BS: Petitcodiac River, New Brunswick, Canada

Subject: BS: Petitcodiac River, New Nrunswick, Canada
From: gnu
Date: 15 May 10 - 01:53 PM

In 1968, the politicians here decided to save some money and built a causeway connecting Moncton and Riverview rather than building a bridge.

When I was a boy, my old man would take us down to watch the tidal bore when the moon was right in the spring of the year. It was "Neato man!" to watch the bore sweep up the river from bank to bank... over a mile wide in places and to here the rush of water.

Then, the twit politicians built the causeway. To save money, they destroyed so much.
The river silted up and was reduced to a fairly deep but narrow channel below the causeway, as shown in a picture in the link - the caption says "Note the wide flood plain." Okay, but that USED to river. A shallow lake formed upstream, but the only swimmers were gulls and such.

And then the twits conveniently built a dump (A TOXIC DUMP!) and baseball fields and so on upon the silt.

The river used to have schooners docked at the wharves - over a hundred at a time. The river used to yield fish and seals for the tables of thousands. It used to be a stop for thousands of migrating birds, again putting food on tables. It contained and fed aquatic life from it's headwaters to The Bay of Fundy. It was clean. Then it was filthy... even disgusting to look at by those who had never seen what I saw.

After many years of fighting, which even included support from the Kennedy family (yes, that family), the causeway gates were permanently opened a month ago.

The fish have returned. I actually have tears in my eyes. Maybe, before I die, I'll see the real tidal bore again.

Subject: RE: BS: Petitcodiac River, New Nrunswick, Canada
From: artbrooks
Date: 15 May 10 - 02:04 PM

How about this one, gnu?

Subject: RE: BS: Petitcodiac River, New Nrunswick, Canada
From: gnu
Date: 15 May 10 - 02:18 PM

Thanks Art. I was there. It was a good day.

As for the dump, the engineers have done what should keep any leachate to an acceptable quantity.

The only thing nobody can quantify at this time, or in future, is how fast Mother Nature will clean up the river. There are concerns about "too much clean up too fast" which could cause an inordinate amount of silt fouling the estuary and bay... but that can be addressed by regulating the flow using the gates if need be.

I suppose the bats and swallows and dragonflies and such might be miffed... there will be approximately 1B less skeeters to eat. That's just a guesstimate, of course.

Subject: RE: BS: Petitcodiac River, New Brunswick, Canada
From: katlaughing
Date: 15 May 10 - 04:45 PM

That is wonderful news! Can't wait to see more pix as it progresses.

Subject: RE: BS: Petitcodiac River, New Brunswick, Canada
From: gnu
Date: 15 May 10 - 05:11 PM

It will indeed be a subject of interest, kat. Especially for engineers like me to see the people stand up to the politicians and demand that the environment takes precedent over getting re-elected. And for the fish and birds and people. Imagine... a SALMON! ONE salmon has been found in the river. Millions of salmon were denied the right to even be born because of the shortmindedness of politicians. Getting elected for money sucks.

The process of "cleaning up" may take many more years than the 42 years of degradation that have taken place, but the mighty Peticodiac will RESURGO (Moncton's motto).

And, "The Petitcodiac Mudslide" jig written by my cousins may be ancient history someday... the sooner, the better.

Subject: RE: BS: Petitcodiac River, New Brunswick, Canada
From: Ed T
Date: 15 May 10 - 06:15 PM

A few pictures on this site:
http://www.google.ca/images?hl=en&q=petitcodiac+causeway%2Bhistoric+pictures&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=_xvvS67oGcT6lwf52sC1CA

Subject: RE: BS: Petitcodiac River, New Brunswick, Canada
From: Rapparee
Date: 15 May 10 - 08:17 PM

We stopped to see the tidal bore when we were in NB years ago. I was not impressed by the river, and I can only say that I'm THRILLED to see folks finally come to their senses. It shows that even politicians can sometimes, albeit seldom, do the right thing. Let 'er flow!

Subject: RE: BS: Petitcodiac River, New Brunswick, Canada
From: ranger1
Date: 16 May 10 - 06:59 AM

Thanks for sharing this, gnu.

