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Issue #2 November 2005 Souris River Watershed Committee Co-ordinator: Fred Cheverie Sponsor: Canada-PEI National Water Program Environmental Information Sessions Underway Groundwater Our first environmental information session was held on September 14th at the Souris Ski Lodge. This session was entitled "Quality Drinking Water" and was presented by George Somers, a groundwater specialist with the Dept. of Environment, Energy and Forestry. Mr. Somers gave a very descriptive and informative session on all aspects of groundwater. His presentation covered five areas: (1) What is groundwater? Approximately sixty people were in attendance and many questions were put forward. The general consensus was that it was a very informative and worthwhile presentation. Later in this newsletter, future presentations are discussed. Souris River Stream Clean-up The Souris And Area Branch of the PEI Wildlife Federation had two employees during the summer months. During the months of September and October we welcomed three additional employees from other government departments. We now have the east branch of Souris River flowing freely from Harmony Junction to Gowan Brae. The west branch is cleaned from Bear River to Gowan Brae. Our crews have removed approximately 40 abandoned beaver dams in these sections.  In the above picture from left to right are: Colin Longaphee, Monique Jesso, Robert Longaphee and Keith Roche. They are dismantling a typical beaver dam in the Bear River area. These people worked in the streams until September 30th and then cut access roads until the end of October, which will benefit us next year. Chairperson's Comment
Paul Gallant (Chairman) Shipbuilding On Souris River In preparing for this article, I spent time with Leo Cheverie at UPEI library and George Mullally in Gowan Brae. Both equipped me with books, research papers and told me lots of stories of shipbuilding in the area. I was very interested in shipbuilding sites as I felt they would probably give an indication on how Souris River has changed over the years. Actual information on sites seemed difficult to find in the research material. I was referred to Waldron Leard. Waldron agreed to take time out of his busy schedule and "take a tour" with me. He made it very clear, that to understand the shipbuilding industry in Souris you had to understand the characters involved. Our first visits were to Souris West Cemetery and St. Alexis Cemetery and after some time at each, I honestly felt that I knew some of these characters. Eventually we worked our way back to Souris River where we visited shipbuilding sites that was shown to him by his father.  Waldron Leard pointing to a shipbuilding site near Greg & Peggy McNevin's  Shipbuilding on the Souris River Area was booming in the 1800's with the largest ship registering 561 tons. It was built at New Bristol (Gowan Brae). At this time many tradesmen immigrated to this area to take part in this lucrative trade. Mallard, Gregory, Perkins, Leslie, Rice and Chaisson were some of the names that are associated as ships carpenters. John Knight owned the largest and most important shipyard, which was located near the former Platterhouse Restaurant. Thomas (Tee Kay) Kickham owned another shipyard farther up the channel towards the estuary. Many vessels were built upstream closer to the fine timber. They were floated down to the area near the present home of Paul & Faye Gallant, where a number of forges were located. Here they were fitted with the necessary ironwork. When this was completed they were sent to John Knight's shipyard where they were fitted with the appropriate sails and the finishing touches. It is assumed that there were many other shipyards dotted along the north side of the river. After these ships were completed, they were loaded with cargo and lumber. The larger ones (180 –200 ft.) were sailed to Europe and other destinations where the cargo, as well as the ship was sold. The smaller vessels were used in the coastal trade. During this time approximately 150 to 200 vessels were built in the Souris River area peaking around the year of 1860. By the end of the late 1800's the shipbuilding era was coming to the end with the depletion of the forests and the development of iron hulls. Coordinator's Comment
It is without question that the quality of biotic life has declined in the Souris Watershed over the past years. We have had anoxic conditions each summer in the east end of the river. We have experienced pesticide kills. We also had a series of river closures for shellfish harvesting due to fecal coliform. Problems continue with siltation, etc. I applaud the initiative of the Souris Wildlife Branch of the PEI Wildlife Federation is taking in attempting to resolve this problem. They have secured funding from the Canada-PEI National Water Program that will enable the community to develop a workable watershed plan for the area. In order for the community to develop such a plan, we have to become more educated on environmental issues that affect our watershed. We have scheduled four environmental presentations: I invite all stakeholders (all people who live, work, visit, and have a general interest in the watershed) to become involved. You don't have to worry about taking on a "job" as we have a dedicated management committee in place. We want your input! Environmental Presentation #2 Our second environmental presentation will be entitled "Water Quality Problems on Souris River. This presentation will cover the harmful effects on nitrates on our water systems and a summary of a study entitled: "Water Quality in the Souris River Estuary". Cindy Crane, a Surface Water Biologist with the Dept. of Environment and author of the study will lead this presentation which will take place on Tuesday, November 8th, 7:00pm at The Souris Striders Ski Club. Environmental Presentation #3 Our third environmental presentation entitled "Nutrient Management" will explore growing crops with fewer nutrients. Barry Thompson, Agriculture Specialist with the Dept. of Agriculture will lead this presentation on Thursday Dec. 1st, 7:00 pm at the Souris Striders Ski Club.  Copyright Souris Branch of the P.E.I. Wildlife Federation All pictures appearing on this site or its associated flickr account are the property of the photographers and the Souris & Area Branch of the P.E.I. Wildlife Federation. |
The Souris River Watershed is very unique to Prince Edward Island in that its waterways are draining mostly through forested terrain. This reality, i.e. cool spring fed tributaries with ideal fish habitat, provides an opportunity to recapture some of the watershed's former status. The Souris River Watershed Management Committee recognizes this potential and is enthusiastically supportive towards our coordinator Fred Cheverie. He will be putting together a watershed management plan with input from all stakeholders who wish to participate. We encourage you to take part by attending our remaining presentations this fall and a couple of workshops this winter. Stay tuned.
I'm now four months into this job and have made an easy transition from the classroom. It's really neat to be able to put into practice some of the theory that I taught in my old "Ecology Classes".