In
2009 the Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute (MTRI) prepared a report
for the Nova Forest Alliance and Environment Canada that identified
eleven possible sites within the Gold, Lahave and Medway watersheds
where terrestrial liming could take place (MTRI 2009). This study made
tentative conclusions about candidate sites but recommended further
data collection and analysis. This report attempts to fulfill those
recommendations.
To view the full MTRI report for this project in PDF format, click here.
The
Medway River Salmon Association has developed its own business plan to
handle this project. It is an evolving project and, as such, will
be regularly updated as new information becomes available. This
particularly relates to new information pertaining to project costs,
revenue sources and progress made in generating new partnerships.
To view the full MRSA business plan in PDF format, click here.
Both PDF documents are large. Depending on your internet link, they may take some time to download.
by William J. Daniels, St. Francis Xavier University
UPDATE 11 MARCH, 2014
In the fall of 2013, Bluenose Coastal Action Foundation worked with
MRSA volunteers to survey 5 stream tributaries on the Medway
River. Click here
to find the written report on the results of this study. The
study was funded from a $10,000 grant from Habitation Nova
Scotia. Over the winter months Brain Dulude, Project Manager, has
submitted applications for three more projects for the coming 2014
season. If we are successful, we will be purchasing limestone and
hiring manpower to distribute the product at the locations indicated in
the report. As we move forward it is very important that we
continue the work our association has started to better understand the
health and well being of The Medway River.
Horace Macpherson President MRSA
UPDATE 29 JANUARY, 2014
MRSA Terrestrial Liming Projects in 2014
Fish habitats
in Southern Upland watersheds have low pH water, the lasting effects of
acid rain. Without raising pH in the streams, salmon and brook
trout fry are doomed to survive low pH events, in particular, the low
pH in snow melt just as the fry emerge. Terrestrial liming is
spreading limestone over the surrounding land near a stream where it
dissolves into the groundwater flowing into the stream. This
provides a long term (6 to 30 years) buffering agent to continuously
raise the pH of water in the fish habitat.
pH and Temperature Study
In the fall of
2013, Bluenose Coastal Action Foundation worked with MRSA volunteers to
survey five stream tributaries into the Medway River. They found good
to excellent fish habitat but also they and Adopt-A-Stream identified
four concerns: low pH water, too warm summer temperatures, the
presence of smallmouth bass and potential high aluminium content in the
water. As the next step, we applied for a $14,800 project from
AAS to further study water pH and temperatures in four streams, using
data loggers to continuously measure and record during 2014. Our
commitment is to install the data loggers and to have trained help to
monitor the water quality (ground truthing). If pH can be showed
to be the sole limiting factor, then this work leads into a proposal to
apply terrestrial liming staged over years into the selected
streams.
Terrestrial Liming of Tumblingdown Brook
Tumblingdown
Brook flows with cool water at about 5.3 pH, with no invasive species
present, and so it would very likely benefit now from terrestrial
liming. To get started, we applied for a $44,400 project from AAS
and DFO where 60 tonnes of limestone would be applied on private land
near the headwater. Included in this effort would be to complete
pH monitoring and aluminium testing in early 2014 to further prove the
brook’s suitability. The main work of purchasing limestone and
spreading would be done in the summer with a hired temporary manpower
and our volunteers to manage and supervise the job. A sign would
be posted to promote the sponsors on Medway River Road near the
brook.
Terrestrial Liming at Twin Bridges
MRSA and
Bowater Mersey Paper Company did 30 tonnes of terrestrial liming at a
20 ha site near Twin Bridges on the Medway River in 2010.
The site may be secured for long term use through the Medway Community
Forest Initiative. We have applications in progress for $66,150
from WWF Community Water Fund (Loblaws) and Nova Scotia Power Community
Funding. Mersey Tobeatic Research Initiative, who was previously
involved with us on this site, is willing to provide expertise and
in-kind help with data collection. This project would require 60
tonnes of limestone. We would monitor the results for 5 years
with data loggers, with MTRI help to ensure good procedures. The
main work of purchasing limestone and spreading would be done in the
summer with a hired temporary manpower and our volunteers to manage and
supervise the job. Travel to this more remote site poses a
difficulty. A sign would be posted to promote the sponsors near
the bridge near the former BMPC camp.
