|
The Fishway
Christmas tree barrier
Canadian Botanical Conservation Network
Sunfish Pond embankment restoration project
Project Paradise began in 1993 as a component of the Fish and Wildlife Habitat Restoration Project, part of the Hamilton Harbour Remedial Action Plan. It was created to connect the Gardens with community partners that have similar goals concerning the restoration and stewardship of our marshlands.
Project Paradise is the largest and most challenging habitat restoration initiative ever undertaken by the Gardens and is the largest of its kind in North America. It requires strong partnerships with outside agencies, and is reflective of the fact that many of the issues affecting the marsh originate in the watersheds that drain into our lands.
The project is based on addressing the major marsh stressors that led to the decline of our wetlands. We hope that by eliminating the stressors the marsh will begin to naturally regenerate and ultimately become self-sustaining.
An innovative freshwater marsh restoration venture, Project Paradise includes a range of conservation projects, but is dependent on the Fishway, the first carp barrier/two-way fishway structure on the Great Lakes.
Marsh Stressors
Historic Description of Cootes Paradise
Project Paradise publications (PDF versions)
Overview of Project Paradise An article published in our member’s magazine PAPPUS. PAPPUS is one of the many benefits of membership at the Gardens.
Project Paradise 2001 A colourful brochure with restoration highlights from 2000.
Marsh Stressors
Several human-induced stresses have caused habitat loss in both Cootes Paradise and Grindstone Creek marshes. The five human-induced marsh stresses are:
- Turbidity
- High nutrient levels
- Sediment accumulation
- Overgrazing by carp and geese
- Lake Ontario water level control
Back To Top
Historic Description of Cootes Paradise Marsh
Prior to the 20th century, the nutrient-rich, shallow waters of Cootes Paradise thrived as a coastal freshwater marsh habitat. Almost 100 percent of Cootes Paradise was covered with emergent aquatic plants like wild rice and submergent plants like wild celery, providing food, shelter and migration stop-overs for a variety of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and insects. The lush wetland also provided suitable spawning, nursery and adult habitat for many native warm water fish like bass and pike and cold water species such as herring and trout.
The plentiful flora and fauna of the Great Lakes coastal freshwater marshes did not go unnoticed by settlers in the 1800s. Cootes Paradise and its surrounding natural habitats offered abundant fishing and hunting opportunities, fertile farmland and convenient access to water. However, human settlement of Hamilton Harbour and its surrounding natural lands brought with it several stressors that, over time, had a cumulative impact on the natural abundance of Cootes Paradise and neighbouring lower Grindstone Creek.
Throughout both Cootes Paradise and Grindstone Creek watersheds, agricultural practices and residential, commercial and industrial development contaminated connecting tributaries with sewage effluent, eroded soil and sediment and chemical runoff. By 1837 the Desjardins Canal, a shipping channel dissecting the marsh and terminating at the extreme western end in Dundas, reduced the marsh’s capacity to assimilate nutrients and stabilize sediments.
Feeding and spawning behaviours of non-native carp uprooted and destroyed marsh plants and re-suspended sediment making waters cloudy, preventing light penetration and plant growth. By the end of the 19th century, exotic plant species like purple loosestrife and reed manna grass, accidentally introduced to North America, began successfully competing with, and eradicating, native plants. The natural ecology of Cootes Paradise and Grindstone Creek was further disrupted in 1956 when the Seaway Commission began regulating Lake Ontario water levels.
As human pressures on the watersheds increased, the decline in the health and biodiversity of Cootes Paradise became markedly visible. In the 1930s Cootes Paradise experienced a 15% permanent reduction in marsh vegetation. By 1985 the level of plant growth had decreased further, losing 85% of its original plant cover. This permanent loss of aquatic flora had a direct negative impact on water quality and the fish and wildlife inhabitants of Cootes Paradise and lower Grindstone Creek.
Concerns over environmental degradation led the International Joint Commission to designate Hamilton Harbour as one of 42 Areas of Concern in the Great Lakes. In 1986, the Hamilton Harbour Remedial Action Plan was initiated to address this environmental degradation in the Harbour including key areas like Cootes Paradise and lower Grindstone Creek. Under this plan, a variety of conservation projects and monitoring programs have been implemented to control pollution, restore and improve fish and wildlife habitat and enhance public access.
Back To Top
|
|
