About the project
Settlement in the Nepisiguit Watershed started about 450 years ago when Jacques Cartier visited the shores of the bay he named "Chaleur". One hundred years later, the Governor of Acadia, Nicolas Denys, built a fishing establishment at the mouth of the Nepisiguit River and the entrance to Chaleur Bay. This is the area we all know today as "Bathurst". Through the last two centuries, Bathurst has developed into a bustling city. Its economic growth, largely due to its vast natural resources, has not come without some environmental problems.
More than 120 years ago William Hickman crossed the Atlantic from England to enjoy the fishing in the United States and Canada. One of his stops was the town of Bathurst, New Brunswick, which at the time boasted 800 people, four churches, four shipyards and lumbering operations. Mr Hickman, who wrote "Sketches on the Nepisiguit", reported on the four major tributaries in the Nepisiguit Watershed. The Little and Middle Rivers, he noted, were worthy of the "brown trout that frequented them", the "Tootoogoose" (the Tetagouche) was an "exceedingly beautiful stream... abound with brown and white trout, and... very good salmon pools". The fourth tributary, however, "surpassed the others in every particular [way]; its scenery is of the most wild and varied character, while as a salmon river it is without a rival in the known parts of North America and, most probably, in the world".
We, at the Bathurst Sustainable Development Project, tend to agree with William Hickman's remarks. While the pristine nature of the area has changed throughout the years due to the nature of industrialisation, the residents of the Nepisiguit Watershed still maintain it is one of the most beautiful places in Canada. There are presently concerns, however, that without proper watershed management, the beauty of it all may be destroyed. The concern for quality of life and water quality in our watershed led to the establishment of the Bathurst Sustainable Development Project in mid-July 1995.
The overall objective of the project is to set up a long-term mechanism for communication and action among government, business and the community. The project also encourages residents to take a more active part in mitigating the impact of watershed effluent in the Bathurst Watershed.
Our mission
"For a better future": your Environmental Trust Fund at work.
"To facilitate local community, business and government interactions for the long-term mutual betterment of environmental quality, economic health and social well-being."
Pages from the project
- The Nepisiguit Watershed Shipbuilding, mining, the salmon's return, the watershed's history and the project area map
- The Nepisiguit Watershed Newsletter Vol. 1 No. 1, January 1997: living in a healthy Bathurst environment, and the project's accomplishments
- Household Hazardous Waste Helpful Guide Series, Vol. 1 No. 1, January 1996
- Brochures Sustainable Snowmobiling, and Ice Fishing, Garbage, the Environment and You!
- Sustainable development in New Brunswick The provincial program the Bathurst project belonged to
Ongoing projects, as listed in 1996
