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

Upcoming Events

There are no upcoming events at this time.

NWAI on Twitter

NWAI is working hard to remove barriers to cold water refugia vital for the survival of Atlantic Salmon. For more info check out our collaborators the Atlantic Salmon Federation. Thank you to our sponsor #ASCF #atlanticsalmonconservation #climatechange #MyNashwaak https://t.co/IRqjP3c6kc

- 3 hours ago

As we enter a beautiful long weekend, it is important to be mindfull of the changes to water quality. We will providing helpful information monthly to make informed decisions. Here is your E. Coli report for June. Happy weekend and we hope to see you out on the Nashwaak! https://t.co/BoCePg2s0p

- 4 days ago

@LivingLakesCA Thanks for the excellent training!

- 6 days ago

1050 trees were lovingly planted along the Nashwaak River by volunteers last week. Volunteering gives so much more than your time and effort! Your support leaves us motivated and inspired. Thank you to all the amazing organizations and volunteers who came out! #MyNashwaak https://t.co/yfCSZPiAxd

- 11 days ago

Today we celebrate the richness and strength of the Indigenous folks across this country and on the unceded territories of the Wabanaki peoples. At the NWAI we have the great privilege to work and learn alongside many change makers and knowledge keepers of the Wolastoqey Nation.

- 13 days ago

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NWAI on Facebook

Nashwaak Watershed Association Inc.

Nashwaak Watershed Association Inc.

Nashwaak Watershed Association Inc.

4 hours ago

Nashwaak Watershed Association Inc.
Our water temperatures are heating up! As summer gets into full swing, you will notice the water temperatures increasing. While this weather is great for people, it can cause extreme stress to a variety of animals, including species-at-risk Atlantic salmon. NWAI is working hard to remove barriers to vital cold water refugia that are essential to these animals for species survival. For more information on Salmon and thermal refuge, check out information from our collaborators at the Atlantic Salmon Federation . Much of our water quality monitoring work is funded, in part, by the Government of New Brunswick and NB Wildlife Trust Fund. www.asf.ca/news-and-magazine/in-the-field/cold-water-enhancement#atlanticsalmonconservation #climatechange #watershed #wolastoq #conservation #protection #ASF #ASCF ... See MoreSee Less

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Nashwaak Watershed Association Inc.

2 days ago

Nashwaak Watershed Association Inc.
STAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT! Our team has been working hard to mark our restoration sites at Neill's Flats these past weeks. We have marked our planting rows with hundreds of stakes to make for easy location of our plants each spring! ... See MoreSee Less

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Nashwaak Watershed Association Inc. is at Nashwaak River.

4 days ago

Nashwaak Watershed Association Inc.
As we enter into the beautiful long weekend, it is important to be mindfull of the warm weather. While we throughly encourage you to get out and enjoy all that the Nashwaak Watershed has to offer, conditions can change quickly! Here is our June E.Coli results from earlier in the month. We will update these at the beginning of every month so that you can make the best, informed choices when using the Nashwaak for recreation. Happy Weekend! #watershed #MyNashwaak #eauNBwater #watersafety #conservation #wolastoq #SAFE #canadaday #longweekendfun ... 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: 506 261-4664
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