National Water Research Institute

1
Living With The Land
How the Association is funded
The Canaan-Washademoak Watershed Association has
been funded largely through the NB Environmental
Trust Fund. We have also received funds for
selected projects through Fundy Model Forest via
Washademoak Environmentalists, from the Canadian
Water Network via the Canadian Rivers Institute,
and from the Sustainable Forest Management
Network and Environment Canadas EMAN (Ecological
Monitoring and Assessment Network).
In addition, our volunteers provide valuable time
and expertise to a variety of projects, and the
Environment and Sustainable Development Research
Centre at UNB has supported our work through
in-kind provision of office space, equipment, and
expertise. We are very grateful for these varied
contributions. In the near future, we plan to
diversify our funding base through applications
for grants to a variety of funders, and by
establishing a formal due-paying membership.
Issue 1 Who We Are
For further information, please contact Reace
Black [phone] rblack77_at_nb.sympatico.ca Dr.
Shawn Dalton [phone] sdalton_at_unb.ca Roben
a and Alan Weatherley [phone] weatherl_at_nbne
t.nb.ca Mailing Address c/o Environment and
Sustainable Development Research
Centre University of New Brunswick PO Box
4400 Fredericton, NB E3B 5A3
The Canaan-Washademoak watershed

• Did you know?
• A watershed is the total area of land from which
  water drains into a particular stream, river, or
  lake.

The Canaan-Washademoak watershed is located in
southeastern New Brunswick. It occupies an area
of approximately 2163 km2, 7386 of which is
forested.
According to Service New Brunswick data, 6116 of
6872 of the land parcels in the watershed are
privately owned (89). This represents
approximately 42 of the total land base by area.
The watershed lies roughly within the triangle
formed among the three cities of Fredericton,
Moncton, and Saint John (see Figure 1). Home to
some of the provinces most productive soils, it
has been farmed by European settlers for some 200
years. These same soils, which have nourished
generations of New Brunswickers and provided the
basis of economic activity in this landscape, are
also among the most highly erodible in the
province.
Participants

• National Water Research Institute
• N.B. Department of Environment
• Private Citizens
• Royal District Planning Commission
• Southern N.B. Woodlot Owners Cooperative
• University of New Brunswick, Environment and
  Sustainable Development Research Centre
• Washademoak Environmentalists

• Agribusiness
• Agriculture Canada
• Canaan-River Fish and Game Association
• Canadian Rivers Institute
• Ducks Unlimited Canada
• Environment Canada
• Fundy Model Forest
• J.D. Irving, Ltd.

Figure 1. Location of the Canaan-Washademoak
watershed (bordered in green) in the province of
New Brunswick.
What is happening in the Canaan-Washademoak
watershed?
The Canaan-Washademoak watershed is undergoing a
socioeconomic transition from a small family farm
and forestry-based community to one composed of a
diverse array of people retirees, public
servants, fewer young people from the area, and
more people who are from away. For example, in
2001, over 10 of the people living in the
Village of Cambridge-Narrows had not lived there
a year earlier, and over 40 of the population
changed residences between 19962001 (2001
Statistics Canada Census). In addition, 73 of
the the people in the workforce now commute
outside the village to go to work.
Residential development along shorelines has
implications in terms of the quality of the
recreational resource, the aquatic habitat, and
of the water itself as of 2003, 7.2 of the
shoreline vegetation along Washademoak Lake and
lt1 along the Canaan River had been impacted or
destroyed. This has increased since that time.
Additional concerns include
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Become a Member of the Canaan-Washademoak
Watershed Association
Name Mailing address Phone Email
Please detach this form and mail it to the
address below. Suggested donation is 10 per
person or 15 per family. Thank
you! Canaan-Washademoak Watershed
Association c/o Environment and Sustainable
Development Research Centre University of New
Brunswick PO Box 4400 Fredericton, NB E3B 5A3

• High erosion rates due to loss of vegetation
• Increased water turbidity (reduced clarity)
• Reduction in water quality, including possible
  changes in groundwater availability
• Destruction or depletion of wildlife habitat,
  both on land and in the water
• Increased eutrophication and aquatic plant growth.

