Habitat Evaluation and Enhancement within the Kouchibouguac and Kouchibouguacis Watersheds

Description: The purpose of this project is to perform habitat restoration within the watersheds (Kouchibouguacis and Kouchibouguac). The goal is to maximize improvements to the environment such that Atlantic Salmon are given the best conditions in which to flourish. Specific sub-projects include: A) Long-term and continuous monitoring of the aquatic environment using protocols such as CABIN (Canadian Aquatic Biomonitoring Network). The data from this monitoring will be used to identify areas of sub-optimal habitat along with plans for remediation/treatment to deal with water pollution, substrate pollution, erosion control, sedimentation control, improving food web availability, removal/control of invasive species and climate change response via such treatments as the creation of cold water refugia. Habitat identification will also be completed using eDNA sampling which can detect presence/absence of salmon as well as other species that can either support or harm salmon; B) Identification of other watercourse obstructions within the watersheds and designing a plan & ranking scheme for their remediation; C) Removal of numerous obstructions on ruisseau a baptiste and Little Beaver Brook within the Kouchibouguacis watershed to restore spawning grounds and habitat quality/access for Atlantic salmon; and D) Long-term and annual monitoring of select reaches of ruisseau baptiste, Little Beaver Brook, Kouchibouguacis River and Kouchibouguac River using GKWA’s in-house protocol to evaluate aquatic and riparian habitat quality/availability.