Watershed Assessment Towards Ecosystem Recovery

The W.A.T.E.R. project is a large-scale, four-year project (2019-2023) funded by DFO’s Canada Nature Fund.

The overarching goal of the project is to implement aquatic habitat restoration across Nova Scotia, supported by both regional planning and local action.

Regional planning: The W.A.T.E.R. program will develop regional, watershed-level plans to guide restoration efforts to help improve the quality of aquatic habitat, with focus on five key species at risk:

(Images borrowed from Fisheries & Oceans and US Fish & Wildlife); COSEWIC = Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada; SARA = Canada Species at Risk Act

(Images borrowed from Fisheries & Oceans and US Fish & Wildlife); COSEWIC = Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada; SARA = Canada Species at Risk Act

Watershed plans will be developed for eight watersheds across the southeastern shore of Nova Scotia (Southern Uplands), and five watersheds in the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Eight priority watersheds in the Southern Uplands

Eight priority watersheds in the Southern Uplands

Each watershed plan will: 

  1. Describe the current condition of the aquatic habitat and health of the populations within the watershed;

  2. Identify knowledge gaps that limit our ability to restore these ecosystems; 

  3. Identify regions in the watershed with high- and poor-quality habitat for the following key species:

    Southern Uplands Gulf Region

    Atlantic Salmon Atlantic Salmon

    American Eel American Eel

    Atlantic Whitefish Atlantic Sturgeon

    Brook Floater

  4. Prioritize where preservation or restoration efforts should take place to increase the amount of accessible, good quality habitat in the watershed to maximize biodiversity and ecosystem health; and

  5. Serve as a guidance tool for local stewardship groups.

Local action: Watershed plans will outline local, on-the-ground restoration action to be undertaken by:

The W.A.T.E.R. field program will include the use of latest technology (e.g. drones, remote sensing, and environmental DNA) to better understand where species and their habitat exist within these watersheds. For example, environmental DNA is a new method of sampling for species, that involves collecting water samples and looking for DNA that has been released from animals inhabiting the water course (e.g. via scales or feces). This method is a quick and easy way to identify whether a species is likely present in the water, when they would be otherwise difficult to detect with traditional gear. 

eDNA.jpg

Environmental DNA collection

Kristin Hart from the Stirling Lab at Dalhousie University helps to collect a sample of water that will later be analyzed for the presence of eDNA of Atlantic Salmon, American Eel, Atlantic Whitefish and Brook Floater, and invasive species Chain Pickerel and Smallmouth Bass.

We plan to build a land-based lime spreading machine and a miniature lime-doser to distribute lime throughout various streams, lakes, and surrounding forests, to help reduce the effect of acid rain within select regions of the priority watersheds. 

Lastly, we will support the development of a mobile streamside incubation trailer to help rear Atlantic Whitefish (i.e. care for individual fish until they can be released into the wild) and other species at risk in the future.