Interested in protecting, enhancing or restoring a natural shoreline?

The Bay of Quinte Remedial Action Plan (RAP) is presenting a Shoreline Habitat Enhancement Workshop.

The RAP and its partners are under-taking actions to rehabilitate the Bay of Quinte. Quinte residents can be part of the long-term solution to improving water quality in the Bay, by learning about the importance a natural shoreline plays in the over-all ecosystem.

Shoreline areas are a critical and sensitive link between land and water, often called ‘the ribbon of life’.

Quinte area naturalist Terry Sprague will discuss and provide examples of the importance of natural shorelines for: shelter and food for wildlife, supporting spawning beds for fish, enhancing water quality, erosion control and flood protection and how they enhance the value of your property.

Also, RAP staff will discuss project eligibility and the funding options available to participants. From replacing retaining wall or other man-made structure with a natural shoreline, creating a native plant shoreline, attracting wildlife, to keeping livestock away from a shoreline, funding assistance m,ay be available.

Unaware of the importance of shoreline vegetation, many landowners alter their shorelines. They destroy the cattails, bulrushes and other native species, and replace them with lawns and non-native species. They also build retaining walls, docks and boathouses. These changes destroy the balance of the aquatic and shoreline ecosystems.

Natural shoreline vegetation plays an important role in preventing soil erosion. Plant roots anchor the soil, preventing shoreland from being washed away by currents, waves and rain. Native species are very effective in protecting properties from erosion, due to their extensive root systems.

By preventing erosion and runoff, natural shoreline vegetation also improves water quality. When soil and excess nutrients are washed into the water, fish spawning beds can be destroyed, dissolved oxygen is depleted and the excess growth of algae is encouraged. Shoreline vegetation also improves water quality by shading and cooling shallow water.

The workshop will be held Tuesday, March 22 at 7:00 p.m. At the Wilkinson Lecture Hall (2H12) at Loyalist College. Admission is free.

For more information, contact Mary Gunning, BQRAP environmental technician at Quinte Conservation, at 613-968-3434 ext 106 or Caroline Zawadzka, landowner contact specialist at Lower Trent Conservation, at 613-394-3915 ext 225.

via Shorelines — natural is best – Belleville Intelligencer – Ontario, CA.