About Us
We provide effective and permanent support of Wild Atlantic Salmon Conservation.
The Atlantic Salmon Conservation Foundation/La fondation pour la Conservation du saumon atlantique (ASCF/FCSA) is a registered charitable organization incorporated as a non-profit organization under the Canada Corporations Act.
Our Mission Statement
To promote enhanced community partnerships in the conservation of wild Atlantic salmon and its habitat in Atlantic Canada and Quebec.
Objectifs
- To be an effective source of funding for community volunteer organizations in conserving, restoring and protecting wild Atlantic salmon and its habitat.
- To enhance cooperation and partnership between governments, Indigenous organizations. community volunteer groups and others in the interests of conserving, restoring and protecting wild Atlantic salmon and its habitat.
- To promote and improve conservation planning and management at the watershed level as the basis for ensuring effective use of and accountability for funds made available for wild Atlantic salmon conservation initiatives.
- To improve public awareness, education and research respecting the conservation of wild Atlantic salmon and salmon habitat.
Our Team
Stephen Chase
VP Government Affairs
Stephen Chase
VP Government Affairs
Stephen is the VP Government Affairs of the ASCF. Before joining the Foundation he served in several roles with the Province of New Brunswick rising to the senior program director level. His career subsequently saw him become a Vice-President, Government Relations with the Atlantic Salmon Federation, then as a senior policy officer with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, followed by a term as Executive Director, Government Relations with Canadian Blood Services.
Stephen has a long history of leadership in community service, until recently serving as a City Councillor in Fredericton, NB, and is a member of the Fredericton North Rotary Club. He has been active over many years in several areas of community service including the Fredericton area school board, and various provincial organizations, including a term as President of the New Brunswick Salmon Council.
Charline McCoy
Executive Director
charline@salmonconservation.ca
Charline McCoy
Executive Director
Charline is the Executive Director of the ASCF. Charline is new in her role with the Foundation since July 1, 2022.
Before joining the team at the Foundation, Charline spent the past five years as the Executive Director for the Cities of New Brunswick Association and before that with the Agricultural Alliance of New Brunswick. She has also taken on several roles within the provincial government throughout her career. Her broad knowledge of organizations and program management brings many important skills to supporting the work of the Foundation, particularly to conservation projects in New Brunswick and Quebec, as well as the applied scientific research grants guided by the Scientific Advisory Committee.
Allyson Heustis
Conservation Program Coordinator (on leave)
Allyson Heustis
Conservation Program Coordinator (on leave)
Allyson joined our team as the Conservation Projects Coordinator in January 2018. She is currently responsible for the oversight and support of ASCF-funded Atlantic Salmon conservation projects in Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.
Allyson completed a Bachelor of Science from St. Francis Xavier University and a Master of Science from the University of New Brunswick. In her spare time, Allyson plays rugby with the Fredericton Loyalist Rugby Club and is an active member of their board. Allyson also enjoys swimming, playing piano, painting, and teaching her dog Bonnie lots of new tricks. Allyson has always been captivated by water, be it fresh or marine, and is thrilled to be involved in facilitating wild Atlantic salmon conservation.
Henri Mallet
Conservation Program Coordinator
Henri Mallet
Conservation Program Coordinator
Before joining the team at the Foundation, Henri has a long history of leadership in community service and currently serves as a City Councillor in Fredericton, NB. He has been active over a few years in several areas of community service, including his role as Chairman on several standing committees, and his term as 1st Vice-president of the Association francophone des municipalités du Nouveau-Brunswick. His broad knowledge of organizations and relationship management brings many important skills to supporting the work of the Foundation, particularly to conservation projects in New Brunswick and Quebec.
Board Committees
Investment Committee
R. Bishop (Chair)
M-H. Lacroix
J. LeBoutillier
J. Burton
Policy & Program Committee
J. Jones (Chair)
S. Tremblay
J. Girouard
R. Aucoin
K. Coleman
Audit & Finance Committee
M. Delaney (Chair)
M. Durant
R. Bishop
R. Bujold
Development Committee
J. Lawley
R. Bujold
D. Peter-Paul
J. Burton
Our Board Members
Rene Aucoin
Cheticamp, NS
Rene Aucoin
Cheticamp, NS
His introduction to fly fishing came at the age of about 14 when he happened upon a group of veteran anglers fly fishing for trout and salmon at the tidal pool on the Cheticamp river. “Their casting with old bamboo rods seemed almost magical.” He was introduced to salmon fishing—and the conservation ethic—a couple of years later by an American tourist angler who spent his summers in the Cheticamp area. “His mantra of catch and release and retiring a fly after it caught a salmon, was quite bewildering to my 16-year-old self who had grown up in a culture of catch everything that the law permitted and sometimes even a bit more.”
Réné is now a certified fly-casting instructor with Fly Fishers International. After university, he founded the Cheticamp River Salmon Association and became a member of the Margaree Salmon Association (MSA), the Nova Scotia Salmon Association (NSSA) and the Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF).
“Like many others in early 90s, seeing the increasing plight of our native salmon, my focus shifted towards conservation efforts regarding salmon, working with Parks Canada and later on with both NSSA and ASF. I eventually became president of NSSA and an ASF Board member.
