WWF-Canada helps restore the flow in Marden Creek
The main goal of the freshwater program at WWF-Canada is to ensure healthy rivers across Canada by protecting and restoring what we in the conservation community call “environmental flows.” We saw this accomplished before our eyes on October 1, when we witnessed the removal of an old dam that had been in place for over a century on Marden Creek – a coldwater tributary in the heart of the Grand River watershed –with the aid of a smashing device affectionately known to the team as the “Death Star” (image below)!
The Marden Creek was first dammed back in 1832 to provide water power to a saw mill to process the timber as forests of the Grand River watershed were cleared. The dam was later used to power a grist mill to grind the grains grown on the watershed’s prime agricultural land. The dam no longer serves its intended function, and today it acts as a barrier to fish migration, has led to an increase in water temperature, and decreased the overall water quality in the creek ecosystem.
A few years ago, Trout Unlimited Canada’s interest in restoring flows in the system was sparked when they discovered a small population of native brook trout hanging on by a thread in the upper reaches of the creek. They knew that they could restore the Marden Creek back to its original state by removing the old dam, and brook trout could once again thrive from the headwaters all the way down to its confluence with the Speed River. Trout Unlimited Canada partnered with local conservation groups, including the Ignatius Jesuit Centre of Guelph as part of their Plant and Old Growth Forest Project, the Wellington County Stewardship Council, and WWF-Canada, to restore flows in the creek ecosystem back to pre-dam conditions.
WWF-Canada was happy to assist with this project, as the Marden Creek dam is the last in a series of dams along the system to be removed as part of a larger restoration project. The restoration plan also includes the rehabilitation of the entire wetland ecosystem, including the surrounding 2.5 hectares of mud flats that will be exposed as a result of the dam removal and draining of the old mill pond.
On a map, this is a small project when compared to our work in rivers like the Athabasca and the Skeena, but it is massive in terms of demonstrating – in a tangible way – what it means to restore aquatic ecosystems by restoring flowing waters, and what can be accomplished when local land owners, community groups, and national and international organizations work together towards a common conservation goal.
