On February 6, 2025, members of Watersheds Canada’s Fish Habitat team met with 16 volunteers from local groups to undertake the final stage of the restoration of a walleye spawning bed on Big Clear Lake, Ontario.

In partnership with Big Clear Lake Association, Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation, and G.E. Matson and Sons Construction, 17 tonnes of washed river rock were moved overtop the historic walleye spawning bed. Come spring, the ice will melt and the rock will fall through and settle at the bottom. Walleye need a spawning bed made of a hardened surface and that has large spaces between the rock to lay their eggs, and this community-led project ensured both of these are now available for local walleye.

This restoration project follows a prior one that took place in fall of 2023, in which the Watersheds Canada team cleared off silt from the spawning bed using water pumps.

This entire restoration action was first prompted by David Preskey, lake steward of the Big Clear Lake Association.

“We went out on the lake a few years back to look at the spawning shoals and noticed that a lot of them were encrusted with what resembled brown algae as well as dead zebra mussels,” says Preskey. “We thought cleaning them would be a good start. That’s where Watersheds Canada came in. The first year of washing worked out so well, and now adding this new rock over the shoal will enhance the site even further.”

The 16 volunteers that came out to the February 2025 event worked through the cold and snow to ensure that this site will sustain walleye populations for years to come. It was a resounding success, and one that will stick with all those involved for years to come.

“Today is one of those building blocks of your life,” says Chief Doreen Davis of the Shabot-Obaadjiwan First Nation. “Today we met new people, we were able to share our energy, our good thoughts, and be on the land and on the lake and work towards something that is important to all of us. The caregivers that we are as our nation mean that we have responsibilities to care for the species that mother earth has provided us. It has warmed my heart to see others with those same feelings and those same thoughts.”

After the project, volunteers and Watersheds Canada staff gathered at Branch 334 of the Royal Canadian Legion to warm up and debrief. Thank you to the Legion for their generous hospitality. This project was funded by the Government of Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund.

About Watersheds Canada
Watersheds Canada is a registered Canadian charity committed to providing programs to communities across the country to engage and help individuals enhance and protect the health of their lakes and rivers. Since 2002, they have delivered freshwater stewardship programming, shoreline naturalizations and assessments, and in-water habitat restorations. To learn more, visit Watersheds.ca

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Media contact:
Melissa Dakers
Habitat and Stewardship Program Manager
Watersheds Canada
dakers (at) watersheds.ca