arnold onsite

Brush matting and debris clearing on Leigh Laird's land was almost finished last year. This year, the plan is to start a little upstream from the Winsloe Road, then continue further upstream. This area is very silty and in some places completely clogged by alders. To correct this, we're going to have to do a lot a debris clearing and brush matting. We also intend to plant 250-350 trees in one open area to add valuable stream-side wooded habitat. There are also plans for a crew of Environmental Futures students to come and help out for 6 days in August.

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estuary using sonar and GPS (Geological Positioning System). Based on those measurements, it was determined that the causeway is having no significant effect on tidal flow in the estuary (i.e. the tide range is almost the same on either side of the causeway). It was also noted, however, that when the causeway was built, the existing bridge structure was simply dropped into the river and has remained there ever since. The consultant has recommended that the bridge debris be removed, and the Department has agreed to do this. As a result, it is projected that the exchange of water will increase by approximately 5%, to 100% tidal passage at the causeway. Brush mat on Leigh Laird's land (Horne’s Creek). Some time has also been spent looking at work that has been done in past years. One site on the Little Bungay Road has been greatly improved over the last two years by brush matting and debris removal. Trees planted in past years seem to be doing reasonably well, especially on a spot on the Parker Cross Road. On Route 2 downhill from the Colville Road, on the other hand, many of our newly planted trees have been flooded by a beaver dam and died. In summary, as you read this we are hard at work and will report further in the next Newsletter.

Sam Arnold, WRIG Supervisor

Another Study of Oyster Bed Bridge Causeway Last year, PEI’s Department of Transportation and Public Works (TPW) hired Mark MacNeil, a consultant from Nova Scotia, to investigate the impact of the Oyster Bed Bridge causeway on the flow of water in the Wheatley River estuary. Mr MacNeil’s report was released this spring, and in May, WRIG members were invited to meet with him and with representatives of TPW and of the Department of Environment, Energy and Forestry to discuss his results. The field study, conducted in the summer and fall of 2008, focused on measuring tidal flow at two places, one upstream and one downstream of the causeway. Another consulting firm was contracted to map the basin of the

I later contacted Brian Thompson, Director of Environmental Resources at TPW, to request some clarifications on Mr. McNeil’s report. Our main concern was that the potential flushing action of waves on water and sediments upstream of the causeway had not been considered. We based this concern on a report prepared for Parks Canada in 1998, in which it was mentioned that the impact of waves can be critical to the distribution of sediments. In his response, Mr. Thompson indicated that overall water quality is primarily a result of average water movement provided by the tide. In other words, it is the tide’s flow and range transmitted upstream that indicate whether constriction affects water quality and that, in the case of the mid-reaches of Wheatley River, flushing is almost entirely due to the tide. Mr. Thompson also pointed out that Mr. MacNeil has provided advice to TPW on this kind of issue in several other systems and has therefore considerable experience in the matter. According to Mr. Thompson, in the case of the Oyster Bed Bridge causeway, the existing gap certainly "channels" flow and creates a jet, but supposedly does not affect tidal range and hence does not impact water quality in any obvious way. As far as the debris under the bridge is concerned, Mr. Thompson indicated that some underwater diver work to quantify and qualify the debris was recently completed, that his Department hopes to remove it later this work season, but that necessary federal and provincial approvals for the work need to be acquired and that “these can take some time to obtain”. Cindy Crane, biologist with the Department of Environment, Energy and Forestry, was also at the meeting when the results of the study were discussed. She made a presentation reminding us about the impact of agriculture

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on water quality in the Wheatley River watershed. We are of course very well aware of this, as well as of the other sources of nutrient and sediment overloading in our river, such as septic beds from private residences, erosion from dirt roads, and removal of trees and underbrush along the river and stream banks. WRIG continues to work on these issues.

turned down, however we remain hopeful as we have received funding from the Wildlife Conservation Fund and have an application submitted to Trout Unlimited Canada and the Island Communities Fund. We have also received $2,000.00 from the Cymbria Lion's Club as a result of the Riverboat Casino Night held in the winter. Wayne Gairns

Nonetheless, any of us going for a walk along the river and seeing the Oyster Bed Bridge causeway from a distance cannot help but notice how unnaturally narrow the gap is. Pierre-Yves Daoust

More than a place to catch the big one . . . When we think of ponds our thoughts drift to visions of that large brook trout we hope to catch. Well, that's not all that a pond supports.

