710
21.3 Study Site and Project Development
21.3.1 Study Site Characteristics
The Fort Beauséjour salt marsh restoration project is located in Aulac, New
Brunswick (45.854° N, 64.297° W; Fig. 21.1) at the head of Cumberland Basin in
the upper Bay of Fundy. Cumberland Basin is a 118 km
2
estuary with semi-diurnal
tides that are typically 10–14 m in amplitude, and so is well-flushed and the water
column is well-mixed (Amos and Tee 1989; Desplanque and Mossman 2004;
Fisheries and Oceans Canada 2016). The water has a very high load of suspended
sediments, typically 300 mg/L, but values up to 3500 mg/L have been recorded in
the area (station 6 in Amos and Tee 1989). van Proosdij et al. (1999) determined the
composition of the suspended sediment to be 95% coarse silt, 2.5% clay and 1.5%
sand, and to have a mean grain size of 0.036 mm. The Fort Beauséjour site is
exposed to wind and waves, with a fetch ranging from 5 to 20 km (Ollerhead et al.
2010). The mouth of Cumberland Basin is influenced by ocean waves [maximum
significant wave height (H s ) = 2 m; maximum period = 8 s; Amos and Asprey
1981 in Amos and Tee 1989]; maximum H s diminishes to ~1.5 m by the time waves
reach our study site at the head of the Basin.
The restoration project comprises four separate sites (Fig. 21.1): two cells that
are undergoing restoration (henceforth Northwest or NW cell, and Southeast or SE
cell) and two established salt marshes that serve as reference sites (West and East
reference marshes). The restoration cells were farmland protected by dike before
the restoration project began.
21.3.2 The History of the Fort Beauséjour Project Partnership
The potential for a salt marsh restoration was first assessed in 2006 following the
re-alignment of the agricultural dike by the New Brunswick (NB) Department of
Agriculture (Millard et al. 2013). A new dike was constructed inland as the seaward
dike was eroding more quickly than was feasible to maintain. The foundation that
allowed this project to occur stems directly from partnerships that were formed
among various groups (government, academic and private; Fig. 21.2a) who saw the
value and benefits of this work. It is important to stress that without these partnerships, this work (and the knowledge gained from it) would not have been possible.
In spring 2009, Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) approached the NB Department
of Agriculture with a conceptual plan to complete a salt marsh restoration project in
the area between the new and old agricultural dikes. For DUC, this would provide
the benefit of additional salt marsh habitat, while the Department of Agriculture
would benefit from a buffer from wave action and erosion for the newly constructed
dike (see also French 2006). Discussions began into potential funding sources for
L.K. Boone et al.
21.3 Study Site and Project Development
21.3.1 Study Site Characteristics
The Fort Beauséjour salt marsh restoration project is located in Aulac, New
Brunswick (45.854° N, 64.297° W; Fig. 21.1) at the head of Cumberland Basin in
the upper Bay of Fundy. Cumberland Basin is a 118 km
2
estuary with semi-diurnal
tides that are typically 10–14 m in amplitude, and so is well-flushed and the water
column is well-mixed (Amos and Tee 1989; Desplanque and Mossman 2004;
Fisheries and Oceans Canada 2016). The water has a very high load of suspended
sediments, typically 300 mg/L, but values up to 3500 mg/L have been recorded in
the area (station 6 in Amos and Tee 1989). van Proosdij et al. (1999) determined the
composition of the suspended sediment to be 95% coarse silt, 2.5% clay and 1.5%
sand, and to have a mean grain size of 0.036 mm. The Fort Beauséjour site is
exposed to wind and waves, with a fetch ranging from 5 to 20 km (Ollerhead et al.
2010). The mouth of Cumberland Basin is influenced by ocean waves [maximum
significant wave height (H s ) = 2 m; maximum period = 8 s; Amos and Asprey
1981 in Amos and Tee 1989]; maximum H s diminishes to ~1.5 m by the time waves
reach our study site at the head of the Basin.
The restoration project comprises four separate sites (Fig. 21.1): two cells that
are undergoing restoration (henceforth Northwest or NW cell, and Southeast or SE
cell) and two established salt marshes that serve as reference sites (West and East
reference marshes). The restoration cells were farmland protected by dike before
the restoration project began.
21.3.2 The History of the Fort Beauséjour Project Partnership
The potential for a salt marsh restoration was first assessed in 2006 following the
re-alignment of the agricultural dike by the New Brunswick (NB) Department of
Agriculture (Millard et al. 2013). A new dike was constructed inland as the seaward
dike was eroding more quickly than was feasible to maintain. The foundation that
allowed this project to occur stems directly from partnerships that were formed
among various groups (government, academic and private; Fig. 21.2a) who saw the
value and benefits of this work. It is important to stress that without these partnerships, this work (and the knowledge gained from it) would not have been possible.
In spring 2009, Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) approached the NB Department
of Agriculture with a conceptual plan to complete a salt marsh restoration project in
the area between the new and old agricultural dikes. For DUC, this would provide
the benefit of additional salt marsh habitat, while the Department of Agriculture
would benefit from a buffer from wave action and erosion for the newly constructed
dike (see also French 2006). Discussions began into potential funding sources for
L.K. Boone et al.