Working together at St. Joseph fish ladder

Posted: Friday, July 10, 2020
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The concern of the community combined with an agency response is helping to protect Rainbow Trout in St. Joseph and area.


New video shares story of community, agencies working together to protect habitat

A new video is available now about how a community member's concern, combined with a multi-partner agency response, resulted in improved habitat and spawning grounds for Rainbow Trout at the fish ladder in St. Joseph, Ontario.

Community member Dennis Regier, of the Zurich-St. Joseph area, was fascinated when his lads told him there were Rainbow Trout in a local drain. To his surprise, they were right.

When there were community concerns with the state of a local fish ladder and spawing grounds for Rainbow Trout in the St. Joseph area, Dennis contacted Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA).

Soon, ABCA staff and other partners – including Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO);  Fisheries and Oceans Canada (Department of Fisheries and Oceans or DFO); and Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF); responded to the community concern and each played a part in rectifying a problem and creating an improved fish ladder.

This is a story of Departments, Ministries, agencies, and the community working together with a common goal – protection of our local watershed resources. 

Watch the video now:

In the video, Mari Veliz, Healthy Watersheds Manager with Ausable Bayfield Conservation, has a conversation with Dennis Regier, about why he had a concern for the fish there and how the different partners came together to improve habitat for fish.

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