NCC Freshwater Conservation Blueprint

This gallery showcases the Nature Conservancy of Canada's (NCC) Freshwater Conservation Blueprint for the Northern Appalachian–Acadian Region of Canada. The Freshwater Conservation Blueprint is composed of five planning tools: (1) a stream and river ecosystem classification (2) a watershed health assessment; (3) an aquatic connectivity tool; (4) an Active River Area delineation; (5) a freshwater resilience assessment. These tools collectively aim to assist in setting freshwater conservation and restoration priorities throughout the region, and to promote on-the-ground (and in-the-water) action. All these tools are designed to be applicable at multiple spatial scales, from individual watershed, to the provincial level, and to the region as a whole. We envision the Freshwater Conservation Blueprint enabling organizations of all sizes and mandates to work collaboratively using a common language and consistent data to help guide freshwater conservation and management.

NCC's Stream Classification (v2.0) for the Northern Appalachian–Acadian Region of Canada categorizes all streams and rivers in the region based on five ecological variables: size, gradient, temperature, alkalinity, and tidal influence. Each of these five variables can be symbolized individually, or in combinations, allowing the user to classify streams and rivers at various levels of complexity. These data are intended to aid freshwater conservation planning by highlighting the distribution of freshwater ecosystems across the Maritime provinces and eastern Quebec. For access to the dataset and report: Click Here

NCC's Watershed Health Assessment (WHA) for the Northern Appalachian-Acadian Region of Canada is designed to achieve three main objectives: (1) evaluate the relative health of aquatic systems across the study area by developing a watershed stress index, (2) categorize watersheds based on their ecological similarities to better understand the distribution of aquatic ecosystems, and (3) combine items 1 and 2 to define conservation and restoration priorities for the benefit of freshwater biodiversity. For access to the dataset and report: Click Here

NCC's Aquatic Connectivity Tool for the Northern Appalachian - Acadian Region of Canada is designed to assess the relative impacts of aquatic barriers across watersheds in the Maritimes and eastern Quebec. The tool allows users to input ground-truthed passability scores for dams, culverts and other crossings, and prioritize barriers that will have the greatest positive impact for fish and other aquatic wildlife if removed or restored. Users can choose the scale at which they run analyses (e.g. local catchment, primary watershed, entire province, etc.), as well as the ecological communities to benefit from restoration activities (e.g. diadromous fish, resident species). Additionally, 34 different metrics are available for custom-designed scenarios, allowing users to define their own priorities. For access to the datasets and report: Click Here

NCC's Active River Area for the Northern Appalachian - Acadian Region. Conserving and restoring healthy stream and river ecosystems requires an integrated approach that not only focuses on the streams and rivers themselves, but also incorporates adjacent floodplains and riparian areas and the dynamic processes that directly link the two. Examples of these natural processes include hydrologic flow regime, sediment transport, turnover of organic matter, habitat connectivity, and maintaining water quality, among others. While the type and degree of influence that these processes have on streams and rivers varies in both time and space, by spatially delineating the full range of landscape features that contribute to these processes, the ARA provides a framework for conserving and restoring the ecological integrity of freshwater ecosystems. For more background information on the original Active River Area project, including applications and utility, please refer to The Active River Area: A Conservation Framework for Protecting Rivers and Streams (Smith et al., 2008) . For access to the datasets and report: Click Here

NCC's Freshwater Resilience for the Northern Appalachian - Acadian Region GIS dataset is designed to spatially identify functionally connected networks that are most likely to be resilient in the face of climate change, and therefore maintain their full suite of biodiversity. The intended uses of the classification include, (1) providing common data across provincial and state boundaries to facilitate collaborative opportunities, (2) improving provincial-scale freshwater conservation and sustainable management by providing aquatic planning tools where none previously existed, (3) generating new knowledge on aquatic biodiversity patterns, (4) supporting the development of other aquatic tools to assess aquatic health, determine conservation and restoration priorities, and facilitate climate change adaptation planning. For access to the datasets and report: Click Here