Comment
Watershed report - forces us to reconsider actions
by Bruce Haire

The Innisfil Creek watershed received by far the worst report in a series of watershed report cards done by the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority.

This area drains much of South Innisfil, and much of South New Tecumseth and South Adjala.

So if you are in lands drained by the Innisfil Creek, Bailey Creek, Beeton Creek and Penville Creek, you live in the identified area.

There are several problems specifically including irrigation of the potato lands when in some summers, the Innisfil Creek is almost dried up.

One of the key elements to any improvement in the Creeks is restoring the forest and meadowlands along the steam banks.

Reforestation and water quality improvement should be part of any environmental program and part of the greenhouse gas iniatives.

Those familiar with Canadian history know that at one time trees became almost the enemy of the farmer.

My own forefathers who pioneered both in the Ottawa Valley and in Mulmur would probably turn over in their graves if they saw us replanting trees like we are.

It just takes a drive through this area to see why much of the watershed received a failing grade - a F - as many of the streams have no forest cover whatsoever, and others are little more than straight ditches.

The Conservation Authorities have been working with many groups, and especially farmers, to control things like nutrient runoff, keeping cattle out of stream and replanting trees.

However, the effort has just begun. Judging by the watershed report, this will take a massive effort and needs provincial direction.

Even those who want to develop their land will not be able to build near streams. In some places, developers and speculators have bought up a lot of land.

The buying spree that has taken place in Innisfil makes these lands ideal for the development of forests and meadows along water courses.

In New Tecumseth one can think of the over 2,000 acres but up by land banking company Walton International.

In the Bond Head area (Penville Drain), Geranium and Metrus have been buyers of land.

The development of Phosphorus trading to get these stream channels reforested would be another creative way of encouraging developers to prepare flood plain areas (which can't be developed anyway) that could move their land towards development.

For the farmer, Phosphorus trading could almost be a cash crop. Renaturalizing water courses could provide a yearly Phosphorus credit that could be purchased by developers to allow their lands to move ahead or could be used as a credit to pay taxes.

Some things that were often described as bad have turned out to be not so harmful. Look at all the subdividing into 10 acre lots in South New Tecumseth. While some has remained in crops or pasture, much is gradually being reforested either naturally or in plantations.

We are fortunate to have volunteer groups like the New Tecumseth Streams Committee which is working with the NVCA to restore the health of streams. But the job is so massive it will take much more than volunteers.

We have never had a government that took the environment seriously, and while the big effort seems to be on the federal side of things on greenhouse gases, much of the jurisdiction for a regreening of Southern Ontario lies in provincial hands and it is time that province wide strategies were developed.

We know our wetlands and rivers are in bad shape. Now is anyone willing to do something.