Did you know?

Contacts

Grand River Conservation Authority400 Clyde Road, Box 729Cambridge, Ontario N1R 5W6519-621-2761866 900 4722 (toll free)www.grandriver.ca

Ontario Soil and CropImprovement Association 1 Stone Road WestGuelph, Ontario N1G 4Y21-800-265-9751www.ontariosoilcrop.org

Trout Unlimited CanadaSpeed Valley ChapterGuelph, Ontario519-249-1085www.tucanada.org

Wellington CountyStewardship CouncilMinistry of Natural Resources1 Stone Road WestGuelph, Ontario N1G 4Y2519-826-4936www.ontariostewardship.org

In 1999, the Wellington County Stewardship Council passed a resolution to adopt Marden Creek as a stream improvement project. In 2005 they were joined by volunteers from the Speed Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited Canada as a partner. Both groups have contributed a great deal of time and expertise on several projects to restore the stream channel and enhance aquatic habitat. These projects include removing a dam and reconstructing a channel at the township park on Marden Road, redirecting Marden Creek around the gravel pit pond on the Mann Construction Ltd Property, building trout habitat features in the newly formed channel, and removing beaver dams and other debris to improve flow and fish habitat at various locations within the creek’s channel. These projects were done in conjunction with the Ontario Stewardship Ranger crew, students from the University of Guelph, Gencor, Don Blyth and the Mann family.

In 1999 the Wellington Rural Water Quality Program began helping agricultural landowners implement best management practices to improve and protect water quality. Many have benefited from the financial and technical assistance the program provides. It is generously funded by the County of Wellington and the City of Guelph and is delivered by the Grand River Conservation Authority.

In 2005 a small population of brook trout was discovered in Marden Creek, indicating a healthy cold water stream. The population is growing and their range is expanding. Only four trout were observed in 2005 while 13 were seen just two years later. The original population was discovered north of Highway 6 and the fish have moved south. Now there are plans to remove the last barriers to fish migration in Marden Creek. Removing these barriers would allow the fish to reconnect with brook trout in the Speed River. Unrestricted movement of brook trout will be a significant restoration achievement, because the Marden Creek population has not had access to the Speed River in more than 120 years.

Beaver dam removal by the Ontario Stewardship Ranger Crew

Upstream of Marden Township Park, August 2 to September 29, 2005.

Ponded water heats up in the summer stressing coldwater fish species like brook trout. Dam removal restores the natural flow of the creek improving aquatic habitat.

The results

The restoration work completed by agency staff and volunteer groups coupled with the environmental stewardship work undertaken by landowners is paying off.

Restoration and stewardship work is paying off. The population of brook trout is growing and their range is expanding in Marden Creek.

Photo by Steve May The difference is clear!

Marden Creek during a flood event. Schneider Creek during a flood event.

Natural vegetation beside creeks — called riparian buffers — can filter sediment from water flowing over farmer’s field during flood events. Marden Creek (left) is almost completely surrounded by grasses and trees and the water remained clear during a flood event in December of 2008. In contrast, Schneider Creek (right) has a much smaller amount of streamside buffer and allowed a great deal more sediment to enter the creek during a flood event in July of 2005.

Environmental stewardship

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A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY

Watershed history

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The Marden Creek WatershedThe Marden Creek WatershedThe Marden Creek Watershed

Men working on a ditch drain contract in West Luther township, circa 1895. (Wellington County Museum & Archives, ph 14271)

Trout Unlimited Canada (Speed Valley Chapter) volunteers working on a channel reconstruction project, autumn 2008.

Before European settlement, the Marden Creek watershed was

covered with forests and wetlands. Watercourses were cold and

clear for most of the year and supported cold-water fish like brook

trout, mottled sculpins and pearl dace.

European settlers brought dramatic change to the landscape. They

cleared and drained the land. This degraded small streams by raising

water temperatures and adding sediment. Mill dams cut off fish from

spawning grounds, cold pools and spring seepage areas. This

degradation was compounded by land-use practices such as stream

channelization and using floodplains as pasture for animals. By the

mid 1970s, brook trout — a native cold water fish — had

disappeared from Marden Creek.

Farming practices within the Marden Creek watershed have

changed a lot since those early days. Water-powered mills have

become obsolete and small mixed farms have given way to

specialized agricultural enterprises. New cultivation techniques, livestock management practices and

increasing environmental awareness mean small agricultural

watercourses are being restored. Local landowners, together with the

Wellington County Stewardship Council, Trout Unlimited Canada, the

Environmental Farm Plan and the Rural Water Quality Program, have

produced remarkable results.

