MATT PREPROST Enlarge Image

Workers plant one of 1,400 trees going up around Omand’s Creek in Westview Park.

The Manitoba Floodway Authority will spend $2 million to plant nearly 14,000 trees and shrubs along the Red River and two other creeks in an effort to strengthen shorelines and protect fish habitats.

The planting is part of the Floodway Authority’s riparian habitat compensation program, a requirement of its environmental license.

"When we do work in the floodway, we disturbed fish habitat," said Floodway Authority CEO Ernie Gilroy.

"Our environmental license requires we have a program that if we’re going to disturb fish in one location, we have a complimentary program to improve fish habitat in another."

A riparian zone is a transitional zone between the land and a body of water and the most biologically productive places in the prairie ecosystem.

The plan, which is already underway, will see 4,000 trees and shrubs added along Omand’s Creek in Brookside Cemetery, and another 1,400 along the creek in Westview Park.

Meanwhile Sturgeon Creek will see 2,000 trees and shrubs dotted along its course, and 6,600 trees and shrubs are being planted along the Red River in Maple Grove Park.

Ultimately, the goal of the riparian restoration is to strengthen fish populations by stabilizing the waterbanks and prevent erosion.

"Shading the creeks back provides thermal refuge for fish, and debris dropping into the water provides organic matter, like insects," said Kristin Tuchscherer, education co-ordinator with the city’s naturalist services branch.

"Some of the areas, though, if you look at them, are not meant to be forested completely," she said. "Like Sturgeon Creek was probably just meant to be a meadow with a small crop of trees, but Maple Grove Park could definitely use some trees there.

"We’ve tried planting trees in the past, but it’s a harsh environment to start growing in," she added.

The MFA worked with the city to select riparian areas for habitat restoration and improvement before the plan was approved by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The areas being planted have not been impacted by the floodway.

The $1.9 million job was awarded to McEwen Bros. Ltd., a West St. Paul-based company.

matt.preprost@canstarnews.com