Newsletter 18

On Thursday, July 30th the Souris & Area Branch of the PEI Wildlife Federation held a Nitrate Testing Clinic at the Souris Ski Club. Approximately 60 people attended this clinic which was a decrease in attendance from previous years (120 in 2007 and 80 in 2008).
Any sample that was above the level of 8mg/L was asked to be retested for precautionary reasons. Anything over 10mg/L is considered to be health hazardous by the World Health Organization.

Stream Enhancement Work

Our crews have been diligently working doing stream enhancement and maintenance on Cross River, Cow River, North Lake, Priest Pond, Hay River, Naufrage, and East Lake.
Maintenance work has been done on the North Lake System from the Baltic Road to the Salmon Hole. Alder Brook has also received work. Original work in North Lake this year included enhancement from Dixon's Dam to the West Tarantum. Active beaver problems were found on the Southern area of the West Tarantum. We are presently awaiting for Fish & Wildlife Division to solve this problem.
Priest Pond has been maintained from tidal to 1km west of the Bull Creek Road. We have also enhanced 1.5km on the south branch of Priest Pond and two access points have been cut.

Robbie Outhouse assessing a beaver
dam on the Cross River Watershed.

The Naufrage system from Larkin's Dam to tidal has received maintenance. Also, from Hazel McInnis' to the Line of Lot Rd. was enhanced for the first time.

Hay River received maintenance and original work for a stretch approximately 1.5km in length.

The Eastern Kings Community Improvement Committee (EKCIC) has partnered with the Souris & Area Wildlife Branch to improve the East Lake Watershed, with stream enhancement being the main priority.

Rollo Bay Creek and Charlie Campbell's Creek have also received original stream enhancement.

Maintenance will also be done in Cow River and Fortune River before the end of the summer.

The Souris & Area Branch of the PEI Wildlife Federation has four of the eleven rivers on PEI (North Lake, Priest Pond, Cross River, and Naufrage River) that have been designated Class I “Wilderness Rivers”. These four rivers have a well established and documented stocks of native Atlantic Salmon.

The Souris & Area Branch has received $24,200 from the Atlantic Salmon Conservation Fund to maintain these stocks by enhancing stream habitat to ensure these healthy stocks will continue to exist.

The Souris River has been designated a “Research River”, on Prince Edward Island for the stocking of Atlantic Salmon. Souris River was selected as a “Research River for the following reasons: a) a history of agricultural influence, b) implementation of modern, environmentally friendly farming practices within the past decade, c) extensive stream enhancement efforts done by the Souris Wildlife staff, d) historical efforts from a strong conservation group like the Souris Wildlife Branch.

The cooperation of the local farmers and our local watershed group has been the driving force for the restoration of the Souris River. The Souris River Watershed has the potential to be used as a model on PEI in developing future salmon habitat.

Wildlife Staff installing the first digger log
of the year

Electrofishing the Souris River for
Rainbow Trout Removal

During the summer the emphasis has been on enhancement of the Souris River to maximize salmon habitat. Our crew has been working nonstop in the preparation for this Salmon Project. Souris River has been maintained in its entirety, as well, endless work has been done to the riparian zones and in-stream constructions have been installed.

Five hundred trees were planted around the Souris River for riparian zone enhancement.

Approximately 30 digger logs have been installed in preparation for the Atlantic Salmon stocking. Debris was removed from the fish ladder in Harmony Junction to allow for easier fish passage. A total of six access roads were constructed to make fish transportation easier. The Souris River has been electro-seined on multiple occasions for research reasons.

Fred Cheverie receiving cheque from Lee
Murphy (representative from the Atlantic
Salmon Conservation Fund)

For research purposes, there are three sections on each branch (East & West) that are being evaluated individually. For 100m zones on each branch (East and West) there is one section where a series of digger logs have been put in place. In the next section of 100m a number of Rainbow Trout have been removed and transplanted into Paul Gallant's Pond. Here, they will serve our needs for our annual Family Fishing Day. The third section of 100m will be left as a control zone. No alterations will be implemented on this section of the stream, it will be left natural.
Approximately 5000-8000 Atlantic Salmon (parr and fry) will be stocked in Souris River over the next few weeks.
A series of digger logs (25-30) were installed to create pristine wintering habitat pools adjacent to spawning grounds.
This project is the beginning of a restoration of a once plentiful Atlantic Salmon population in Souris River.

