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Ontario's
Watershed
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Rouge
River
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Closer Look Index
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Benefits
of Rouge River Rehabilitation
The
Rouge River Headwater Initiative provides a host of environmental
and social benefits.
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Efforts
to enhance the headwater streams have led to an overall improvement
to the system from an ecological standpoint. The channels
are naturalized and diversity has increased in the riparian
community, leading to improvements in water quality and stream
morphology and thus better habitat for fish and insect species.
This is particularly important for such species as brook trout,
migratory rainbow trout and redside dace, as well as the return
of other extirpated species. Enhancing the quality of the
headwater tributaries of the Rouge River also implies that
the quality of the river itself will be improved. |
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From
a social perspective, the headwaters project serves to heighten
community awareness and involvement through such things as
interpretative signs and volunteer events and provides educational
opportunities by means of classroom presentation and demonstrations.
This project is also beneficial in terms of cultural, aesthetic
and natural values and serves to promote partnerships in stream
rehabilitation and ecological restoration. |
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Finally,
benefits can be derived from the project in terms of the applicability
to other water systems. For example, the information collected,
designed attributes and technology resulting from this project
may be applied to other watersheds within the Metro Toronto
AOC or other AOC's where riparian habitat degradation limits
productivity and diversity. |
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