Benthic Monitoring

Benthic Invertebrates are small organisms visible to the naked eye that live on the bottom of a water body or in the sediment. They process live and decomposing organic material and serve as food for larger fish, amphibians, reptiles and birds. Because they spend their entire life in this local environment, their population density and diversity is sensitive to local influences such as pollution. As such, they are an excellent early indicator of environmental damage. In 2019 we had Fieldwebster Environmental Consulting complete a Benthic Study for us on the Magnetawan River in the vicinity of the Graphite Mine. While the study raised some concerns, we are currently waiting to see what happens with the mine before taking further actions.