Restoration & Monitoring of McKeen’s Brook, Fraser’s Brook, & Moose River

The project plans to restore highly degraded spawning and rearing habitat in key tributaries to the East Branch St. Mary’s River; McKeen’s Brook and Moose River. The projects identified have been deemed suitable locations for the restoration of fish habitat using well established techniques that are designed to mimic the natural ecosystem functions of large woody debris (LWD) within the channel. These structures have been developed to replace the historic abundance of LWD that would have naturally accumulated within the channel prior to European settlement in Nova Scotia. LWD is particularly important for developing complex instream environments such as pools, riffle and runs. Generally, these structures are installed at approximately six-channel width intervals. Each structure is installed to create pool habitat on either the right or left side of the stream. By alternating the direction of each structure, the river habitat adjusts over time to create a stable meandering channel that has been shown to improve salmonid (trout and salmon) abundance. The purpose of the structures is to encourage the scouring of pool habitat, which encourages the downstream deposition of spawning substrate as well as the formation of gravel bars which are critical for narrowing the channel and encouraging the establishment of riparian zone vegetation and reconnecting the channel to the floodplain.

This project intends to install 140 instream structures over a 3-year period, resulting in the restoration of 9.18km of stream and 101,895m2 of aquatic habitat. The breakdown is as follows:

2026: Mckeen’s Brook – 40 structures, 2.88km of stream, 35,000m2 of habitat restored

2026: Moose River – 25 structures, 1.55km of stream, 16,120m2 of habitat restored

2027: Moose River – 40 structures, 2.48km of stream, 26,000m2 of habitat restored

2028: McKeen’s Brook – 10 structures, 720m of stream, 8,655m2 of habitat restored

2028: Moose River – 25 structures, 1.55km of stream, 16,120m2 of habitat restored

All structures will be documented in As-Built Reports containing aerial and topography maps with structure locations highlighted and labelled, along with before and after photos of all structures. In addition to the As-Built Reports, Monitoring reports will be submitted at the end of each field season containing pre and post restoration data via HSI surveys, temperature probe data, electrofishing surveys, and redd count data. These reports are crucial for monitoring the success of instream restoration projects.