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In photo above, we see sunflowers at left and, at right, crimson clover in a multi-species cover crop mix. The increased planting of cover crops is good for creeks, rivers, and Lake Huron.
Increased cover crop adoption benefits Lake Huron
By Nathan Schoelier and Mari Veliz, Ausable Bayfield Conservation
Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) staff have made it a priority for years to find ways to increase the planting of cover crops like Rye; Oats; Ryegrass; Barley; Sunflowers; and multi-species mixes.
The amount of vegetative cover in the watershed, and the length of time that plant cover is in place, help to protect and improve water quality in creeks, rivers and Lake Huron. Cover crops do this by building soil health, absorbing and holding water, and reducing soil erosion and runoff.
Local agricultural producers and other rural landowners have increased cover crop planting. They have done this with support of ABCA staff members who work with funding partners to find grant dollars for incentives. These grants help reduce costs for landowners so they are more likely to plant cover crops.
Producers attend peer-to-peer workshops, facilitated by staff, and they share cover crop best practices, challenges, and success stories. Conservation authority staff provide technical support on the ground and monitor the adoption of cover crops and how effective the cover crops are.
Staff also educate the public, and decision makers, about the important roles that cover crops, and land management, play in terms of water quality protection and improvement.
ABCA’s outreach to agricultural producers in the watershed has included January producer meetings and summer shop-talks. The conservation authority has also worked with project partners to hold demonstration farm tours. ABCA has also erected cover crop signs including a 60-inch sign for one innovative cover crop evaluation project and ‘We’ve Got It Covered’ signs at the farms of participating landowners in the Bayfield area. (During phases of the pandemic when public health requirements were more restrictive, ABCA hosted meetings by Zoom video conference for producers taking part.)
The conservation authority’s watershed stretches along Lake Huron’s shoreline from Arkona and Port Franks in the south to Bayfield, Clinton, and Seaforth in the north and – to the east of the lake – to Dublin, Staffa, Lucan and Ailsa Craig.
ABCA staff have used an adaptive management approach, to promote cover crop adoption, for more than a decade. In adaptive management, practitioners evaluate results and modify their subsequent decision-making based on changes, data, and experience.
In one example of adaptive management, one funding program changed its grant requirements to allow a single-species cover crop after corn or soybeans. This reflected challenges some producers had trying to establish more over-winter plant cover following these main crops.
Funding for cover crop programs comes from federal, provincial and county programs as well as from other organizations including foundations in the U.S. and Canada.
Different programs may have different rules, requirements, and program expectations. This is where ABCA’s staff can help to make the application process easy for landowners. Staff link landowners with funding programs in their area, help with applications if needed, and find multiple funding sources in some cases. ABCA staff also ensure fields are managed according to program guidelines so landowners meet the program expectations and receive the incentive grant to offset some of their costs.
Uptake in over-wintering cover crop incentive programs is increasing across the watershed. This is thanks to the participation of landowners; to programs that provide grants; and resources that help address other barriers to adoption that may exist.
Landowners in Ausable Bayfield watersheds have had hundreds of cover crop grant applications approved and have planted thousands of acres with the support of planting incentives.
Conservation authority staff evaluate best management practices. They measure water quality improvements at the field scale and find that vegetative cover on cropped fields reduces surface erosion.
Staff have worked with Dr. Wanhong Yang, at the University of Guelph, Watershed Evaluation Group. Researchers have found, using watershed modeling at the watershed scale, that the use of cover crops, to store and slow down water running off of fields, has water quality benefits. The retention of water by cover crops reduces downstream channel erosion which is a contributor to loading of sediment and phosphorus to downstream water bodies.
ABCA publishes the Ausable Bayfield Watershed Report Card every five years. The most recent report card (2018) looks at how much agricultural land is covered by vegetation during winter and how much is not. Overwinter cover includes wheat fields; hay and pasture; and cover crops. The 2018 report found that, in 2015, overwinter cover in the watershed ranged from six per cent to 26 per cent.
ABCA’s work with agricultural producers and other rural landowners, and other decision makers and program partners, has increased knowledge about the benefits of cover crops. The adaptive management approach, combined with grant incentives from funding partners, and the commitment shown by landowners, has also increased adoption of cover crops. We continue to evaluate cover crop adoption and efficacy and continue to conduct research, with environmental and agronomic perspectives, into cover crops.
