Creeks, Rivers, and what about
Trees?
A country drive
looking at degraded Sub-Watersheds and
Stripped Riparian Zones.
Rating: Marginal.
Looking south, the Halton Land Fill area is the hill on the left side of the picture. This creek, turned into a ditch is somewhat deeper through this field so the farmer is compelled to go around it, resulting in furrows parallel to the water flow. This is somewhat better than the last field but the water is still subjected to silt and direct sunlight.
The point that is incredibly ironic; the vary people who complain about forest clear cutting will drive past a farm field like this and think nothing of it. To them it is perfectly normal, yet this field is in a state of much more dramatic devastation than any clear cut anywhere! There is almost nothing left alive here! Except for "possibly" in the case of organic farms, the remnants of life are attacked with the latest arsenal of chemicals, and if the bio-tech corporations get their way, the only thing that will grow here are their brand of Franken-foods (bio-technologies engineered crops, Franken as in Frankenstein).
Before you urbanites get to smug - your city planners have allowed creeks this size to be buried under roadways, and parking lots. Creeks like this now travel underground for mile, collecting street runoff, and entering the lakes laden with engine oil, soap from car washing in driveways, and other pollutants the unconscious masses dump down the sewer. In places where these creeks are above ground, people dump yard litter killing native vegetation, and promoting the spread of invasive species.
Creeks like this are effectively deemed to be dead by short sighted authorities. Most conservation authorities allow developers to reroute and channelize them, cutting of any chance of rehabilitation. Canada has laws aimed at protecting the fishing industry and fish habitat. Laws that are older than confederation itself, yet thousands of miles of fish habitat remain destroyed, just like this creek. Any chance of fishing is lost here, and beaches down at the lake stink. Where is the department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada when you need them, and how can they allow this creek to be in this condition? They are supposed to protect fish habitat!