Six Nova Scotia Projects Receive Funding

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Six Nova Scotia projects receive funding from Atlantic Salmon Conservation Foundation




June 1, 2009, Fredericton, NB – Groups working to conserve wild Atlantic salmon stocks in Nova Scotia (NS) will receive a total of $52,800 in funding from the Atlantic Salmon Conservation Foundation (ASCF) this year. The Foundation announced its 2009 grant recipients today. Six Nova Scotia projects were among the 20 to be funded, which also included four in New Brunswick, four in Quebec, three in Prince Edward Island and three in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The total value of grants awarded by the Foundation for 2009 is $219,850.

“This is just our second round of awards,” said ASCF Chair, the Honourable Rémi Bujold, when the successful applications were announced, “but the Foundation is already gaining recognition as the funding agent for wild Atlantic salmon conservation in Canada. Our plan is to be a reliable and long-term supporter of salmon conservation by community partners.”

Some 46 applications were submitted by conservation, environmental, sports angling and Aboriginal groups in Atlantic Canada and Québec to fund work to be done during the 2009 season. “This shows that there is widespread and active interest in, and commitment to, conservation of wild Atlantic salmon,” said Hon. Bujold.

Nova Scotia applications were assessed and selected by the Foundation’s Nova Scotia advisory committee and its Central Advisory Committee. The $52,800 awarded in Nova Scotia includes:

• $15,000 for the Nova Scotia Salmon Association to mount a demonstration project in Beaver Bank aimed at restoring the West River, which has been extensively damaged by acid rain;


• $9,000 to the LaHave River Salmon Association in Bridgewater to improve and maintain the water quality of the LaHave River watershed through water quality monitoring and a public education program;


• $9,000 to the Sackville Rivers Association for a comprehensive watershed study to establish priorities for Atlantic Salmon habitat restoration and improvement in the watershed;


• $7,500 for the St. Mary’s River Association (Sherbrooke) to identify culverts that interrupt spawning migration and develop a restoration plan for culvert remediation;


• $6,300 to Antigonish’s Habitat Unlimited to continue its work on fish habitat restoration in Wright’s River;


• $6,000 to the Mabou & District Community Development Association for its Shea’s Brook restoration project to create a more complex habitat suitable for salmon spawning, development, and migration.
  
  “The salmon fishery is essential not only to the province’s ecology, but also to its economy, First Nations and to the growing eco-tourism industry,” Scott Cook, chair of the Atlantic Salmon Conservation Foundation’s Nova Scotia Advisory Committee, said when the funding was announced. “These projects will contribute significantly to the reestablishment and conservation of this valuable resource in Nova Scotia.”
  
  Work on the spring 2009 projects will begin as soon as environmental conditions allow.
  
  The Atlantic Salmon Conservation Foundation is a volunteer, non-profit, charitable organization established with the goal of helping to achieve healthy and sustainable wild Atlantic salmon stocks in Atlantic Canada and Québec. Funded with an endowment from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the Foundation has created a trust fund to promote and strengthen partnerships among groups working to conserve wild Atlantic salmon. Conservation projects and program administration are financed from interest earned by the trust fund.
  
  For more information on the Atlantic Salmon Conservation Foundation please visit the website at http://www.salmonconservation.ca/.