Project Title
Demonstration Project to Restore Atlantic Salmon Habitat in the Inner Bay of Fundy / Assessment on Decommissioning the Abandoned Humphreys Brook Dam (approximately 38 km2 ­ Moncton, New Brunswick)

Project Objective
To conduct a thorough field assessment on decommissioning the abandoned Humphreys Brook Dam located in Moncton, in order to restore fish passage and the conditions necessary to restore fish habitat for Inner Bay of Fundy Atlantic Salmon and other historically indigenous fish species in this tributary of the Petitcodiac River watershed.

Project Background
The Humphreys Brook, situated in eastern Moncton, is an approximately 38 km2 sub-watershed of the 3000 km2 Petitcodiac River / Shepody Bay system.
A 4.7 metre-high ­ 9.1 metre-long dam built at the turn of the past century to generate power for the Humphreys Mills, now sits idle just above the head of tide (underneath the old Mill Road Bridge in Moncton).

The area is historically important to the Mi'gmag; oral tradition speaks of a native camp situated at the head of tide on Humphreys Brook, which would suggest that the stream did at some point provide an important source of food fishery to the Mi'gmag.

The dam in question serves no economic or social purpose since the early 1970s; the mill operation has long since been closed, and the headpond is filled with sediment and debris - no longer used for recreational skating as it was in the past century.

Based on Mi'gmag oral tradition and the fact that even smaller neighboring tributaries of the Petitcodiac River watershed historically sustained Atlantic Salmon runs, we assume at this stage that previous to the dam having been built over a century ago, that this tributary also sustained an Atlantic Salmon run.

Project Goals

• To develop a framework and a model to decommission an abandoned dam impeding fish passage in the Inner Bay of Fundy in order to assist in the recovery of the Atlantic Salmon, using similar models developed in Canada and the United States.
• To develop consensus and community support around an environmentally, socially and economically acceptable plan to decommission the abandoned Humphreys Brook dam.
• To draft the actual plans to decommission the Humphreys Brook abandoned dam, including an assessment of the feasibility of introducing or reseeding this tributary with Atlantic Salmon, should this be the recommendation of the IBOF Salmon Recovery Team.

Species at Risk

• Inner Bay of Fundy Atlantic Salmon
• Other indigenous fish species from the Petitcodiac River system extirpated or in serious decline that support the overall ecosystem food chain