Watershed Statistics

Stream Length - 25.11 kms
Total Area - 2263 hectares
Population - 740
# of Civic Addresses - 696

The Baltic River watershed is the name given to the drainage area for Darnley Basin. There are three main subwatersheds, the Baltic River, Hunters Creek, and Taylors Pond.

The Baltic River starts in the high lands east of the Spring Valley Rd. (Rt. 102) near Rt. 103. It flows under the Spring Valley road into Murrays Pond. The stream winds down between agricultural fields and has a wide riparian zone (the adjacent area which has a high impact on the stream, which may differ from the legal buffer zone). The system has been cleaned (major debris removed) and maintained (revisited, less debris removed) by watershed crews. In 2009, with the help of the PEI Dept. of Public Works, the KNWSA summer crew constructed a two-stage rock ladder to aid fish passage under Rt. 103. Prior to construction, trout would pool on the NW side of Rt. 103, seeking to move further upstream. The rock ladder has made it possible for trout to navigate the wooden culvert under Rt. 103 to seek habitat further upstream.

Hunters Creek starts in mixed woods west of the Spring Valley Rd. It crosses the Matthews Rd. and flows through farm land under the cover of heavy alders. It flows into Hunters Pond, and then under Rt. 103 into Darnley Basin. It has been cleaned of debris from end to end. In 2009 the section under heavy alder cover was patch cut and planted with spruce, juniper (eastern larch) and red maple. Patch cuts are 3 metre by 3 metre clearings along the stream bank, roughly 10 metres apart. The goal is to encourage other tree species to grow, to diversify the plant life and provide a more varied habitat for a larger number of species. Straight stands of alders do not provide very good anchorage along the stream bank. Alders tend to sprawl and reach down into the stream, and in extreme cases can severely impair stream flow and cause excessive amounts of silt to be deposited.

The trees in the patch cuts will be closely maintained until they are well established and can compete with and eventually shade out the neighboring alders. Additional patch cuts and tree planting is planned for this system as the first trees become established.

Taylors Pond is a small salt water pond southeast of Malpeque Harbour. Local summer residents have been very active in KNWSA. In 2009, our summer crew worked hard on two projects concerning sea lettuce in the pond. The sea lettuce, which grows rapidly in nutrient rich waters and often suddenly dies in an anoxic event, becomes the source of unpleasant odours as the vegetation decomposes. Sea lettuce was raked from the NE shore, where the prevailing southwest wind pushes the loosely attached plants onto the shore.

The second project involves a small dead end branch of the pond, a former entrance, which collects an excessive amount of this rotting sea lettuce, and is a major source of bad odour. This area was the site of an experiment, suggested by a technician from the Department of Environment, Energy & Forestry. A brush mat has been built in half of this old inlet, with the goal being to consolidate silt in the brush mat and eventually make it into part of the permanent bank, eliminating the opportunity for sea lettuce to accumulate. The project will be reviewed in the spring of 2010, and if the results look favourable (as anaticipated) the remaining portion of the old inlet will be brushmatted in.

KNWSA is part of a provincial committee looking at the sea lettuce problem on PEI. Oyster growers in some parts of the island are especially threatened by huge densities of sea lettuce and the accompanying anoxic events.