Great news - it appears that the government is interested in funding the dredging and restoration of Hunter River Pond!
On Tuesday November 3rd 2009, the owner of the pond and mill, Dwight Parkman, hosted a meeting to highlight the issue of sediment in the pond. Years of run-off from roads, fields, septic systems and construction projects has left the pond in dire need of cleaning out. The pond has acted as a giant sediment trap for the river and the sediment level is now so high that the sediment is flowing through the dam and on downstream. Mr. Parkman made an excellent presentation and summary of the problem. His (and his family's) obvious commitment to improving the state of our river was well received, and he was thanked for his efforts by a round of applause.
I spoke on behalf of the Watershed Group. At an earlier meeting, the Watershed Group had agreed to offer its services as a lead in a project to clean up the pond, and I restated this offer. We would be the ideal group to work with the government and the pond owners, and listen to the interests of other groups such as the community council, with the aim of creating a (five year?) plan to restore the pond. The Watershed Group would create a plan, apply for funding and manage the restoration project.
Minister Brown was at the meeting and he, to our great surprise, announced that the government wants to see the pond cleaned up and would be interested in working with the Watershed Group to fund such a project. This news was received well by everyone. In the light of the current funding issues with watershed groups, I emphasized to the Minister that our group would require continued funding in order to be able to manage this project and our group must remain community based in order for this to work. The minister assured me that this would be the case.
So we are putting together a plan, with the aim of starting dredging next year. This is great news for our community, everyone in the watershed, the environment and the Island.
Keep an eye on the website and the Northern Star for progress updates.
Posted 4th November 2009
Sean Ledgerwood, Watershed Monitoring Specialist with the Province, has asked us to work out what agreement will be in place with the Parkmans, owners of the pond. As the pond is privately owned, the Province needs to be assured that the Hunter-Clyde Watershed Group has some control over environmental improvements and public access to the pond.
We have asked a number of experts to meet with us, so far we have made an appointment to meet with Delly Keen of DFO. A hydrologist (water flow), biologist, fisheries biologist and other experts will be consulted, as will other experts and the Community of Hunter River. As a result of these consultations, we shall be proposing a plan for the restoration of the pond, a plan that will hopefully satisfy all parties and allow us to approach the government for funding.
Posted 13th November 2009