Habitat Stewardship Program

Note: This activity has been completed.

Souris and Area Branch of the PEI Wildlife Federation is considered the leading watershed group in Prince Edward Island. We are pleased to have received funding from the Habitat Stewardship Program (HSP) through a two year Improving Brook Trout and Atlantic Salmon in Eastern Prince Edward Island program.

HSP has previously funded SAB projects that include the identification of Brook Trout critical habitat especially groundwater upwelling areas (springs) and the documentation of Brook Trout spawning areas. This work was completed during the Fall of 2014 when staff and volunteers walked the streams identifying and counting Atlantic Salmon and Brook Trout redds. Also, development of a Brook Trout conservation plan highlighting future enhancement work including culvert mitigation projects, stream enhancement and critical priority areas for work. Public education and outreach activities that included a community nature walk that took place on February 28th, 2015, a newletter article in SAB’s January 2015 edition of “Souris & Area Watershed News” on Brook Trout, tree planting near the Brook Trout Nursery in the Souris Line Road and interpretive signage placed at critical habitat sites for Brook Trout that outline the importance of this particular habitat to the survival of the species.

Components of this project include specific watersheds which include Naufrage, Priest Pond, North Lake, Cross and Bear Rivers:

1) On-the ground enhancements activities that include brush mattresses, removal of blockages, hanging culvert mitigations (Naufrage) and upper headwater work for Brook Trout.

2) Specific monitoring activities that include fish weir installation, habitat and electro-fishing surveys and water quality monitoring that includes data logger installation and Canadian Aquatic Biomonitoring Network (CABIN) which is an aquatic program used for assessing the health of fresh water ecosystems in Canada.

3) Outreach , landowner and community stewardships that include the Citizen Science Program, school field trips and presentations, community meetings and workshops to specifically discuss rehabilitation and monitoring and landowner stewardshi[ to provide support for definitive rehabilitation projects.