Rainbow trout habitat restoration project improves water quality and restores local recreational trails

UTOPIA, Ontario (November 8, 2019) – In less than 6 months after the completion of the Beeton Creek Coldwater Trout Stream Restoration Project, rainbow trout have come back to spawn in Coventry Park in Tottenham.

The restoration project was completed in two phases. The first phase was completed in the summer of 2018 by volunteers who removed 5 woody debris jams on Beeton Creek in Coventry Park. The second phase was completed in the fall of 2018 at a failed ice dam structure located 5km north of Tottenham where heavy machinery was used to remove three small culverts that were plugged with woody debris and sediment. A new large culvert was installed at this location in order to serve as a “fishway".

Both projects removed barriers to fish migration and drained stagnant head ponds which stored sediment and nutrients. It also allowed water to flow faster and exposed gravel spawning beds, perfect for rainbow trout reproduction. Water quality is expected to have improved and summer water temperatures to have decreased. The decrease in water level also served to re-establish several hundred meters of municipal recreational trail in Coventry Park which had previously been flooded.

“We were amazed at how fast the rainbow trout returned to this section of the Beeton Creek, said Fred Dobbs, Manager of Stewardship Services at the NVCA. “We went back to the sites to do fish sampling this past summer, and found several two-month old wild rainbow trout. This meant that adult trout had been able to access the creek and spawn successfully this past spring."

This project was completed by the NVCA, working in partnership with the South Simcoe Streams Network, Nottawasaga Futures, the Nottawasaga Steelheaders, Town of New Tecumseth and local landowners. This work with a total value of approximately $120,000 was made possible through generous contributions from Bruce Power, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Province of Ontario. This project is part of a larger Beeton Creek restoration program which has been ongoing since 1997.

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About NVCA: The Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority is a public agency dedicated to the preservation of a healthy environment through specialized programs to protect, conserve and enhance our water, wetlands, forests and lands.

Media contact: Maria Leung, Communications Coordinator 705-424-1479 ext.254, mleung@nvca.on.ca