Read the full report now:
To learn more about cover crop adoption in Ausable Bayfield watersheds, visit the abca.ca website and this web page:
SIGNS RECOGNIZE COVER CROP PLANTING BENEFITS – Margaret Kroes, who farms with her husband, Jack, near Clinton, Ontario, is one of the local agricultural producers planting cover crops. Here, Margaret stands beside a new ‘We’ve Got it Covered!’ sign.
WE’VE GOT IT COVERED! – Brandon Coleman, of Coleman Farms near Kippen, Ontario, is one of the local agricultural producers planting cover crops. New signs, saying ‘We’ve Got it Covered!’ are in place at several farms of participating landowners in Bayfield and Lake Huron tributary watersheds.
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Green infrastructure provides benefits to Lake Huron
The western border of the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) watershed stretches along Lake Huron’s southeast shoreline from Port Franks in the south to Bayfield in the north.
Staff from ABCA are working to increase local green infrastructure to benefit creeks, rivers, and Lake Huron.
The Enhancing Rural Green Infrastructure in the Ausable and Bayfield Watersheds program is in place to protect and improve water quality, create habitat, reduce flooding and erosion, and help communities to adapt to extreme weather events and mitigate the effects of climate change.
This green infrastructure program can help local residents to plant trees, create or enhance wetlands, and protect water quality.
ABCA plans to restore 20 wetlands on 4.5 acres and plant 20,000 trees over approximately 28 acres as part of the program.
Ausable Bayfield Conservation is also increasing awareness of the importance of rural green infrastructure through news releases, social media public information campaigns, and three educational programs to 250 students.
Green infrastructure includes forests and woodlots, wetlands and stormwater ponds, soil, and natural areas. It also includes technologies to absorb water and manage runoff. These technologies include rain barrels and permeable pavement. These green technologies filter and store stormwater and replicate functions of ecosystems.
Enhancing natural features and green infrastructure has many benefits to our communities. It can help to store, filter, and treat water running over land during storm events. Green infrastructure can reduce flood risk by slowing and reducing stormwater. It has economic benefits as well by reducing economic risk and damage.
Adding natural features to our landscape has benefits to air and water quality, to habitat for wildlife and pollinators, and to make our communities more resilient and better prepared to adapt during extreme weather events as our climate continues to change.
To find out more about Green Infrastructure watch this video:
In our working landscape, green infrastructure such as trees and wetlands provide many benefits to our communities.
These benefits include flood mitigation, erosion reduction, water quality improvements, habitat for declining biodiversity, groundwater recharge, climate change mitigation and recreation opportunities.
In 2018, local watershed report cards indicated that tree and wetland land cover is at 14 and two per cent, respectively. With objectives for healthy landscapes from 20 to 30 per cent tree cover and wetlands comprising 20 per cent of the pre-settlement landscape, there is considerable opportunity for more natural cover in the Ausable and Bayfield watersheds.
To learn more about the Enhancing Rural Green Infrastructure in the Ausable and Bayfield Watersheds program visit this link:
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Love Your Greats Day is August 13, 2022
Love Your Greats Day promotes local action to protect our Great Lakes
A day to celebrate and protect our Great Lakes, called Love Your Greats, is held the second Saturday of every August.
In 2022, this special day takes place on Saturday, August 13, 2022.
Love Your Greats Day organizers say local citizens and local communities can take positive actions to protect Lake Huron and the other Great Lakes. They encourage you to think about the individual actions you can take to protect and improve Lake Huron and the other Great Lakes.
Organizers invite you to reduce your plastic use, find out about Lake Huron, and to choose products that don’t pollute.
They also encourage you to consider projects that slow down or capture runoff. These projects include wetlands, tree planting, rain barrels, and rain gardens.
Consider positive actions such as planting rain gardens. Do you have a location for a rain garden in your yard? Remember that: #LakeHuronStartsHere
There are many other ways you can help Lake Huron. You could take litterless lunches to the beach, or properly dispose of waste, or help clean up litter along Lake Huron if you find it. You can use reusable water bottles and fill them up at local water refill stations. “Each positive action you take adds up,” organizers say.
To find out more actions you can take to protect your Great Lake, visit the Healthy Lake Huron – Clean Water, Clean Beaches Partnership at healthylakehuron.ca (and follow Healthy Lake Huron on social media) and follow Love Your Greats Day on Facebook at facebook.com/loveyourgreats/ and on their website at loveyourgreats.com.
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The partners in the Healthy Lake Huron – Clean Water, Clean Beaches Partnership wish you a safe and happy Victoria Day long weekend!
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Visit local public health websites, social media channels in summer 2022 for info on safe swimming, recreational water quality
The Victoria Day long weekend is almost here and, as the weather warms up, many local residents and visitors to Lake Huron will consider swimming in the lake.
