The Nashwaak Watershed

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Mature Forests are Valuable

Mature Acadian forest provides a wide range of environmental services that far exceeds the value of timber resources alone. Some benefits of mature Acadian forest include:

  • Critical habitat – Mature Acadian forest provides important habitat features that younger forests lack. In mature forests, living trees of various ages provide multiple layers of forest canopy. Openings in the canopy provide sunlight to the forest floor, where regeneration takes place. Dead wood also provides important habitat, where standing dead trees provide food and nesting sites and fallen dead wood provides habitat for small animals and insects, lichens and mosses. Fallen logs also hold moisture, release nutrients, and provide superb growing conditions for tree seedlings. Forty-six of the 137 vertebrate species that use New Brunswick forests for nesting or foraging are dependent on these characteristics provided by old or mature forest. Some provincially and federally listed species-at-risk that benefit from mature forest include the Canada lynx, butternut tree, Canada warbler, and eastern wood peewee. A number of species that are associated with old forests are in decline, including the pine marten, fisher, and a number of vascular plants.

Department of Natural Resources, New Brunswick. 2013. Old Forest Community and Old-Forest Wildlife Habitat Definitions for New Brunswick; Noseworthy, J. 2018. New England–Acadian Forest Restoration: A Landowner’s Guide to Theory and Practice. Nature Conservancy of Canada; Loo, J. and N. Ives. 2003. “The Acadian forest: Historical condition and human impacts.” The Forestry Chronicle. 79: 462-474.

  • Carbon storage – Forests can help to counteract climate change by absorbing greenhouse gases like Co2. This process is known as “carbon storage”. While all trees provide this valuable service, mature forests can store more carbon per year than young trees. Planting tree seedlings is a popular strategy in the fight against climate change, but protecting and maintaining mature forests can make even more of a difference in the near future.

Moomaw, W.R., S.A. Masino and E.K. Faison. 2019. “Intact Forests in the United States: Proforestation Mitigates Climate Change and Serves the Greatest Good.” Frontiers in Forests and Global Change. Volume 2, Article 27.

  • Aquatic health and flood protection – Forests contribute to healthy aquatic ecosystems. Trees bordering rivers and streams provide cooling shade, water filtration, food, habitat and reduce flooding. Removing all the trees from a previously forested area of land is associated with increased overland flooding as well as erosion and sedimentation and increasing temperature in nearby watercourses. The presence of deep-rooted vegetation and trees along watercourses protects and anchors soils in stream banks, dissipating the erosive forces of the river and heavy precipitation. Forests also offer significant flood protection. They act like sponges during rainfall events, storing water and slowly releasing it to reduce the speed, height and intensity of flooding. 

Cheney, T. 2020. “Fish River Forest: Clearcut Consequences in Salmon Country.” Atlantic Salmon Journal Winter 2020: 18-23; Bancroft, B. in Simpson, J. 2008. “Managing the Riparian Habitat” in Restoring the Acadian Forest: A Guide to Forest Stewardship for Woodlot Owners in the Maritimes. Advocate Printing and Publishing: Nova Scotia. p. 23; Community Forests International. 2021. Forests and Floods: Natural Infrastructure for a Green Recovery.


The preservation and restoration of mature forest in the Nashwaak watershed will improve biodiversity habitat for a wide range of native species, capture increasing amounts of carbon from the atmosphere, provide a healthier aquatic environment and improve flood mitigation.


  • Nashwaak Forest Stewardship Project
  • What is the Wabanaki-Acadian Forest?
  • Our Impact on the Forest
  • Mature Forests are Valuable
  • Resources for Forest Owners
  • Managing Your Forest

NWAI on Twitter

@ASDWLimelight @ASDWLimelight @MusicAsdw Check it out

- 102 days ago

Mr. Woodcock's talented gr 12 FHS music class joined us at Marysville Flats this week! We talked climate change and floodplain restoration. We're excited to hear what they create from their Nashwaak River trip. Kudos to the NB Dept of Ed for supporting this awesome experience! https://t.co/6nGyCy7XBP

- 103 days ago

Thanks for supporting this outdoor learning opportunity. Come visit anytime. It was a pleasure to spend time talking about water, climate change and floodplain restoration. @ASD_West @ASDWLimelight @FHSkats @CityFredGov @CityFredRec #eaunbwater #mynashwaak https://t.co/ALhfzSS123

- 105 days ago

Thanks @mla_mike for leading crown land conservation! https://t.co/ObSdrLvBcq

- 107 days ago

@Andrew__Holland @mla_mike @Gov_NB @NCC_CNC Excellent work!

- 107 days ago

Follow @NashwaakWater

NWAI on Facebook

Nashwaak Watershed Association Inc.

Nashwaak Watershed Association Inc.

Nashwaak Watershed Association Inc.

22 hours ago

Nashwaak Watershed Association Inc.
A big thanks to everyone involved! On Tuesday a grateful Leo Hayes Envirothon Club received a Scott's Nursery gift card for their new pollinator garden project. The funds were raised at the recent Pollinator Gardening Workshop we hosted in partnership with Scott's and Nature NB. The group is so pleased with the donation and enthusiastically shared with us their many plans for a thriving native pollinator garden at the school. The space will benefit students and wildlife alike, incorporating native edibles and beautiful flowering plants to support local pollinators. These students are intelligent, considerate and inspiring and we can't wait to help out with the garden when they begin breaking ground. We foresee many fun collaborations in our future, stay tuned ! ##pollinatorgarden #youngleaders #community #MyNashwaak ... See MoreSee Less

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Nashwaak Watershed Association Inc.

4 days ago

Nashwaak Watershed Association Inc.
Want to learn how to manage your forest to benefit wildlife and species at risk? Join NWAI and instructors Gareth Davies and Julie Henderson (Maritime College of Forest Technology) to find out about best management practices for supporting wildlife habitat in actively managed forests. See eventbrite for details and to register: www.eventbrite.ca/e/managing-forests-for-wildlife-tickets-596772682157 The cost for this workshop is $20.00, which comes with a membership to the Nashwaak Watershed Association (members can attend for $10.00). Questions? Please contact Kate Turner - (506) 609-7000, forest@nashwaakwatershed.ca#forestcapitalofcanada #eauNBwater #forestmanagement #MyNashwaak ... See MoreSee Less

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Nashwaak Watershed Association Inc.

7 days ago

Nashwaak Watershed Association Inc.
Over the past few weeks, the NWAI has been gathering ice monitoring data for GNB’s River Watch Program. Since the first week of March, we have been monitoring conditions on the Nashwaak River twice weekly at 9 sites. This week, conditions varied along the river, with downstream sites remaining almost completely frozen over, while sites further upstream were around 90% open. Pictured above are our Stanley, Taymouth and Barker’s Point sites. As river ice continues to break-up, keep your eye on the helpful resources provided by GNB’s River Watch program and NB Emergency Measures Organization (NBEMO). #rivericemonitoring #riverwatch #nbflood ... See MoreSee Less

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Contact Us

Mail:
Nashwaak Watershed Association Inc.
P.O. Box 314, Station “A”
Fredericton, NB
E3B 4Y2

Office:
181 Westmorland Street
Fredericton, NB
E3B 3L6
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Phone: 506 447-9699
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