The Journey Towards a Sustainable Future for the Wolastoq


Photo credit: Graeme Stewart-Robertson
Introducing the Wolastoq | St. John River
Imagine yourself nearly 700km from Saint John, New Brunswick, in the North Woods of Maine, USA. This is where the Wolastoq begins, crossing the international border into Canada, collecting water from Québec before carving its way south through New Brunswick to its outlet - the Bay of Fundy at the Saint John Harbour.
The river has supported societies for thousands of years, providing water, food, a sense of place and well-being, as well as modern services like power. Currently, over half a million people live along its length, creating their own experiences with the Wolastoq.
Have you thought about what the Wolastoq means to you?
The St. John River Society and their partners have been exploring this question with the belief that understanding the social and cultural values of the river alongside the environmental components can help protect it for years to come.
Managing Water Resources
Around the world, decision makers are often faced with management choices that must balance the health of the environment and the needs of society. To help make these tough choices, the St. John River Society and their partners have explored both sides of the problem: What does the river need to be healthy? And what do people need from the river? We have explored an approach that aims to balance the needs of the watershed from the perspectives of both the environment and the people that live here through sustainable decision making.
The Ecological Limits of Hydrologic Alteration (ELOHA) approach is a framework for understanding what the river needs to be healthy and what people need from the river, and it can be used to help manage the Wolastoq in a way that sustainably meets the needs for all river users. This involves first establishing an environmental and social understanding of the watershed.

Photo credit: Graeme Stewart-Robertson
Environmental Research
So, what does the river need to be healthy and how much water does a river need? This question was explored by scientists from the Canadian Rivers Institute (CRI) and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). They examined the health of the Wolastoq using five measures that are part of a concept known as environmental flows (or e-flows). E-flows describe the amount of water and quality of water that the river and its ecosystems need at a specific time of year to sustain the ecosystem and the human livelihood, culture, spirituality and well-being dependent upon these ecosystems.
For example, measures of water temperature and water flow may be used to indicate whether conditions are ideal for fish to spawn at the right time of year. Research on environmental flows in the Wolastoq | St. John River contributes to the Mactaquac Aquatic Ecosystem Study (MAES). Learn more at: https://www.canadianriversinstitute.com/maes
Check out this short video to learn more about e-flows!
By knowing what a river and its ecosystems need, decision makers and society can help to ensure those needs are met. Research on the types of habitats in the river, changes to water flow downstream of dams, and long-term changes in water quality was completed to give us an understanding of what the river needs.
Photo Credit: Graeme Stewart-Roberston.
Key Findings
- Six key river habitats were identified that represent the changes in flows and habitat across the watershed.
- Flows are more variable and the level of low flows are changed downstream of dams.
- Water quality across the watershed appears stable, but we have seen some increases in nutrient levels at several locations in the watershed.
- We have developed river-specific guidelines for nutrients that can be used in the future to identify water quality levels that require further monitoring or management action.
- The framework is built on our understanding of the connections across the watershed. We will continue to develop and test these connections to help us identify targeted flow needs for the watershed.
There were five key findings from the environmental component:
Full results from the environmental flow research can be found in the report links at the end.
Next, the St. John River Society began to explore the question: What do the people need from the river? This is about how people use the river in their daily lives and how they connect to the river and its landscape.
Social Data
For many people, the Wolastoq is a part of their history. The river is where they work, play, and live. The St. John River Society reached out to citizens of the watershed to capture a snapshot of the feelings, activities, and uses that they associate with our bountiful Wolastoq. The data were collected through a public survey and a participatory mapping exercise.
Use the interactive slider to read over the infographics that explain our process of collecting social data.
The public survey was presented over Facebook and the results tell us people love the river. Respondents identified the mental health and well-being benefits as well as the recreation opportunities that the river provides to them (see below for more results).
Using an online mapping software, stakeholders were able to indicate the activities and uses they participate in throughout the watershed. This information helps us to learn more about how these groups interact with the river.
Use the interactive slider below to see the format of the participatory mapping exercise and the results!
Above: A word cloud of public survey results (English and French responses included).
Key Findings
The social data can be summarized into five key points that have an important role in decision making throughout the watershed.
- Relationships with the river were most commonly described in the context of recreation and aesthetics
- Benefits obtained from the river reflected recreation, mental health, and well-being.
- Participatory mapping highlighted locations where activities such as recreation, aesthetics, hunting, and fishing take place in the watershed
- Public and stakeholder concerns about the river highlighted the importance of water quality and the interconnectedness of the ecosystem and its role in providing social social benefits
- Some social benefits, like recreation, can be moved to other parts of the river when there are changes to the river system; but other values, like historical/cultural interactions and sense of place, are specific to a site and cannot be replaced.
The social-cultural data collected through this project provide support for including social values and benefits into management decisions along the Wolastoq.
Conclusion
Recognizing that people and the environment are interconnected is a key part of ensuring the watershed is managed in a sustainable way. The river and the communities developed along its shoreline and tributaries have a strong relationship that is important to consider. Can we make choices that will benefit people and have the least impact on the environment? The resources provided through this research are one step forward in achieving integrated management of the Wolastoq, where people can enjoy the river while ensuring its health and longevity for years to come!
Sunset over the Wolastoq at the Burton Bridge. Photo credits: Colin Boynton
We hope you have enjoyed "The Journey Towards a Sustainable Future for the Wolastoq" and thank you for your time. To learn more, click the downloadable links below, visit the St. John River Society website or contact us through our Facebook page.