The Cheticamp River Salmon Association is officially partnering with Parks Canada on a habitat restoration project on the Cheticamp River. This work is important as a number of runs and riffles on the lower river are critically over-widened, resulting in fish passage problems during periods of low water. In order to encourage the main channel to narrow and deepen in these problem areas, the habitat restoration plan calls for the installation of large rock deflector bars (or groynes). Not only should this work improve habitat in the over-widened sections, it should also increase access to many kilometers of important upstream spawning and rearing habitat.
Construction of the bars is not scheduled to begin until sometime later this summer (likely early to mid August), but preparations for the work are already well underway. For example, an access trail has been cut to allow heavy machinery (e.g., excavators) to place the rock material, and many truckloads of boulders have already been delivered to storage locations close to the work sites.
Check back for more updates on this exciting project as the summer progresses!