“My conservation efforts, via the Cheticamp River Association, have focused primarily on rivers and streams in the Cheticamp River watershed where, over the years, we jointly managed two counting fences, completed a five-year restoration program on the Lower Cheticamp as well as undertaking many other trout and salmon conservation projects.”
“Becoming a member and director of the Atlantic Salmon Conservation Foundation (ASCF) has been a natural progression in my career as a salmon conservationist. The ASCF plays a vital role in the conservation of the Atlantic Salmon throughout its range in Atlantic Canada and Quebec—not only as an important financial partner in our restoration projects, but perhaps more importantly for its role in sponsoring science projects and studies which are key to solving the riddles surrounding the Atlantic Salmon.”
Kastine Coleman
Corner Brook, NL
Kastine Coleman
Corner Brook, NL
She was introduced to fly fishing by her father when quite young. When I was 10 years old the local conservation group SPAWN came to our classroom and taught about the life cycle of salmon, visiting throughout the year as the salmon matured.” From that moment salmon conservation became a passion. “On seeing a fish I would immediately attempt to determine the sex, and I would look for salmon par anytime I was near a body of water.”
“In 2019 I passed my Fly Fishers International exam and became a certified fly casting instructor. This was a huge milestone for me, as I had been working towards it for two years. I started teaching lessons with my focus being mainly on women and children. The reason for this is because I couldn’t ever find another female angler to go fishing with.
But while Atlantic Salmon stocks are in decline around the globe she still has hope things can recover. “Atlantic Salmon, as we all know, are a very resilient species… Thankfully volunteer groups like the ASCF have stepped up to sponsor local groups in their quest to make sure of the survival of the species. I am proud to be part of this organization and love seeing the proposals coming through from groups and people that have invested their time and energy into saving the Atlantic Salmon.”
Mike Durant
Charlottetown, PEI
Mike Durant
Charlottetown, PEI
“Since the mid to late 1970’s changes in land use caused major damage to our rivers; fish kills from pesticide laden fields, sediment and nitrate contamination following intense rainfall events, deforestation and removal of hedgerows, and extraction of groundwater from high capacity wells have all contributed to a gradual decline in the health of our watersheds.”
“I had noticed posters recognizing ASCF`s contributions to various projects throughout PEI and I was intrigued by the diversity and scope of the projects that were supported. As I started my volunteer efforts with our watershed group ASCF was a major funder of the work that was underway; ASCF continues to this day to be a strong supporter of CQWF.”
Durant says the ASCF is a crucially important partner in restoring salmon habitat throughout the Maritimes. “ASCF’s information sharing programs such as the Salmon Hub, its training and networking opportunities, and its project funding all provide direct and measurable benefits to watershed groups.”
He encourages others to get involved, noting watershed restoration requires a long-term investment in time and resources and, adding ASCF’s project funding model, allows watershed groups to pursue small and medium size projects that support an incremental year-over-year approach to habitat restoration. Successful watershed restoration activities can certainly be adopted but they must also be adapted; ASCF supports both of these best practices.”
James Lawley
Halifax, NS
James Lawley
Halifax, NS
Jim is general manager of Scotia Fuels Ltd., co-owner of Camp Bonaventure Ltd. Commercial Sporting Lodge, founder and part owner of Bonaventure Sporting Lodge on the Bonaventure River, part owner of Salmon Lodge on the Grand Cascapedia River, and part owner and director of Hawke River Outfitters on the Hawke River, NL. Jim is a director with the Nova Scotia Salmon Association, La Have River Salmon Association, and the Atlantic Salmon Federation.
David Peter-Paul
Pabineau First Nation, NB
David Peter-Paul
Pabineau First Nation, NB
David holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of New Brunswick. He has worked in a variety of capacities for Aboriginals of First Nation communities throughout the Atlantic region, including community development worker, elected councillor and band manager, Post-Secondary Student Counselor/Director of Education (North Shore Micmac District Council), Chief and CFO of the Pabineau First Nation, and has served on a variety of local, provincial, regional, and national boards and committees. Some of the organizations Chief David has worked with include the Assembly of First Nation Chiefs in New Brunswick, Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs, and the Union of New Brunswick Indians.
Marie-Hélène LaCroix
New Richmond, QC
Marie-Hélène LaCroix
New Richmond, QC
Marie-Hélène is a finance and legal professional with over 25 years of diverse experience in corporate banking and project finance.
Holder of a Master's degree in law and a Master's degree in business administration, Marie Hélène is currently an Associate Advisor at Desjardins Securities – Groupe Ouellet Bolduc. Previously, she was a business consultant to accounting firms located in the Gaspésie region, in connection with wind projects for community partners, as well as for COVID-19 support programs established by the federal government. From 2015 to 2019, she was also co-owner and president of Imprimerie de la Baie des Chaleurs Inc. Previously, she worked for several years in the corporate banking and financing sector in Montreal (Québec), and practiced banking law with two major national law firms.
From 1995 to June 2021, she was actively involved in several non-profit organizations. She has served on the boards of directors of the Baie des Chaleurs Health Foundation, the Association of Quebec Health Institutions Foundations (AFÉSAQ), as well as the Gaspésie-les-Îles Community Foundation, of which she was president of the Investments Committee (investment portfolio of 16 million).
New Brunswick
Newfoundland & Labrador
Québec
Prince Edward Island
Nova Scotia