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Issue 1 Who We Are
Living With The Land
Issue 1 Who We Are
Living With The Land
What are some of the Associations findings?
About the Canaan-Washademoak Watershed Association

• Socioeconomic
• The new highway between Fredericton and Moncton
  renders some portion of the watershed commutable
  from each of these cities
• Increasing numbers of year-round and summer
  residents are resulting in changes to some of the
  characteristics of the local communities
• The roles of agriculture and forestry in the
  Canaan-Washademoak watershed are changing
• We are finding a disconnect between the
  perceptions and reality of watershed dynamics
• less than 9 of the working population is
  involved in forestry or farming (there are
  spatial patterns to this)
• 39 of the workforce in Cambridge-Narrows is
  working in education, social services, or health
  care (i.e. probably commuting to the cities or
  other nearby communities to work).

The Canaan-Washademoak Watershed Association is a
community-based organization formed in 2002 in
response to local concerns about perceived
changes in water quality, recreational fishing
opportunities, and social structure of
communities in the area. Our goals are to
protect and enhance the ecological structure and
function of the Canaan River, Washademoak Lake,
and their tributaries and, in so doing, to
(re)connect people in the region with these
valuable aquatic resources. Members work toward
these goals through a collaborative,
community-based, ecosystem approach to watershed
planning and management. The activities of the
Canaan-Washademoak Watershed Association focus on
the following challenges

• Biophysical
• Increased silt deposition is leading to infilling
  of coves
• Increased algal growth and sediment coatings is
  apparent on rocks
• As of 2003, 7.2 of the riparian zone vegetation
  along Washademoak Lake has been removed lt1
  along Canaan River. This has increased since that
  time.
• Indicators of a healthy ecosystem (salmonids,
  certain insect species) are present in the system.

• To manage (and plan and design for management) in
  a way that protects the ecological structure and
  function of landscapes in the context of human
  activity.

In so doing, the Association hopes to realize and
encourage strong communities and healthy
ecosystems in the Canaan-Washademoak watershed.
Relationships between biophysical and
socioeconomic conditions

• The riparian zone of the main stem is mostly in
  private ownership, as is all of the region around
  the lake
• There are changes in land use with greatly
  increased residential development pressure on the
  shorelines
• There are also changes in social norms the urban
  aesthetic is being imported to the countryside.

• To understand the reciprocal relationships
  between human communities and activities, and the
  ecosystems that support them, and

We are drawn to the region for its recreational
and aesthetic qualities these depend upon a
healthy ecosystem.
How can you help?
Activities of the Watershed Association
By volunteering your time, skills, or suggestions
to the Canaan-Washademoak Watershed Association
you can help strengthen its public voice and add
momentum to its initiatives an organisations
success requires broad community
participation. The Canaan-Washademoak Watershed
Association holds regular meetings, hosts speaker
series, and community field days. Our calendar of
events can be found on our website www.unb.ca/en
viro/cwwa To participate, offer suggestions, or
sign up for specific committees, please contact
any of the individuals listed overleaf.
The Associations activities include

• Volunteer outreach, education, and recruitment
• Community-based ecological monitoring (forest
  biodiversity, benthic macroinvertebrate sampling,
  water quality and fish population studies)
• Atlas of social and ecological characteristics of
  the watershed
• Examination of trends in agriculture
  Agriculture in the Canaan-Washademoak
  Watershed, www.unb.ca/enviro/cwwa/products.html
• Integrated planning pilot project watershed
  management plan
• Forest and Stream Ecology program with local
  schools.

Figure 2. Sampling benthic invertebrates on the
Canaan River.
Figure 3. Washademoak Lake.