Projects
Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) Monitoring Program
The prism trap monitoring program is a great tool to detect and monitor population data to inform pest control management. The prism trap itself is made of a corrugated plastic coated in a glue-like substance to immobilize insects that come into contact with it. In order to draw the insect to the trap, a pheromone lure is placed within the center of the prism that attracts EAB.
We have been monitoring for EABs since 2021 and have yet to detect any presence of Emerald Ash Borers.
The Emerald Ash Borer is an invasive jewel beetle spreading across North America. It is a jewel beetle originating from north-eastern Asia that feeds and lays its eggs on ash trees. Larvae live under the bark of the trees for one to two years before emerging as adults. Upon infestation, the trees will succumb to disease in 2-5 years. Once the EAB reaches our forests, approximately 99% of ash tree stands will become infected.
To combat this threat to our ecosystem, we hang 2-3 green prism traps each summer to monitor the presence of EAB on our preserves. This project is a collaborative effort with the Invasive Species Council of New Brunswick (NBISC) to increase community-level monitoring and to better understand the localized spread of the Emerald Ash Borer.
Monofilament Recycling Program
The recycling bins can be found at the following locations:
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Red bridge (both sides of river)
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NBCC dock
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NBCC back lot
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Farmer's Market dock
Improperly discarded fishing line is not only an eyesore, but it poses a threat to wildlife and can remain in the environment for 600 years! Each spring we install fishing line recycling bins at several locations on the Meduxnekeag. This project is a collaborative initiative with Hammond River Angling Association who provide the recycling bins through the Reel in and Recycle program. The bins are emptied throughout the
spring and summer and all line collected is sent for recycling. The bins are removed each fall and stored for the winter months.
Water Quality Monitoring
Our water quality monitoring work, which has been ongoing for over 16 years, involves taking water samples from 2 sites in the Meduxnekeag River and 4 tributaries of the Meduxnekeag. Samples are taken twice a year, once in July and once in October. The samples are then sent off to a lab where they are analyzed before the results are recorded and sent back to us. We then check the results to make sure they are consistent with data from previous years. Results are listed below:
Special Interest Groups
We host a number of special interest groups in activities tailored to the group visiting.
Multicultural Association of Carleton County
NBCC Early Childhood Educators
Partners For Youth
Girl Guides
River Valley Home Educators
If you are a club or group looking to visit our properties, contact us!
Trail Maintenance
With over 18km of well maintained walking trails on our properties, trail maintenance is an ongoing project. Trail maintenance tasks include:
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Removing windfall from our trails
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Building and repairing bridges
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Adding and replacing trail markers
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Picking up litter
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Building boardwalks across wet areas
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Trimming vegetation that has grown out onto the trails
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Forging paths after snowfall
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And much more!
It takes a lot of effort to keep the trails looked after, so please respect them while you are hiking!
Removal of Invasive Plants
We are working hard to control the spread of invasive plants on ourproperties
Garlic mustard is one of the most aggressive invasive plants found on the Meduxnekeag Valley Nature Preserve. We are actively working (via hand removal) to control the garlic mustard populations. In 2024, we removed 40 large garbage bags of the plant from our properties. All plant material is solarized (left in the sun to die for ~1 week) in black garbage bags and then sent to the landfill.
Burdock has recently become a problem at our trailheads and on the edge of some of our trails. As new plants come up in the spring, we dig below the dirt (at least 5-10cm) and remove as much of the taproot as we can. We check for regrowth often and hopefully over the next couple of seasons there will no longer be burdock at these sites.
We are also working to remove Purple Loosestrife from our properties. Small plants are hand dug. With larger more established plants, the flowers heads are removed before they seed. All plant material is solarized in black garbage bags prior to disposal in a landfill.
To eradicate the population of the above invasive plants, controlled treatment will need to be repeated for the foreseeable future.
River Ice Monitoring
Each year, the MRA assists with river ice monitoring of the Meduxnekeag and Wolastoq (Saint John) Rivers. Twice weekly we travel between Woodstock and Grand Falls, from March until the river is free of ice in the spring. During the surveys, we record ice types and locations of open leads, areas of open water, ice jams and potential future ice jams. Information on ice jams is especially important to collect as they can increase water levels upstream and result in flooding. This river ice monitoring is part of GNB’s River Watch Program. The information collected helps the province keep track of the condition of our rivers and can be used to forecast potential ice jams and floods.
Species Enhancement
In 2023, we started a project that aimed to establish new colonies of four selected rare or uncommon plant species (black raspberry, blue cohosh, plantain-leafed sedge, and wild coffee). This can be done sustainably by seed collection and transplant of offsets from selected groups in areas of relative abundance on the preserves. These species are then planted in suitable areas where they are not currently found. We are working to expand this project in 2024 by adding additional species. We plan to add Wild Leek, Goldie’s fern, and Lopseed to this program. This program is ongoing and will take a number of years to establish new populations of these plants.