This photo shows a swallow approaching a nest box on a pond in Queens County. Material was supplied to East Wiltshire School and the students, as part of their curriculum, built the boxes. They were installed by volunteers in 2004. There are currently fifteen boxes, all hosting nesting pairs. On any given day you can see swallows busily snatching insects from the water surface and flying back to the nest boxes to feed their young. This is what the Wheatley River Improvement Group (WRIG) hopes we will see in the future if our plans for Rackham's Pond unfold as we want them to. Our funding requests to Environment Canada and PEI Environment have been

A New Plan for Watershed Management? On April 25, representatives of Island watershed groups approved a structure, mission statement and goals for the new P.E.I. Watershed Alliance. A Coordinating Committee, comprised of three representatives of groups in each of three main regions - West, Central and East was appointed. Since the April meeting, members of the Coordinating Committee have met on a fairly regular basis. We were pleased to discover that the 2009-10 provincial budget included an increase of 100% for watershed management from $500,000 to $1 million, and we anticipated that most of that money would be distributed to watershed groups. However, when groups started to receive responses to the proposals they had submitted to the Watershed Management Fund (the main source of income for P.E.I. watershed groups) for projects for the upcoming year it became clear that this would not be the case. Most groups received a fraction of what they had asked for, and in fact less money than they had received in 2008-09. The Alliance Coordinating Committee asked for a meeting with Minister Brown. The explanation given at that meeting (also attended by Deputy Minister John MacQuarrie and Manager Jim Young) was that 5 new groups were receiving funding this year, and the extra $500,000 would not be distributed directly to watershed groups. The Department was in the process of developing a plan that would eventually change drastically the roles and responsibilities of watershed groups. Whereas currently, watershed groups develop plans and then apply for funds to hire staff to implement the plans, the proposed system would have watershed groups still doing the planning, but all employees would be hired by Government. That is, 12 full-time, permanent, year-round watershed coordinators would be hired for the entire province, and seasonal work crews, not unlike TPW road crews, would be hired to do the field work.

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As a member of the Coordinating Committee of the Watershed Alliance, I was very disappointed that Department of the Environment personnel were presenting the plan, admittedly as a work in progress, but already having decided on the general direction and on some of the key elements. I wondered why we had not been invited to participate in the process, to represent the views of community-based watershed groups. Although it is a bit late in the game, we are hoping to be involved from this point forward, and have spent a considerable amount of time and energy communicating the Department’s “new direction” to watershed groups and getting feedback, which we intend to present to the Deputy Minister by the end of June. Ann Wheatley

Nitrate Testing: Be There!

Thank-you to our supporters! including The P.E.I. Sweater Shop, Gaudreau’s Fine Woodworking The Northern Star Gallant’s Clover Farm and all of our individual and family members.

WRIG Membership: Be Here! Wheatley River needs you now more than ever. If you live, work or visit in the watershed area, we ask you to join Wheatley River Improvement Group. Help us protect this fragile place.

The clinic will test levels of nitrogen in the form of NO3ions (NO3-N levels) dissolved in the drinking water of residents. Residents can bring a one-cup (250 ml) sample in a clean container, such as a mason jar, to the clinic to have their nitrate levels tested while they wait. A drinking water technician will also be present to answer any questions people might have about their results or nitrates in general. At a similar clinic held last year 78 tests were done. We hope this year to see more people participate and have their water tested, especially Wheatley River residents, who were under-represented in 2008. See you there!

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