Our 3rd Annual Digital Photo Contest has many high quality entries submitted. At this point, there are over 1100 photos and videos presented for adjudication. Our judges have had an initial look and are again impressed! The judges are eagerly looking forward to more photos and videos leading up to the closing date of November 15, 2009. Contests rules and regulations as well as links to the entries may be found at: http://www.souriswl.ca/contests.html
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Thanks to our sponsors MacPhee's Home Hardware Building Centre, Ducks Unlimited, and the Souris Branch of the P.E.I. Wildlife Federation.

Nicole MacAulay displays the prize camera

One of the contributors to the success of the Souris & Area Branch of the PEI Wildlife Federation is the PEI Wildlife Conservation Fund (WCF). When you purchase an angling, hunting, or trapping license there is a $20 fee. This fee goes to support the WCF. The WCF donates approximately $100,000 to local P.E.I. organizations that provide protection and enhancement for wildlife and their habitats. In 2009, The Souris & Area Branch of the PEI Wildlife Federation received approximately $9000 from this fund.

In 2006, The Department of Environment, Energy, and Forestry officially transferred the administration of the fund to the Wildlife Conservation Fund Committee. This Committee consists of 10 members: one representative from community watershed groups (Fred Cheverie, who is also Chairperson for this committee); three representatives from the angling community (Wayne Gairns, Denis Rix, Dale Cameron); three representatives from the hunting community (Wade Lewis, Jeff Stewart, Eber Williams); one representative from the trapping community (Bruce Smith); one representative of non-consumptive users such as birdwatchers and hikers (Jeremy Styles); and one representative from the Department of Environment, Energy and Forestry (Brad Potter).

The money received from the PEIWCF has been used for stream and habitat enhancement equipment including fuel for chainsaws, repair and maintenance on this equipment, chest waders, tools, bug spray, top-up wages, and many necessary materials to complete the majority of our projects.

The saltwater marsh that was constructed at Gowan Brae in 2008 has all the appearances of being a success story. It has structurally withstood its first winter and it appears that the cord grass is beginning to spread throughout the marsh which should assist in diminishing the nutrient load. It is amazing to see the amount of bio-mass being removed from the river by this structure. It is also noticeable the amount of wildlife that inhabited this area as one regularly observes: Ospreys, Bald Eagles, Blue Herons, Red Winged Black Birds, Ducks, etc. Congratulations to the staff of Souris Wildlife Branch for establishing such a solid structure and the Souris Harbour Authority for their financial support.

I am very impressed with the amount of participation we are receiving with the 2009 Photo Contest. Over 1100 photos and videos entered so far and there is still approximately three months left to submit your entries. It is satisfying to see the diversity of the participants entering photos. There are a tremendous number of entrants in each category including many young people which is very refreshing.

I am also very impressed with the productivity of the eagle perches that were erected along Souris Beach. I have seen eagles using these as resting areas and I have been told by others that they have witnessed them as well. It is a pleasurable sight to drive into Souris and witness beautiful wildlife like Bald Eagles on the Souris Causeway!

At the time of preparing this newsletter we are fast approaching the end of another season of stream enhancement. We were fortunate to have one of our largest contingents of workers in recent years. We covered a vast amount of territory with some streams receiving original work and some receiving maintenance. The number of alders and beaver dams seems endless, but our staff continues at a steady pace.

It is very rewarding to observe many recreational fishermen enjoying themselves fishing for Rainbow Trout (Steelhead) at Souris River Causeway. I have been informed that the largest fish caught was approximately 5 lbs with the average being in the 1-1.5 lb range. Most success seems to be from bait fishing.

Rainbow Trout are a spring spawning fish and appear to enjoy the habitat of the Souris River which has possibly the best stocks of Rainbow Trout (Steelhead) of any river on PEI.

All pictures appearing on this site or its associated flickr account are the property of the photographers and the Souris & Area Branch of the P.E.I. Wildlife Federation.
They may not be copied without permission of the photographer and the Souris & Area Branch of the P.E.I. Wildlife Federation.