Path Forward
The cost of
the possible three projects in 2014 totals about $118,000. The cash
from the sponsors would go to purchase limestone and to hire manpower
for the hard work to spread the limestone at the sites.
Our commitments would be for in-kind volunteer work in several activities:
Committees to plan the work – 5 persons X 15 hours
Purchase and ensure limestone delivery – one person X 3 days
Layout the sites (200 flags to mark each deposition) – 2 persons X 5 days
Promote the projects on our website and in the newspapers –a person X 20 hours
Supervise the limestone spreading – two persons X 9 weeks
Transport the hires to site, especially long trips to Twin Bridges – vehicles and driving – two persons X 9 weeks
Organize and install data loggers on several bridges – two persons X 3 days/year for 5 years
Monitor and guide trained individuals to
ground truthing the data loggers – a person X 30 days (or
two persons if we are trained ourselves)
Keep track of the in-kind contributions and
the project spending for future audits by the sponsors – a person well
organized over 2014
Organize and publish project results to satisfy credible scientific reviews – a person well organized over 5 years
Build a machine to spread limestone in forested boggy land – two person X a week
Install two signs for the sponsors – purchase permanent signs, install posts in ground – two persons X 3 days
To be sure,
terrestrial liming is hard work requiring persistence to see it done to
the end. To keep our sponsors involved, we must show the work
completed and then show how the water quality and fish habitat were
restored for long term results.
Brian Dulude
January 14, 2014
UPDATE 09 OCTOBER 2011
PRESIDENT DARRELL TINGLEY AND BILLY STEVENS OF ANTHONY EXCAVATION CONTEMPLATE THE TASK AT HAND
In September 10th eight
members of the Environment Committee went to Twin Bridges (Bowater
Property) and spread 28.7 ton of pelletized limestone over the 4 hectare
site. The stone was delivered a week earlier by Anthony Trucking of
Mill Village. This is part of a larger project to lime 20 hectares at
the same site.
Studies indicate if you lime land to the tune of 10 ton per hectare
you will receive a 25 year benefit to the soil and ground-water. In the
instant case the land was limed with 7 ton per hectare so the result
should be somewhat less. Liming of the land base in the Southern
Uplands, especially in Queens County, is extremely important as the
buffer zone has been diminished by Acid Rain over the past 50 years.
It had been hoped to lime the full 20 hectares, however, financial
support from the Nova Forest Alliance and N.S. Forest Products
Association was not forthcoming. This is unfortunate as the forests
stand to benefit more than the water with the increased pH. The results
of the Twin Bridges Pilot Project would have provided scientific
information for the future on large scale land based liming initiatives
in the area/province. The Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute of Kempt
has taken pH readings prior to and will monitor the results over the
next several years.
The shovel and bucket brigade, who spread the limestone, now
understand why it is recommend to aerial lime forested/woodland areas.
UPDATE 04 MAY 2011
Yesterday
saw the release of unfed fry in the upper reaches of West River. The
following note received from one of the members involved passes on
great news about the success of our liming efforts. The photos he sent
also tell some of the story.
Folks: The
release of 47,000 unfed fry yesterday went extremely smoothly. It was
not an easy task for the ten volunteers who made it
happen--canoes, unfed fry and volunteers had to be trucked into a remote
location via an ATV, from there three canoes were sent down river 4km to
release the fry in to what we thought were habitat voids. That was the
big surprize - wild atlantic salmon beat us to this area!!! While
volunteers waited for the fry to arrive, some did some trout angling
and caught smolts just below the falls on the upper end of West River!
This top 10km of West River has been void of salmon since the
1970's. The pH in this area is now 7. Finding salmon
smolts at these falls (this
is as far as salmon can travel on the West River) is huge news!!!
It
means -liming works!!!! it means we have salmon production in an area
that has been dead for 40 years!!!!! I think it's time we start making
some noise about liming. The
smolt count is also getting exciting this year; after only our first
week of counting smolts the estimate for the first week is 1875
smolts!!! and we don't expect the smolt run to peak until May 10th--and
we now know that we still have smolts 30km up river. Can you tell that I'm excited??? George Ferguson (VP, NSSA)
