Kaniatarowanenneh

In the Brockville area, the St. Lawrence River narrows and islands are smaller and far fewer in number. The construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway, which entailed extensive dredging in this section of the river, slowed the water current and raised water levels by several meters. The Iroquois Dam, constructed to control water levels and regulate ice cover for the operation of the downstream Moses-Saunders Power Dam, has also had significant impacts on river ecosystems in the area, including reshaping the river’s hydromorphology and disrupting the movement of species that historically travelled upstream.

At Lake St. Lawrence, the river widens significantly. The construction of the Moses-Saunders Power Dam in the 1950s inundated large areas to form the lake. On the north shore of the river, 6,500 people were forcibly relocated, including several communities now known as “The Lost Villages”. Akwesasneron (people of Akwesasne) lost thousands of acres of reserve and traditional lands to the flooding, with dramatic impacts on the communities’ river-based ways of life and livelihoods. Today, Lake St. Lawrence water levels are highly regulated to control water levels, improve navigation, and increase hydroelectric power generation. This regulation has also reduced the diversity of wetland habitat by disrupting natural seasonal fluctuations.

This region begins downstream of the Moses-Saunders Power Dam and runs to western end of Lake St. Francis. Today, the region is divided between the Provinces of Ontario and Quebec, the State of New York, and the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne, a name that means ‘land where the partridge drums’ in Kanienʼkéha (Mohawk). In this area, cheap hydroelectricity attracted large-scale industrial activity on both the north and south shores leading to high levels of contaminants in the land and water. In 1987, the river at Cornwall/Massena/Akwesasne was designated an Area of Concern (AOC), and a Remedial Action Plan was initiated to address environmental concerns, including issues related to contamination, habitat destruction, and invasive species.

Heading east, the river widens again forming what is known as Lake St. Francis. The construction of the Moses-Saunders Power Dam upstream, and the Beauharnois Hydroelectric Generating Station downstream, transformed this section of the river into a reservoir. As in other areas of the Upper St. Lawrence River, the expansion of industry in the 20th century resulted in significant sediment contamination and environmental degradation. Despite these industrial legacies, the region also has extensive wetland coverage, providing important habitat for waterfowl and wetland species. Protected natural areas include Lake Saint-Francois National Wildlife Area, Charlottenburg Marsh, and Cooper Marsh.