Salt marsh on Dorchester Cape to be protected by First Nation
CBC
Some healthy marshland on Dorchester Cape, near the confluence of the Petitcodiac and Memramcook rivers, is being turned over to Fort Folly First Nation, or Amlamgog, for protection and conservation.
“The more we can now protect … the better we as a society would be able to adapt through the climate crisis,” said Lyle Vicaire, founder of Sikniktuk Climate Adaptation, a conservation initiative through which the land was purchased and donated.
The 25-hectare salt marsh, backed by dikes and fronted by mudflats, was bought using federal funding from the Indigenous-led Area-Based Conservation Program, he said.
Vicaire, an environmental scientist and consultant from Elsipogtog First Nation, is working on his master's degree at the University of New Brunswick and studying salt marsh restoration techniques.
Salt marshes are valuable natural barriers to mitigate the effects of climate change, he said.
A salt marsh acts like a big sponge, soaking up and releasing tidewaters, and helping to reduce erosion from waves and storm surges.
“Many of these coastal habitats are under threat because of sea level rise,” Vicaire said, including marshes in Sikniktuk, the Mi’kmaw district encompassing eastern New Brunswick.
As the sea level rises, a salt marsh needs room to grow inland, but usually cannot, he said.
“People build right next to it,” Vicaire said. “There will be buildings, roads or boardwalks. Any kind of infrastructure just usually stops the coastal habitats from being able to adapt."
As a result, the marsh can drown and disappear, also losing its ability to store carbon, he added.
“We're losing salt marshes in many regions around the world,” Vicaire said.
Sikniktuk Climate Adaptation is working to acquire up to 100 hectares along the coast for a Mi'kmaw land trust. This is the first land purchase to be finalized, Vicaire said.
“It feels pretty good."
Acquiring land is difficult, Vicaire said, because other non-governmental organizations are also competing for it.
Conservationists are raising concerns as the City of Winnipeg considers walking back a development bylaw designed to help save birds from fatal window strikes, less than a year after the rules came into effect.
A Saskatchewan veteran is being considered as a possible recipient of the highest honour in the Canadian Armed Forces.
As the World Health Organization conditionally recommends the use of GLP-1 medications to treat obesity, a Halifax-based expert says the change likely won’t bring immediate improvements for Prince Edward Islanders.
Three weeks after a 52-year-old crossing guard was killed after being hit by a dump truck on the intersection of Mohawk Road E. and Upper Wentworth Street, city staff say they are waiting for police to finish their investigation in order to review the intersection.
Pets are often seen as a member of the family and the grief when they die can be difficult to deal with. But a new online resource from the University of Guelph's Ontario Veterinary College aims to support people through that journey.
After four years of delays, the Finch West LRT line is set to open Sunday morning.
Christmas trees farms across Ontario haven’t been spared by the devastating impacts of climate change, but a lab out of the University of Waterloo (UW) is pushing to curb the effects.
The Town of Bonavista issued an emergency water ban for the community Saturday, due to an ice formation blocking the Long Pond water intake.
People killed in the Halifax Explosion were honoured in ceremonies across the city on Saturday, 108 years after the destructive blast.
Rothesay's Lincoln Bell says sourcing ingredients amidst tariffs imposed by the United States has become a strain on his honey and beeswax product business.
The Winnipeg Jets and Montreal Canadiens will be heading back outdoors next season.
The Saskatchewan Union of Nurses is calling for changes after an incident last month involving a person who brought a shotgun and several knives to St. Paul’s Hospital, according to the union.
WARNING: This article contains details of abuse.