River cleanup of Fiona damage on P.E.I. over for now, but will carry on for years

Cleanup of damage from Fiona to P.E.I. rivers will take years, but watershed staff have called it quits for now.With spawning season now underway for brook trout and salmon, crews say it's time to stand down.

"Basically you don't want to be in, stepping on where fish are laying their eggs," said David Allan, program co-ordinator with the Bedeque Bay Environmental Management Association. "Youwant to stay clear of thosefor the time being."

Inthe days following post-tropical stormFiona on Sept. 24,crews across the province scrambled to clear fallen trees from streams and rivers. To buytime, the province extended buffer-zone work permits for watershed groups by two weeks, into mid-October.

That extension allowed crews to continue to workwith chainsaws and other hand tools to clear obstructions in streams and repair damaged structures.

"There's a lot of devastation with a lot of fallen trees ... root systems completely taken out, " said Sherry Pelkey, co-ordinator with the Belfast Area Watershed Group.

In the Belfast area, crews made headway on twowaterways Flat River and Belle River. Much of the blockage was caused by fallen conifers, such as pineand hemlock.Crews saidthey saw evidence of instant results from cutting and hauling the fallen trees.

"We would remove them and then get themout of there, then we'd see small schools of fish moving through right around us," said Pelkey. "So I think they were pretty happy maybe that we came along."

Staff at West River Watershed Coalitionestimate they completed cleanup of an eight-kilometre stretch of the West River around Bonshaw.

The Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Actionhas saidit will be discussing budget needswith watershed groups this winter, as the multi-year cleanup continues.