Feds give more than $6M to assist species-at-risk projects in Nova Scotia

More than $6 million in federal funds is being given to assist species-at-risk projects in Nova Scotia. 

The funding, announced Wednesday by federal Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan, comes from the Canada Nature Fund for Aquatic Species at Risk.

The Nova Scotia Salmon Association will receive $3.8 million for two projects.

The bulk of the funds will go toward conservation planning for eight priority watersheds in several locations in mainland Nova Scotia. Work on the project started last year and will continue through to 2023.

"This major infusion of funding will allow us to create long-term plans where smaller projects can be identified and fit in with a larger framework," said Eddie Halfyard, a research scientist with the association.

"The people who work with fish and freshwater know that there are projects that need to be done right now."

Restoring ecosystem, reducing threats

The salmon association will put $916,000 toward restoring ecosystems in the West and South rivers in Antigonish County, as well as the Mabou and Margaree rivers in Inverness County.

The project will promote the recovery of aquatic species at risk through planning, prioritization and implementation of activities that reduce identified threats such as declining water quality.

"Those rivers are beautiful. They are nice and cold and clear, but they do have their problems," said Halfyard. "The habitat in those rivers has been degraded through years and years of poor land-use practices, things like improper forestry techniques."

The project will also support recovery actions for the protection of Atlantic salmon, American eel and Atlantic sturgeon, and will foster collaboration with Indigenous communities.

$2.3M for Confederacy of Mainland Mi'kmaq

The Confederacy of Mainland Mi'kmaq will receive up to $2.3 million to undertake what is called a two-eyed seeing approach, which will bring together Mi'kmaw ecological knowledge and Western science.

The project will address high-priority threats and improve fish habitat through biological assessments and habitat restoration for aquatic species at risk and species of importance in Mi'kmaw culture.

The project will take place in the St. Croix River in Hants County, the Stewiacke River in Colchester County and the waters of the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence.