In 2006-2007, the Wheatley River Improvement Group embarked on a process designed to capture the concerns of people who live in or derive their livelihood from the watershed and to develop a plan for addressing those concerns.
The process started with the collection of information about the watershed in order to provide context for the plan. In the winter of 2007, a group of residents with varied interests – fishing, farming, tourism, non-consumptive users – were brought together to develop a vision, principles, goals and strategies for addressing the issues that they identified as being important to the health of the watershed.
The Wheatley River Stewardship Plan is the result of that process. It should not be regarded as a finished product. Rather, its proponents intend for it to be a “living document”, which will be adapted and enhanced as time goes on, as strategies are implemented, as more knowledge is gained and as issues change.
Topics of concern for watershed residents, include:
- Eutrophication
- Sedimentation and siltation
- Faecal coliform bacteria
- Estuary flushing
- Shell fishery closures
- Aquatic invasive species
- Fisheries
- Groundwater
- Soils
- Forests
- Land use
- Species at risk
- Climate change
This is the guiding document for all WRIG’s work. Click here to read the 2007 Wheatley River Watershed Stewardship Plan.