Volunteer profile – Kathryn Collet

Meet Kathryn Collet, a member of the NB Advisory Committee.

Collet is a fisheries biologist with the New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources. She started with the department in 1989 working on fish habitat improvement projects; much of her career to date has been focused on fish habitat protection and enhancement.

“From a personal perspective, I certainly enjoy the opportunity to do some local fishing with my husband and children,” said Collet. “And I love New Brunswick’s rivers. I have lived near the Saint John River my whole life; it’s been a constant for me. And there is no better example of why we need to work so hard to understand and reverse the declines in Atlantic salmon populations.”

Collet has been on the NB Technical Advisory Committee since the beginning.

“Over the years I’ve seen a lot of project successes and failures, restoration techniques fall in and out of favor, groups and volunteers come and go, government support given and taken away, monies well spent and not, and good intentions sometimes thwarted.”

Collet’s favorite expression in relation to the habitat business is ‘random acts of restoration.’

“That’s why I like the approach of the ASCF and NB’s priorities because it requires that the actions on the ground fit within a greater objective and plan; that there is priority setting and meaningful and objective measures. It’s important to understand the underlying cause(s) of a problem rather than simply treating random symptoms.”

“The 2015 year should be particularly exciting with the significant increase in funds that will be available. For inspiration, people need only look at the website and see the projects that are on going and have already been undertaken across Atlantic Canada. I would also encourage groups to talk to each other, to synergize, and to share lessons learned.”