Stream Restoration
Connectivity
Stream habitat connectivity refers to the ability of fish to access all parts of the stream. Connectivity can be blocked or broken by improperly installed culverts, beaver dams, and debris jams. ACAP approaches each of these blockage types with great consideration on a site by site basis.
Beavers are great engineers in watersheds. Their dams can help to recharge the water table and restore wetland habitat. For this reason, we don’t remove beaver dams, we simply notch them to create a flow pathway and open up access for fish and monitor them. In this photo you can see a beaver dam in Trout brook, Mira river watershed, that has been notched.
Debris jams are another part of natural processes in river systems. If they are blocking fish passage ACAP will remove them, but we are careful to leave cover in the stream for fish to find refuge. This photo shows the before and after states of a debris jam created by post-tropical storm Fiona in 6 Mile Brook, Gerrards Brook watershed in Louisbourg.