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Halls
Creek Rehabilitation Project is Launched
(Moncton
- September 5, 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 urban Moncton's most polluted streams.
The Halls
Creek watershed is part of the greater 3,000km2 Petitcodiac River
- Shepody Bay 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, North Branch).
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 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.ainb.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
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