Tantramar Region – New Brunswick – Canada

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Fostered by Renaissance Sackville and the Water and Sewer Advisory Committee, the Tantramar River Watershed Project is a community-driven initiative that was undertaken to assess the water quality of the Tantramar and Aulac Rivers, and of their many tributary sources. This will be assessed as an index for the overall ecological health of the watershed. The 300 km2 drainage basin, anchored at the Town of Sackville, is a rectangular region which ranges from northwest of Cookville, east to Brooklyn, south along the Fort Cumberland Ridge via Point de Bute, and across our famous dykelands to the Bay of Fundy. The immediate project goal is to work in partnership with the New Brunswick Department of Environment and Local Government to apply the framework of the provincial Water Classification Program, a system that is reliant upon community-level stakeholder input in the development of realistic, achievable water quality standards that best reflect the diversity of interests of the resource-users.

This approach, in turn, will serve as a starting point for addressing long-term issues in the stewardship of our local water resources.

Participation from any and all interested individuals is heartily encouraged.

The Tantramar region of the Chignecto Isthmus is famous for the unique way in which its early settlement and ensuing historic land-use patterns have coevolved with its characteristic marshland habitats. This has largely been the result of extensive water control practices. As a significant part of Canada’s cultural heritage, it is appropriate that the status of this socio-ecological environment be assessed to ensure for future sustainability.

The geographical scope of the study is the approximately 300 km2 drainage basin for the Tantramar and Aulac Rivers. This comprises a significant portion of the Chignecto Isthmus dividing New Brunswick from Nova Scotia, and includes the renowned dykeland region known as the Tantramar Marshes. The central municipality of the area is Sackville, New Brunswick; other communities within the bounds of the watershed include Cookville, Point de Bute, Jolicure, Midgic and Etter Ridge.

A very successful environmental project, the Tantramar Dykelands Wildlife Habitat Strategy, was initiated in 1999, primarily through grants provided by the NB Wildlife Trust, and overseen by the Eastern Habitat Joint Venture. As the project began to meet its goals, and to elevate the profile of the principles of sustainable development and ‘best management practices’, it was quickly recognized and proposed by the Sackville Water and Sewer Advisory Committee that there remains a need to explore the greater inter-dependences between the dominant local land-use patterns, quality of freshwater resources, and environmental health at a watershed scale.

The primary intent of the Tantramar River Watershed Study is to adopt the NBDELG Water Classification program as the cornerstone of a project to determine the ecological character of the surface water resources. From this foundation, a watershed management plan with a vision towards long-term stewardship would be developed.

The watershed study was initiated in July 2003, with activities during this last year being dedicated to the collection of pertinent historical information and the building of capacity within the affected communities. To date, the Tantramar River Watershed Study has received sole support from the Environmental Trust Fund. This support was presented in the form of a grant for $30,000 to initiate a background study on the watershed to determine the applicability of Water Classification, and to develop stakeholder capacity towards that end.

Mission Statement

The Tantramar Watershed Committee is comprised of volunteer members with representation from a broad base of stakeholder interests and relevant expertise. The geographical scope of the group’s interest includes the extent of surface water drainage into the Tantramar and Aulac River systems, as well as all associated bodies of standing water.

Goals:

• To adopt the framework of and implement the NB Water Classification Program, with full community stakeholder endorsement.
• To explore local surface water quality and quantity using standardized parameters as an index.
• To characterize the general traits of the aquatic environment, and how they reflect historic land-use patterns in the Tantramar region.
• To establish a set of baseline data, as a reference by which to compare any future sampling undertaken as a response to land-use patterns that may present a potential threat to environmental and human health.
• To use the knowledge gained through the initial study to identify any areas which might require further studies and to obtain the appropriate funding to perform those studies.
• To explore options for future stewardship projects, e.g. educational initiatives, restoration work, identification of potential future threats to environmental and human health.

Links of Interest

• New Brunswick’s Water Classification Program
• New Brunswick Clean Water Act
• Canadian Federal Fisheries Act
• New Brunswick Dept. of Environment and Local Government water resources programs
• Department of Natural Resources; Fish & Wildlife Branch: Wetlands and Coastal Habitat Program
• Introduction to the Eastern Habitat Joint Venture (EHJV)
• Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture: Agricultural Environment Management Initiative (01/06/19)
• Atlantic Wildlife Institute
• Tantramar Wetlands Centre
• Agricultural Producers' Association of New Brunswick
• Ducks Unlimited
• Canadian Wildlife Service
• The Canadian Biodiversity Strategy and New Brunswick Progress: Conservation and Sustainable Use (.pdf)
• Water Survey of Canada

Base map courtesy of Environment Canada.
Photos courtesy of Sackville Rod and Gun Club.

Your Environmental Trust Fund at work.