News Release – For Immediate Release
(Moncton – August 27, 2001) The Halls Creek
Rehabilitation Project is officially underway. An initiative of the Petitcodiac
Riverkeeper and the Petitcodiac Watershed Monitoring Group (PWMG), and funded
by the New Brunswick Environmental Trust Fund, the project will take on the
challenge of rehabilitating some of the region’s most polluted streams.
The Halls Creek watershed is part of the greater
Petitcodiac River watershed. Its total
surface area of 125km² encompasses all of the watercourses that drain into
Halls Creek. The three main branches of Halls Creek extend through Lewisville (Humphrey Brook, Seamans Brook), Parkton
and Mapleton areas (West Branch and
Rabbit Brook), the North End (Gorge
Brook, West Branch) and the Irishtown Area (Ogilvie Brook).
The watershed’s diverse habitats support a surprising
variety of animals, including deer, beavers, muskrats, owls and brook trout.
Brackish, salt and freshwater marshes recycle nutrients back into the
environment and contribute to the nourishment of a multitude of aquatic species
located as far away as the Bay of Fundy.
The human component of the environment also depends directly and
indirectly on the watershed’s resources. For example, the McLaughlin and
Irishtown reservoirs serve as Moncton’s secondary water supply.
The expansion of greater Moncton and its hinterland
has had a considerable impact on the Halls Creek watershed through
contamination or alteration. Several watercourses, such as Seaman’s Brook and
parts of Rabbit Brook, have completely disappeared. In some cases, they have
run dry. In others, their meandering stream beds were replaced by pipes whereas
the marshes that were once headwaters have been filled and replaced by storm
drains. Nonetheless, some branches are in relatively good shape and have a
great potential for rehabilitation. The project’s main objectives are to
improve the water quality and the natural habitats of the brooks, creeks,
marshes and lakes located within the watershed.
According to the newly appointed Project Coordinator,
Mathieu D’Astous, “it is essential that future developments consider
maintaining the integrity of these watercourses. Not only are they essential to
our well being and that of other organisms, they are part of our heritage and
bear witness to the historical transformations of the surrounding landscape.”
Local
communities are invited to participate in upcoming activities, to make
suggestions for future events or to express their concerns. The Halls Creek
Watershed Rehabilitation Project will be holding its first meeting on September
6th at the Beaverbrook School @ 7:00pm. If you have any suggestions
or if you would like to participate to upcoming activities, please contact us
at 384-3369 or Halls@nb.aibn.com
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INFORMATION: Mathieu
D’Astous: Project coordinator at 384-3369 or at hallscreek@nbnet.nb.ca, Éric
Arseneau: (PWMG) - 384-3369, Daniel LeBlanc: Petitcodiac Riverkeeper - 388-5337