St. Louis River AOC R2R Support Projects: Ecological Monitoring and Assessment (CR#6403)

Abstract

The primary objective (Objective 1) of this report was to summarize the baseline data collected at priority sites selected for potential future restoration (R2R) and their corresponding reference sites in the SLR AOC (2010-2015) with a focus on the richness and abundance of species that use water as their primary habitat (i.e., waterfowl, waterbirds, shorebirds, rails). The secondary objective (Objective 2) was to compare historical (1978-1979) and recent (2010-2015) data on bird use at sites that were surveyed during both sampling periods. Both objectives involve comparisons, objective 1 contrasts R2R and reference sites using contemporary data, while objective 2 compares contemporary data with those sampled in the 1970s; albeit the latter with slightly different methodologies.