GREEN MAP
Parks:
- La Salle River Watershed
The La Salle River watershed encompasses 2,400km2 of the central plains region of Manitoba. It is home to a large number of small communities including 5 rural municipalities and portions of the City of Winnipeg. Watersheds are defined as areas of land that capture precipitation (i.e. rain, snow melt) and funnel it to a river, lake or stream. The community influences the watershed and the watershed influences the community.
A watershed is a complex system and to protect its health everyone who has a stake in the watershed may have to make trade offs, compromises and maybe even some sacrifices to keep it healthy. A healthy watershed requires a community supported plan to protect this complex resource for current and future watershed residents. A watershed plan is a document prepared by the watershed community that describes the actions needed over time to achieve a sustainable healthy watershed.
Under the recently enabled Water Protection Act, the La Salle Redboine Conservation District has been established as the Water Planning Authority (WPA) for the La Salle River Watershed. This means that the Conservation District has been assigned the responsibility of preparing and implementing a watershed plan for the La Salle River.
As a tributary of the Red River, the La Salle River could provide habitat for over 50 species of fish. Investigations have identified 13 species, the majority of which were carp, brook stickleback, fathead minnows, and central mudminnows. Nearly 50% of land use along the La Salle river is designated as cropland. It is typically a slow moving, meandering prairie river with erodable banks and depths of up to 1m. Riparian areas consist of oak, poplar, dogwood, and willow species as well as many grasses and shrubs.
There are eight provincially owned dams along the La Salle river: three ‘stop-log’ dams and five ‘fixed crest weirs’. Theses dams have altered the movement of the river and created sediment masses that impede fish movement. A study in 1995 along the river found excessive aquatic vegetation and duckweed/algal growth (Youth Corps Canada). This excessive growth signifies nutrient loading or eutrification of the La Salle River and results in lower oxygen level which danger fish, excessive rooted vegetation that slows the flow, and reduced aesthetic values. Eutrification may be caused by the addition of nutrients such as phosphorous and nitrogen from surrounding agricultural land uses.
The La Salle River Watershed Survey (2006) identified 119 sites as rehabilitation sites to aid in watershed restoration. Activities along the river that promote awareness serve as primary tools in the rehabilitation process. The creation of nature trails that allow people to observe the natural habitat, such as the Pollock Island pathway are a good step toward enhancing environmental stewardship (Graveline & Larter).
May 6, 1997 Flood Photos courtesy of www.winnipeg.ca