Brook trout observed spawning in the headwaters of Marden Creek during the autumn of 2008. The spawning area had been rehabilitated

by the Ontario Stewardship Ranger Crew in August of 2008.

The Marden Creek Watershed

Watershed boundary

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Treed buffer

Grassed buffer

River/creek

Highway

Major road

Road

Watershed boundary

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Restoration &Stewardship

Projects

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Local landowners, together with the Wellington County Stewardship Council, Trout Unlimited Canada, the Environmental Farm Plan

and the Rural Water Quality Program, have produced remarkable results for Marden Creek.

Marden Creek

Whispering Meadows Farms

Trish and Dean Scott operate a 50 hectare beef operation. When they bought it in the late 1990s there were few trees and many of the small wetlands had been cleared and worked. The Scotts immediately completed an Environmental Farm Plan and started using environmental best management practices. They have retired marginal land, restored a wetland, planted trees and use rotation pasturing practices.

Watershed recovery through landowner stewardship...

Don Blyth

The Blyth family has operated their 55 hectare farm for over 100 years. Don has been farming the land since the 1950s and has made several changes during that time. For many years, Don grew crops using a mold board plough and grazed cattle along the creek. In the 1990s, he started using no-till practices to save fuel and equipment costs, but this helped the environment by reducing soil erosion. Don now focuses on producing crops and no longer has livestock. The land near the creek is too wet to cultivate, so he has let the native vegetation become re-established. It is now surrounded by a mature treed buffer that provides excellent habitat for many species of native fish and wildlife.

Fletcher Farms

Doug Fletcher and his son John work approximately 160 hectares of land in the Marden Creek watershed. They raise beef cattle and grow forage, wheat, beans and corn. Doug was an early supporter of conservation farming practices and in the 1980s established one of the few examples of contour cropping in Ontario. He has also implemented a number of additional environmental best management practices including grassed waterways, strip cropping and conservation tillage practices.

Gencor

Gencor is an agricultural cooperative that provides livestock genetics to dairy producers and farms 300 hectares in the Marden Creek watershed. They grow forage for their herd of 500 animals. At one time, they worked as close as possible to the waterways. However in recent years, Gencor has taken a new approach. They have a Nutrient Management Plan and an Environmental Farm Plan. They actively work with the Wellington County Stewardship Council and Trout Unlimited Canada on stream restoration. All of this has increased their awareness of how farm practices affect the creek. Gencor has planted trees along the creek and maintains a buffered area around the smaller tributaries. They now avoid spraying pesticides or spreading manure near the watercourses. They also use minimum or no-till cultivation practices which have reduced erosion.

Ignatius Jesuit Centre

The Ignatius Jesuit Centre operates on land that has been farmed since 1833. Early owners dammed Marden Creek, built a sawmill and began clearing the land in the 1820s. The Jesuits began farming the property in 1913. They pastured livestock along the creek and in the wetlands and grew feed. In the 1980s they began using environmentally-sensitive farming practices. They switched to organic farming, properly abandoned and upgraded wells, restricted livestock from the creek, planted trees and retired marginal lands. They have a number of additional stewardship projects planned for the near future.

- Trish Scott

– Craig Chamberlain, Land Manager

– Doug Fletcher

Black Angus - WhisperingMeadows Farms

Grassed waterway -Gencor property

Soybean crop - Blyth farm

Strip cropping - Fletcher Farms

Apple orchard - Ignatius Jesuit Centre

–Brian Starr, Field and Crops Manager

– Don Blyth

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Ruby-throated hummingbird Mottled sculpin

Leopard frog

Trout Unlimited Canada volunteers

Photo by Daniel Cadieux www.dancadphotography.com Photo by Steve May

– Do

When we bought the farm there were very few trees and the property felt barren and lonely. The trees we planted brought the place back to life and made the farm feel like home.

Our vision of service to the community, environmental sustainability and spiritual growth is reflected in our land management practices. This vision is being realized by the help and assistance we have received from our partners in the community.

I farm the way I do for the love of the land. I feel privileged to be a farmer and I have a responsibility to properly care for the land.

The changes I made on the farm were for economic reasons. Environmental stewardship has to make economic sense.

We feel our environmental contributions have been minimal and that if you leave the creek alone it will heal itself.