Initially, restoration activities were led by the Ministry of Environment with assistance from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and TLC. The first task was to remove livestock from the areas immediately adjacent to the river. This was accomplished with the construction of wildlife-friendly fencing of selected areas. Following this, an extensive and aggressive replanting and reconstruction project ensued. This restoration effort was guided by an overall restoration plan written for the Ministry of Environment by local restoration ecologist Richard Case. Restoration included extensive planting of riparian species, re-sloping of sections of the river with heavy machinery with subsequent planting using a technique known as bioengineering (use of plant material, particularly willows), the construction of a 500 m rearing channel for fish, the breaching of a containment dyke that was resulting in fish stranding issues, and the provision of nesting habitat for Ospreys and cavity nesting birds.
Construction of a 500 m rearing channel in 1999
As time progressed, we have assumed the task of further restoration efforts. More recently, our efforts have been scaled back and are focused on smaller, more strategic planting projects, experimental use of horses and use of shade cloth coupled with live staking of willows to control reed canary grass. We have also breached a small containment dyke that cutoff an oxbow from the main stem of the Horsefly River to alleviate a fish stranding problem and help restore ecosystem function.
There has been a dramatic transformation of large parts of the Conservation Area as a result of past restoration efforts. The pine and spruce seedling planted in 1999 and 2000 are now starting to look like trees, and in some places a forest is taking shape. Shoreline vegetation is making a slow and gradual comeback as a result of willow staking and riparian plantings. Show below are two specific examples of the transformation of previous hay fields between 1999 and 2009.
From hayfield to young forest along the Horsefly. Photo in 1999 (left) and 2009 (right)
Dramatic changes in shoreline vegetation along the Horsefly River between 1999 (left) and 2009 (right)