Subject: RE: BS: Petitcodiac River, New Brunswick, Canada
From: gnu
Date: 15 Apr 11 - 07:42 AM

It was a small crowd yesterday but the changes in the river are far from small. I've watched Mother Nature "in action" frequently over the last year and I was impressed each time I viewed the river, especially upstream of the gates. The change has been beyond what I, and most, expected. The coming weeks will see even more rapid change as there is a lot of snow still to melt in the hilly woods which feed the river.

Subject: RE: BS: Petitcodiac River, New Brunswick, Canada
From: gnu
Date: 15 Apr 11 - 07:56 AM

If you look at the "floodplain" in the pic in my link and then the pic of the Three Master (page 2) in Ed's link, you get an idea of the river before the causeway was built.

Subject: RE: BS: Petitcodiac River, New Brunswick, Canada
From: katlaughing
Date: 15 Apr 11 - 04:35 PM

Is this related to your other thread, darlin'?

Subject: RE: BS: Petitcodiac River, New Brunswick, Canada
From: gnu
Date: 15 Apr 11 - 04:38 PM

The other thread? Could be. What other thread?

Subject: RE: BS: Petitcodiac River, New Brunswick, Canada
From: Bob Landry
Date: 16 Apr 11 - 11:10 AM

The Canso Causeway is another engineering "feat" that caused significant environmenal change, gnu. I was there at the opening in 1955 and remember bits and pieces from that day. I was 8 years old at the time. The marine ecology from the Causeway to the Gut between Isle Madame (where I grew up) and Canso changed significantly since then. There was a proposal not so long ago to replace the causeway by a bridge. I don't know how serious the proposal was (I've been in Alberta for over 30 years and only heard part of that story) but I suspect the high costs of such a proposal will forever be the argument against proceeding. Congratulations on being there to witness the continuing recover of the Petitcodiac

Subject: RE: BS: Petitcodiac River, New Brunswick, Canada
From: Bob Landry
Date: 16 Apr 11 - 11:12 AM

Oops! "recovery"

Subject: RE: BS: Petitcodiac River, New Brunswick, Canada
From: gnu
Date: 16 Apr 11 - 01:50 PM

Bob... yes, too expensive in the short term would be the way the politicians would view it. The bridge is easy. Removing the causeway would be an enormous enterprise and may cause more environmental damage than was done originally, especially in the immediate vicinity.

The groundstocks have figured out how to navigate, although it took over 30 years. As for the blockage of currents and tides, it would be difficult to assess the impact of a reversal. The entire coastline from the top of Cape Breton to the top of The Gaspé was affected. That's a lot of coastline.

As well, the changes in currents and tides would have an economic impact. The the pulp mill, the oil refinery and the heavy water plant would be affected so, right there, it ain't never gonna happen.

The fact that certain animals gained access to Cape Breton via the causeway minds me of sommat else. I was out hunting with a buddy in Newfoundland and his buddy shot a red squirrel with a 303 (squirrels were "introduced" to Newfoundland on rail ferries). I asked, "WTF did you do that for?" He replied, "That's what we does ta mainlanders we don't like so watch yer step."

Say, another one... I was perplexed by the painting of seagulls on the pavement on the causeway. Neat idea!

Subject: RE: BS: Petitcodiac River, New Brunswick, Canada
From: Ed T
Date: 16 Apr 11 - 02:15 PM

CansoCauseway

Subject: RE: BS: Petitcodiac River, New Brunswick, Canada
From: gnu
Date: 24 Apr 13 - 05:59 AM

More tears as I type! Times&Transcript today...

Salmon caught on Petitcodiac River


Some fishermen unaware or ignoring law banning salmon fishing on fragile river system

BY JAMES FOSTER

TIMES & TRANSCRIPT STAFF

Through ignorance, maliciousness or willful blindness, some fisher men are catching Atlantic salmon in the Petitcodiac River system and taking them home for supper.

There are two problems with this, according to those working to restore the Petitcodiac River system: There is no season for salmon fishing here, and those taking the fish are in fact robbing future generations of precious and rare specimens of a unique strain of salmon that has been listed as endangered and which has been extirpated from the entire watershed.

