Miramichi River watershed has under gone many environmental changes recently. With mills and mining closures, reduced lumbering and agriculture, MREAC is no longer focusing on pollution prevention but instead environmental management and awareness. Environmental issues of the future are becoming more of a concern today as the public becomes more aware of how things will be affected in the future.
You can find below a list of completed and ongoing projects MREAC has carried out in the Miramichi River watershed. You can select some of the projects to open a more detailed explanation of what the project is about and any results, images and data available. If you have any questions or concerns, or looking for more information on these projects, you can contact the office to talk to our staff.
| Chemical Management Program |
MREAC will be assisting Environment Canada with this national project that monitors chemicals and their impact on the environment at select sites across the country. The Napan River is an impacted river in the Miramichi River watershed and will be monitored for flame retardents and bisphenol A in participation of this program. More... |
| Freshwater Mussel Survey |
Freshwater mussels are good water quality indcators as they are sensitive to unclean water. Limited knowledge about species, population size and distribution promoted an increase in survey sites. MREAC has undergone two years of mussel surveys, 2008 and 2009, of various Miramichi River tributaries. More... |
| Kennedy Lakes Portage Trail Construction |
MREAC along with volunteers have constructed a portage trail to Second Fowler Lake and Main Kennedy Lake with in the Kennedy Lakes Protected Natural Area. The pupose of this trial is to reduce the amount of damage to habitat and plants caused by foot activity near the lake's shorlines. More... |
| Real-Time Water Quality Monitoring |
A DFO weather station in Doaktown is now relaying real-time information to the MREAC office and NBCC Miramichi. Data collected is water level, water temperature, conductivity, air temperature, relative humidity, radiation and percipitation. More... |
| Snow & Ice Studies |
Snow and ice conditions, depth and freeze up/break up will be monitored at different sites by MREAC staff in colaboration with the NB Department of Environment monitoring program. More.... |
| Comminity Aquatic Monitoring Program (CAMP) |
MREAC along with other community based non-governmental organizations (NGOs) collect important data that help monitor the health status of their estuary, such as fish data, water qualtiy, vegetation and sediment data. This data is then analyzed by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in order to monitor the health of the Gulf Region. More... |
| Ecosystem Initiatives |
MREAC is not only committed to improving the environment for the Miramichi River watershed, but through various networks and organizations is also committed to improve the world around us. More... |
| River/Air Watch |
River Watch and Air Watch is a community flagship program operated by MREAC in order to respond to environmental concern situations within the watershed. Citizens are encouraged to call the number if they are concern with something that may be affecting the quality of the Miramichi River.
1-800-56RIVER (1-800-567-4837) More... |
| Sanitary Shellfish Project |
Part of the Miramichi Bay is closed to shellfish harvesting due to high levels of E. coli, and therefore unsafe for human consumption. The source of this unacceptable level is not yet determined, and therefore cannot be corrected. MREAC continues to work to determine the source of this contamination in order to expand the shellfish harvesting area. More... |
| Striped Bass Monitoring |
While working in partnership with DFO, MREAC continues to work on protecting, managing and research about Striped bass in the Miramichi River, being the only spawning habitat in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Every summer, 5 sites are beach seined weekly in order to count Young-of-the-Year Striped bass in an effort to help monitoring their population. More... |
| Swim Watch |
Starting in 1993, MREAC has been monitoring the water quality at key recreation sites throughout the Miramichi River watershed. Seven sites are sampled weekly during the summer months, and 29 sites are sampled twice during the season. Public notices are distributed when a site is deemed unsuitable for recreational use. More... |
| Waste Stream Management |
MREAC monitors and promotes improvements in waste stream management in four different sectors of waste stream generation: Industrial, Municipal, Rural and Agricultural. Several monitoring projects are carried out and reported on to the committee in these sectors. More... |
| Water Classification Program |
MREAC has partnered with DENV to carry out the New Brunswick Water Classification Program. This program will designate all water bodies in the Miramichi River watershed with a water class, AP, AL, A, B, C or O in order to protect the water and ensure proper management of the surface water resource of the Miramichi River watershed. More... |
| Air Quality |
MREAC completed an Air Resources Managment Area (ARMA) Management Plan for the Miramichi area in 1998. More... |
| Biomonitoring Study |
MREAC has assited Environment Canada and theUniveristy of New Brunswick with biomonitoring projects within the watershed. The most resent project was a BioBlitz during the summer of 2008 with UNB. Studies will continue in contribution with the Water Classification project. More... |
| Little Southwest Miramichi Oxbow |
MREAC works with other partners to explore potential ways of stabilizing the serious erosion problems happening on the Little Southwest Miramichi Oxbow. More... |
| Miramichi River Sediment Analysis |
Sediment samples were studied for contamination from indstury in the upper estuary for the Miramichi River in 1993 and 2002. In 2007/08 an additional study was done in the lower estuary and was compared with the previous results. More... |
| On-site Remediation |
Failing on-site septic systems can have a negative affect on the water quality of the Miramichi River. This program assisted low income homes with funding to have upgrades done on their failing systems in an attempt to protect the river's water quality. More... |
| Sub-watershed Monitoring |
Due to the scale of the Miramichi River watershed (>13,000 sq. km), MREAC has adopted an annual strategy to assess different major tributaries of the Miramichi River. Completed sub-watersheds are Napan River, Barnaby River, Cains River, Northwest Millstream, Renous River and Northwest Miramichi River. More... |
| Wetland Stewardship |
MREAC has been involved in several wetland construction projects. The purpose of building these wetlands are to promote waterfowl and wildlife habitat, wetland education, recreational opportunities and improve surface water management. More... |
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