Miramichi Brook Restoration Project

The Mull River Restoration Project has been the focus of ISAA’s restoration efforts over the past four years but is coming to a completion as they reach the lower end of the watershed. With that being said – ISAA will be focusing restoration work on the major tributaries to the Mull River. The Mull River has three major tributaries/sub-watersheds, known as Miramichi Brook, Shea’s Brook and Glendyre Brook.

During 2026, ISAA has two project objectives: Conservation, rebuilding and restoration of wild Atlantic salmon habitat on the lower section of Miramichi Brook, including monitoring work through habitat suitability index assessments; and public education and awareness of the importance of conservation of wild Atlantic salmon and its habitat.

The first project objective is to begin restoration on Miramichi Brook, starting in the lower section which is approximately four kilometres in length. In 2024, ISAA collected baseline data on the lower section of the Miramichi Brook near the confluence with the Mull River. The HSI data concluded that the lower section of the Miramichi is moderately degraded due to the river being 19.64% over-widened with little to no stream shade, and lacks a meandering pattern and pool habitat. Over half of the consecutive sites sampled were ‘run’ habitat and had no spawning habitat present for Atlantic salmon. Restoration could be achieved by installing digger logs and deflector which would build habitat for spawning and control waterflow/sediments to create point bar formation and pool habitat. Over time, this will narrow the bankfull widths, providing adequate tree cover, lower water temperatures and good quality habitat for Atlantic salmon and trout.

Habitat suitability index assessments will be completed prior to restoration work in order to collect baseline data on the current habitat conditions within the brook. The quality of habitat will be determined by taking several measurements within the stream and will be used for comparison with future HSI assessments to track the progress of the project work. ISAA will also be continuing data collection on their multi-year HSI sites to assess the restoration work competed since 2023. All assessments will be compiled, and a year-end monitoring report will become available to project partners.

The second project objective is public education and awareness of the importance of conservation of wild Atlantic salmon and its habitat. This will be achieved through partnering with the Natural Resources Environmental Technology Program (NRET) at NSCC in Port Hawkesbury. ISAA will deliver a presentation at the campus to both year one and year two NRET classes on stream habitat restoration and monitoring work, while also providing education on the importance of conservation of wild Atlantic salmon and its habitats. This will also give ISAA the opportunity to recruit students for summer employment which can double as a paid work-term placement which is part of their curriculum. In September of 2026, ISAA will host a field day with the NRET classes where they can apply the knowledge they learned from the presentation to the field and help install an instream structure such as a digger log or deflector to restore habitat for Atlantic salmon.