'These people, they weren't treating the fish very well,' says John Bagnall, president of the New Brunswick Salmon Council, citing reports from other fishermen.

'They were killing them and taking them home.' The Petitcodiac River and some of its tributaries once upon a time enjoyed a sizeable annual run of Atlantic salmon, enough that a small sports fishery thrived for the king of sportsfish in the Salisbury area. That all ended shortly after a causeway was built between Moncton and Riverview in the late 1960s, and slowly the fish's numbers dwindled to zero. This was a double disaster because the loss of any species is a terrible thing, and the Inner Bay of Fundy strain of salmon is unique in the salmon world.

Luckily, some fish from this strain are being held in a gene bank with the aim of restoring the fish to the river, and restoration efforts picked up after the causeway gates were opened permanently in 2010.

Several adult salmon from this very specific strain of the species were put into the river last fall for that very purpose. But now, after spending the winter upriver under the ice, those fish face a phalanx of hooks and, apparently, crooks on their way back out to the sea. While it is very possible to accidentally hook a salmon while fishing for other legal species on the river, fisher men are supposed to quickly bring the fish to hand, gently take the hook(s) out of its mouth and set it free. Actually targeting salmon while angling on any river entering the Bay of Fundy is illegal because there is no season for salmon on any of those rivers.

Some of the errant fisher men are claiming ignorance, saying they thought they had a big brown trout on their hands, but some observers who have complained about what's going on have expressed doubts about those claims, as it would be rare at best to find brown trout on the Petitcodiac or its tributaries.

Bagnall fears the fisher men don't appreciate that those fish were likely the very same salmon that were put into the system last fall and that every one of them removed this spring could mean the loss of many more salmon that would be born if only those fish had the opportunity to return to spawn in the fall.

Worse, this year's spring smelt run up the Petitcodiac River has been abundant, so those salmon would have had plenty to eat on their migration out to the Bay of Fundy, giving them a more robust chance of survival.

'Those fish should stand a good chance,' Bagnall said Tuesday.

The rarity of the specific Inner Bay of Fundy strain of salmon makes the loss of even one of the fish particularly bad, he noted, because unlike most other adult salmon that return to spawn after two years at sea, this strain comes back to spawn every year.

'So these rivers, they count on these fish spawning more than once.' Fishermen are urged not to target salmon because there is no open season on that species of fish. And if a fisher man should happen to catch one while fishing for another species, they are asked to gently set it free.

Salmon returns are believed to have numbered up to 9,000 in the Petitcodiac River during peak years, with 2,000 to 3,000 salmon returning annually in the years just prior to the causeway's construction.

The structure was supposed to have a fish ladder built into it to accommodate the salmon, but it never worked properly.

In just a few years after the causeway was built, commercial salmon landings dropped by two-thirds, and then that season was shut down.

Angling harvest averaged 171 bright and 263 black (spring) salmon per year in 1960-1967 and then declined to 25 bright and 66 black salmon per year between 1968 and 1978.

The only salmon in the river now are believed to be those put there from the gene bank and other sources in an attempt to bring the species back to healthy levels.

Subject: RE: BS: Petitcodiac River, New Brunswick, Canada
From: Rapparee
Date: 24 Apr 13 - 09:41 PM

You got any rope up there? I know a nice knot you could find useful.

Subject: RE: BS: Petitcodiac River, New Brunswick, Canada
From: gnu
Date: 25 Apr 13 - 06:18 AM

Right on, Rap!

Subject: RE: BS: Petitcodiac River, New Brunswick, Canada
From: gnu
Date: 18 Dec 16 - 07:10 AM

Regarding the last line in my OP, ditto!

Petitcodiac Watershed Alliance/ Alliance du bassin versant Petitcodiac added 4 new photos.
Sponsored ·

Funding for Causeway Replacement Confirmed: $61.6 Million

Hi there,

This isn't a usual post for the Petitcodiac Watershed Alliance Facebook page. It isn't a press release or a report- rather an emotional journaling of what my experience has been with the Petitcodiac River to date. My hope is to express the magnitude of this $61.6 million causeway replacement announcement to you....