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BREWER PARK RESTORATION PROJECT – ITS ROLE IN MUSKIE RESTORATION

This blog post was contributed by Elizabeth Haines, a Carleton University undergraduate student who attended the International Muskellunge Symposium held at Carleton University this past August.

 

For many anglers, catching a muskie is the thrill of a lifetime. These are hard fighting, North American “noble beasts” most anglers only dream of reeling in. In the early 1900’s muskie populations declined. Now with the success of catch-and-release angling and rebounding populations, we need to ensure that these fish are protected for future generations.

The International Muskellunge Symposium, held on August 14th and 15th 2014, in Ottawa, ON, provided an opportunity for many experts to collaborate on muskie protection plans. Scientists, management agencies, anglers and eager students gathered at Carleton University for the two-day muskie learning adventure.

Students and researchers attended seminars, panel discussions and even field trips at the event. Topics covered included viruses and water pollution, efforts to improve muskie spawning areas, and how to restore struggling populations in Canadian lakes and rivers.

One of the most engaging events was a panel presentation that organizers saved for the end. Many listeners were intrigued to discover that just across the road from Carleton University the Brewer Park Restoration Project is under way.

In the 1960s and 70s, the city disconnected a portion of the Rideau River to build a “swimming hole” in Brewer Park.  But only several years after its construction, local swimmers started to get itchy – bacteria overgrowth in the pond was giving people rashes. And what was supposed to be a refreshing summer pond turned into a murky, algae-filled body of water.

The pond has lost much of its aquatic wildlife as well. Right now, muskies and other fish are often trapped in the pond during the spring floods. And they can’t survive there long due to low oxygen, high summer temperatures and winter ice conditions.

 

Muskies Canada Inc. members talking with Jennifer Lamoreaux (RVCA) and a representative of the local developer at the International Muskellunge Symposium held at Carleton University.

Muskies Canada Inc. members talking with Jennifer Lamoreaux (RVCA) and a representative of the local developer at the International Muskellunge Symposium held at Carleton University in August, 2014.

That’s where the project comes in to play. Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA), under the guidance of aquatic and fish habitat biologist Jennifer Lamoreaux, has been planning to re-connect Brewer Pond with a local developer. The developer is under obligation of the Fisheries Act to create fish habitat as a result of fish habitat it destroyed in a different part of the city. Other organizations, such as the City of Ottawa, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Muskies Canada Inc., Muskies Inc (USA), and Carleton University (through the Cooke lab), have come together to provide guidance on the project.

By reconnecting the pond to the Rideau River RVCA hopes to restore the area to provide natural wetland functions. A submerged steel culvert, about 22m in length, will allow fish to enter and leave the pond as they please. This could become a new nursery area for juvenile muskies, which could have positive impacts on the entire population.

Juvenile muskies captured during a sampling excursion in July, 2014 on the Rideau River near Brewer Pond Park.

Juvenile muskies captured during a sampling excursion in July, 2014 on the Rideau River near Brewer Pond Park.

To take the project one step further, the planners are going to place inverted tree trunks in the pond for structure-loving muskies to spawn and nurse their offspring. They’re also going to install clusters of rocks for turtle basking.

Such small, simple changes could make the pond an ideal home for all sorts of species in the future.