As you make decisions about where and when to swim, don’t forget to visit local public heath websites and social media channels to learn about safe swimming practices and, where available, water quality information for Lake Huron beaches.
Recreational water use is popular along Lake Huron’s southeast shore. These activities can benefit your health and well-being if done safely. Yet, there is the possibility of injury or illness from recreational use if the water is polluted or unsafe. Organisms such as bacteria, viruses, and parasites can cause infection and human illness. These organisms can be present in natural bodies of water.
In some areas, along Lake Huron’s southeast shore, beaches may be closed or posted at times. Whatever the signs say or don’t say, it is important to know about when the lake is most likely to become most contaminated and best practices to help reduce risk to you and your family.
The quality of Lake Huron water can change dramatically day to day, hour to hour, or even minute to minute with either heavy rainfall, high wave action, or both. The water may have high levels of bacteria that could increase the risk of skin, eye, ear, nose and throat infections or gastrointestinal illness.
In some cases, local beaches may be closed or posted if local public health believes there is a potential risk to the public when the levels of E. coli (Escherichia coli) exceed (or are predicted to exceed) the federal guidelines and provincial standard (200 E. coli per 100 mL of beach water) for recreation. Other factors, such as environmental conditions, may also cause beaches to be posted.
In some cases, predictive beach models are used and reviewed to reduce the time required to use beach water sampling; to provide real-time or same-day water quality information; and to reduce the impact of extended beach postings.
Some local public health agencies conduct monitoring and testing on a number of public beaches but swimming and recreational conditions can change quickly. It’s important to know about recent weather events, and the impact weather can have on recreational water quality, and to follow best practices. It is not possible for public health to monitor all beaches and they can’t do it all the time or monitor for all pollutants.
When beaches are monitored they may be monitored for E. coli levels only. There may be other harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or pathogens in the water. Also, local public health does not test other bodies of water such as creeks and streams, rivers, ravines, gullies, and dams. Residents should be aware these areas could be unsafe for swimming.
The number of E. coli can be influenced by rainfall, turbidity (lack of water clarity), air and water temperature, as well as the features of the coastline.
Sources of E. coli may include, among other things, animals and waterfowl, malfunctioning sewage disposal systems, and stormwater runoff carrying chemicals and excess nutrients into creeks, rivers, and the lake.
Positive actions are required to manage water running off of land (‘slow it down, spread it out, soak it in ...’), if we want a Lake Huron that is fishable, drinkable (after the raw water source is treated), and swimmable.
Read and heed any beach water quality signs but don’t rely on signs and postings alone. High bacteria levels often occur due to weather-related events.
Beachgoers should make informed decisions about beach water quality in real time before they decide to go swimming or not. When you have all the facts, you may be the best judge of whether the water is safe to swim.
For example, here are some ‘rules of thumb’ from one local public health organization:
- If the beach is posted with a warning sign, don’t swim.
- If there has been a heavy rainfall in the previous 24 to 48 hours, don’t swim. (Bacteria levels may be higher).
- If you can’t see your feet at adult-waist depth, cloudy water can mean that bacterial levels may be higher and, in that case, don’t swim.
- If there is a large number of water fowl, dead fish, algae, scum, or dangerous debris … don’t swim.
- Also – do not ever swallow lake water no matter how clean it looks.
People have already started swimming in Lake Huron. So, follow your local public health channels (websites and social media) for information on beaches and water quality – and other local public health issues.
Here are some ways to find out more:
Online Info Sources along Lake Huron’s Southeast Shore:
On websites:
Local public health is an important partner in the Healthy Lake Huron – Clean Water, Clean Beaches initiative.
Here are some of the local public health websites with information on water quality at local beaches and/or safe swimming practices:
Social Media Channels along Lake Huron’s Southeast Shore:
On Twitter:
To follow Huron Perth; Lambton; or Grey-Bruce local public health Twitter feeds you may visit here:
On Facebook:
You may also ‘like’ and ‘follow’ the Huron Perth Public Health; Lambton Public Health; or Grey Bruce Public Health Facebook pages here:
Other Information Sources:
For more beach safety tips go to The Canadian Red Cross:
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Don't forget to visit the Healthy Lake Huron website!
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Lake Huron is well-known for its beaches, sand dunes, habitats and having the longest shoreline of the Great Lakes. Those of us who live close to this Great Lake are truly lucky to be able to appreciate it all year long. Lake Huron can be relatively cold at some times of the year but it is mighty and beautiful. 
