Effective watershed management requires coordination of a diverse group of stakeholders and decision-makers. Ensuring that water management is informed by the most relevant research requires a commitment to a common assessment framework appropriate to the watershed.

The Canadian Watershed Research Consortium was launched to provide a venue and mechanism to develop regional environmental frameworks that support effective watershed management. The initial focus of the CWRC is to develop approaches to conduct cumulative effects assessments based on effective regional monitoring frameworks.

The CWRC is directing its efforts on such assessments because this approach emphasizes the watershed as the natural unit of management. By standardizing assessment approaches, regional databases will be developed that can be compared and monitored over time, helping to establish national standards for monitoring.

Developing regional watershed research consortium nodes

The CWRC has been developed using a nodal model, with regional watershed-based research consortium nodes being launched in different areas of the country and coordinated nationally by CWN. By creating and supporting these regional nodes, the CWRC will establish a network of communities of practice committed to developing effective and implementable approaches to cumulative effects assessment across Canada.

In the fall of 2010, CWN sought expressions of interest from multi-stakeholder groups interested in working with us to form regional watershed research nodes to conduct cumulative effects assessments. We are pleased to announce the watershed groups that have been selected as the inaugural nodes within the CWRC and the successful researchers who responded to their call for proposals.

• The Grand River Watershed Consortium, whose research call solicited proposals that integrate research on biological indicators that detect change and current river monitoring (quality and flow) to support aquatic cumulative effects assessment in Ontario’s Grand River watershed
• The Muskoka River Watershed Monitoring and Management Consortium in Ontario’s cottage country, whose call solicited proposals developing best practices for a collaborative monitoring program aimed at early detection of cumulative effects as well as predictive models enabling the management of multiple stressors at small and large scales
• The Northumberland Strait — Environmental Monitoring Partnership, whose call sought proposals that examine the cumulative effects of land-based nutrients, sediments and contaminants on coastal economic activities including fisheries and aquaculture, and the health of the estuaries that support them within a number of drainage basins along Northumberland Strait in eastern Canada
• The Tobacco Creek Model Watershed Research Consortium, whose research call solicited submissions that support cumulative effects monitoring of agri-ecosystem sustainability within Manitoba’s Red River Valley and Lake Winnipeg Basin

Pilot node — Saint John Harbour – Environmental Monitoring Partnership

These four inaugural watershed nodes are complemented by the Saint John Harbour – Environmental Monitoring Partnership, a pilot node established in Saint John Harbour, NB.

The SJH-EMP is comprised of water researchers and participants from all levels of government, industry and NGOs. The pilot node was created to develop cross-sector clarification of shared decision needs for research related to cumulative effects assessment in Saint John Harbour.

The big questions being addressed are what’s needed in an ongoing monitoring program and what changes in existing monitoring requirements are needed to deal effectively with cumulative aquatic effects in Saint John Harbour?

Three research teams will be collecting the information necessary for an all-inclusive, multi-purpose monitoring program. The research teams are integrated and the overall monitoring partnership is coordinated by a project manager who keeps in close touch with all SJH-EMP members.

The SJH-EMP is comprised of three interrelated research projects —

• Life history of fishes in Saint John Harbour: A proposal to advise the Saint John Harbour – Environmental Monitoring Partnership on a monitoring program in support of cumulative effects assessment, led by Dr. Allen Curry, Director of the Canadian Rivers Institute at the University of New Brunswick
• Baseline data for development of a monitoring program for infaunal and epifaunal invertebrates in Saint John Harbour, led by Dr. Heather Hunt
• Spatial and temporal patterns of contamination in the Saint John Harbour, led by Dr. Karen Kidd

With the Saint John Harbour – Environmental Monitoring Partnership, CWN has launched five regional watershed nodes that focus on advancing regional environmental frameworks to support cumulative effects assessment.