Reconnecting Canada
Culverts can have significant impacts on streams in different ways, including the degradation of water quality, creating barriers to the migration of fish and other animals, and altering stream flows.
Program Summary
Reconnecting Canada is a multi-year conservation program run by Trout Unlimited Canada with the goal of reconnecting rivers and streams severed by culverts. The program was initiated in 2015 with the goal to reconnect a million miles of waterways across the country. Culverts can have significant impacts on streams in different ways, including the degradation of water quality, creating barriers to the migration of fish and other animals, and altering stream flows. Public awareness of this issue is considered low, therefore raising awareness and inspiring action will be a key driver in the implementation of the Reconnecting Canada program. The successful implementation of the Reconnecting Canada Education and Outreach program will require partnership with communities, conservation organizations, industry, and various levels of government. Communities and volunteers can play a key role in this program by taking part in culvert assessments and data gathering and partnering on the implementation of streamcrossing remediation projects.
Conservation Objectives
The conservation objectives of this program are derived from TUC’s National Conservation Agenda (NCA) which guides the organization’s programing. The following four themes outline TUC’s priorities:
Water Quality
- Return the historical quality of Canada’s freshwater ecosystems impacted by poor practices of culvert installation and maintenance over time
- Reduce higher rates of erosion and sediment load in rivers resulting from culverts
Water Quantity
- Restore natural flow regime where it has been impacted by culverts
Freshwater Habitats
- Restore degraded freshwater ecosystems to as natural a state as possible
- Prevent future habitat degradation through the use of best management practices on the installation of new stream crossings
Fish Communities
- Increase the amount of habitat available to aquatic freshwater species
- Provide access to a variety of habitats required for reproduction, feeding, and overwintering
Continuing the “trail” of restoration in the Tay River watershed
From planting willows in 2019 to running a fish trap in 2020, to a bridge retrofit in 2022, TUC has been working to help rehabilitate threatened Bull Trout populations in the Tay River for years. But there’s always more work to be done! In 2023, we kept the momentum...
Why We Do Restoration
One of Trout Unlimited Canada’s strengths is our commitment to on-the-ground action and our collective willingness to get our hands dirty and our feet wet. Our staff, chapters, and volunteers have been carrying out aquatic habitat rehabilitation for over 50 years. In...
Big Efforts for a Little Fish!
Big efforts for a little fish! Written by: Angela Ten, Management Biologist What has two fan-like fins, a big head, and the world’s cutest grumpy face? The Rocky Mountain Sculpin! These funky little fish are only about 10cm long, with mottled brown and black scales...
Reconnecting Dickies Creek
Written by Lesley Peterson, Director of Conservation Like many communities in Ontario, the town of Lucknow owes part of its history to the establishment of a mill pond. The Mill Pond Dam in Lucknow, ON was first built in 1856 to support an adjacent wool mill and...
Reconnecting Fish Homes in Waiparous Creek
Written by: Angela Ten, Management Biologist As part of TUC’s Reconnecting Canada campaign, we have been working to replace a set of hanging culverts on two tributaries to Waiparous Creek since 2019. We refer to these creeks as the Whispering Pines East and West...
Cabin Creek Habitat Rehabilitation
Cabin Creek Habitat Rehabilitation By: Kaleo Gertridge Cabin Creek (WBID: 108898) is a tributary of Fallentimber Creek within the Red Deer River watershed. Background: Trout Unlimited Canada (TUC) became aware of a habitat rehabilitation opportunity along Cabin Creek...
Are you a beaver? Cause dam! – By Iris George
Low-Tech Process-Based Riverscape Restoration Pilot Project LTPBR is an emerging technique for increasing floodplain connectivity in structurally starved streams, bringing them to a self-sustaining state. These techniques have been widely utilized in the United States...
Uncovering the Hidden Beauty of Cutoff Creek; Rebuilding Bridges & Restoring Rivers
Uncovering the Hidden Beauty of Cutoff Creek; Rebuilding Bridges & Restoring Rivers By: Lili-Maude Craig Cutoff Creek is a small stream southwest of Rocky Mountain House, Alberta. Its flows originate from alpine sources in the front ranges of the Rocky Mountains...
Cold, Clean, Complex, Culverted?
Cold, Clean, Complex, Culverted? By Lili-Maude Craig, Fisheries Technician Culverts can effectively convey water below a roadway; however, they are not always suitable passageways for stream inhabitants, especially when inadequately sized. Undersized culverts funnel...
Girardi Creek Habitat Restoration
Girardi Creek is a small mountain stream located just west of Coleman, in Crowsnest Pass, Alberta. It originates from snowmelt in the Rocky Mountains and tumbles down a steep mountain valley before meeting the Crowsnest River, downstream of Crowsnest Lake. Girardi...