We are always looking for volunteers. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer now or in the future, please fill out the form below under "Volunteer" and we will contact you when an opportunity arises. At the Office Manager's discretion, memberships may be awarded to anyone who volunteers with the HRAA.
Conservation, Education & Community Interaction since 1977
Watershed Management Plan 2020
The Hammond River Angling Association (HRAA) is in the process of updating its 2015 Hammond River Watershed Management Plan, so it may continue to guide successful conservation initiatives and align with the 2018-2028 Water Strategy for New Brunswick. In 2015, water quality was tested for 11 sub-catchments throughout the Hammond River Watershed to gain insight into river health and assess the impact of adjacent land use. Since 2015, rapid development has occurred along the Hammond River which has likely resulted in water quality and habitat changes. Baseline data and continual monitoring are required to gauge how the watershed is changing, so the HRAA is using the most accurate information to guide effective management decisions.
The HRAA has re-sampled their 2015 water quality sites and implemented environmental DNA (eDNA) testing technique which allows us to assess the presence or absence of salmon DNA. The method involves the analysis of water samples to identify salmon DNA shed from the fish through scale loss or from slime/bodily fluids.
The HRAA will update the 2015 Watershed Management Plan by collecting water samples and environmental DNA data at each of the 12 sampling sites from the 2008 and 2015 sampling sites. These new datasets will be combined with 20 years of historical datasets to build a predictive model that can be used as a tool to inform watershed management plans. Predictive models are powerful tools that can support watershed analysis and assessment of management scenarios at the watershed scale. They can help to identify and prioritize local watersheds in terms of environmental sensitivity and identify water quality predictors and effects on biota. Further to this, our recent electrofishing, mussel biodiversity study and Wetland Initiative findings will all be integrated into the updated 2020 Hammond River Watershed Management Plan.
The 2020 Hammond River Watershed Management Plan will work to address the 2018-2028 Provincial Water Strategies goals by:
Goal 1: To better understand and share knowledge about water
Goal 2: To protect drinking water supplies
Goal 3: To Preserve and enhance aquatic ecosystems and the water on which they depend
- By understanding what areas are at the most in the Hammond River Watershed through water quality analysis
Goal 4: To work cooperatively on aspects of water protection and management
- Using the Atlantic DataStream
- Stakeholder meeting
Goal 5: To report publicly on strategy implementation
- Having a completed management plan complete with measurable objectives and recommendations
- The 2020 Watershed Management Plan will be made publicly available via the HRAA website in April 2021.
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2015 Hammond River Watershed Management Plan
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2020 Hammond River Watershed Management Plan
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