In Septembre 2023, I started with Parks Canada, Trent-Severn Waterway (a National Historic Site that joins Lake Ontario to Lake Huron at Georgian Bay), joining the team that will manage master plan projects at key Lock Stations along its 386km route. Since these projects are not yet funded, I've been given various tasks, examples of which can be found below:
illustration of the TSW construction timeline
context map for a site that is mentioned in the TSW Management Plan, 2022, as candidate for a master planning exercise
Select slides from a presentation I prepared on whether native plants should be planted on earthen dams, of which the TSW counts over 100 as part of its water management system.
Typically, I'd be all for a native-only approach. However, research quickly revealed that this isn't a common practice in the dam industry, due to risks that native species can introduce in this particular context: to reap the typical benefits of native species, minimal maintenance such as mowing is required. The added vegetative structure can attract burrowing animals and promote woody species can potentially establishment, just as the normally-sought biodiversity benefits increase. Both of these effects can be disastrous to earth dams and those who live around them if these issues are obscured from dam inspection and left untreated.
There appears to be a knowledge gap in this specific domain. Some dam operators have tried natives-only prairie mixes and given up due to the added maintenance costs and other risks. Finding a balance between these competing objectives seems key.
I ultimately suggested industry-standard species mixed with appropriate native species at certain test sites, until an all-native mix could be rolled out with evidence-based confidence.
as seen above, the TSW is old, and many of its sites have lost trees to age or other factors. this illustration summarizes replanting efforts.
plan view of a small-project involving remediation of a slope failure;
section view of same