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Backgrounder
St. John River Designated to the Canadian Heritage Rivers System
The Canadian Heritage Rivers System
Established in 1984, the Canadian Heritage Rivers System (CHRS) is Canada's national river conservation program. This joint federal-provincial-territorial initiative gives national recognition to Canadian rivers of extraordinary natural, cultural and recreational significance. It promotes, protects and enhances Canada's river heritage, and supports the sustainable management of Canada's leading rivers. The St. John River is the 38th river to be designated to the Canadian Heritage Rivers System.
No new legislation is created when a river is designated to the CHRS. Local citizens champion their rivers, and the nomination and designation process is grassroots-driven. Governments – federal, provincial and territorial – lend support and guidance to the program, and provide approvals as required. Throughout this collaborative process, the rights and concerns of communities, Aboriginal peoples, landowners and other stakeholders are respected.
Governments retain their traditional jurisdictional powers and management responsibilities for rivers in the System. To be considered for the CHRS, rivers must have outstanding natural and/or cultural values and recreational values, a high level of public support, and it must be demonstrated that sufficient measures will be put in place to ensure those values will be maintained and promoted.
Under the Parks Canada Agency Act, Parks Canada provides national leadership and support for this program, which is administered by the Canadian Heritage Rivers Board and is governed by a Charter signed by every jurisdiction. The New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources is the provincial agency responsible for the St. John River. This designation has been led by the St. John River Society, a community-level stewardship group dedicated to the promotion and appreciation of the St. John River and to its continued sustainable use and recognition as one of the major rivers of Canada.
The St. John River
The St. John River is the second longest river on the eastern seaboard of North America. It flows 673 kilometres from northern Maine in the United States to the Bay of Fundy on the New Brunswick coast. The portion of the river designated to the CHRS is the 400 kilometre section that flows through New Brunswick.
While the designation is based on the St. John River’s outstanding cultural values, the river also has many exceptional natural values. The river sustains many different habitats, including a number of regionally rare species. One such vegetative community is the Appalachian Hardwood Forest, which currently occupies 1% of its historic range. The lower St. John River is an important bird research area, with the Oromocto section of the river identified as an Important Bird Area of Canada. The river also supports Atlantic salmon and 52 other species of fish.
The river and its surroundings are of outstanding cultural and human heritage value, with a history spanning 10,000 years for the Wolastoqiyik people, original inhabitants of the region. To them, the St. John River was known as the “Wolastoq” – the good and bountiful river. The waterway also holds important value as a historic exploration and transportation route, which provided European explorers with first contact to Eastern and Upper Canada. The river played an important role in settlement of the region, first by the French and then by the British. Called by one historian “The Road to Canada,” the St. John River was the key communication route between the Canadas and the Atlantic Provinces and also has strong links to the military history of Canada, including the War of 1812.
Today, the St. John River forms the spine to the most densely populated region of New Brunswick. Modern-day residents of the river valley descend from Wolastoqiyik, Acadian colonists, Loyalist refugees from the American War of Independence, and waves of immigration from Europe, particularly Great Britain and Denmark.
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Established in 1984, the Canadian Heritage Rivers System (CHRS) is Canada's national river conservation program. This joint federal-provincial-territorial initiative gives national recognition to Canadian rivers of extraordinary natural, cultural and recreational significance. It promotes, protects and enhances Canada's river heritage, and supports the sustainable management of Canada's leading rivers. The St. John River is the 38th river to be designated to the Canadian Heritage Rivers System.
No new legislation is created when a river is designated to the CHRS. Local citizens champion their rivers, and the nomination and designation process is grassroots-driven. Governments – federal, provincial and territorial – lend support and guidance to the program, and provide approvals as required. Throughout this collaborative process, the rights and concerns of communities, Aboriginal peoples, landowners and other stakeholders are respected.
Governments retain their traditional jurisdictional powers and management responsibilities for rivers in the System. To be considered for the CHRS, rivers must have outstanding natural and/or cultural values and recreational values, a high level of public support, and it must be demonstrated that sufficient measures will be put in place to ensure those values will be maintained and promoted.
Under the Parks Canada Agency Act, Parks Canada provides national leadership and support for this program, which is administered by the Canadian Heritage Rivers Board and is governed by a Charter signed by every jurisdiction. The New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources is the provincial agency responsible for the St. John River. This designation has been led by the St. John River Society, a community-level stewardship group dedicated to the promotion and appreciation of the St. John River and to its continued sustainable use and recognition as one of the major rivers of Canada.
The St. John River
The St. John River is the second longest river on the eastern seaboard of North America. It flows 673 kilometres from northern Maine in the United States to the Bay of Fundy on the New Brunswick coast. The portion of the river designated to the CHRS is the 400 kilometre section that flows through New Brunswick.
While the designation is based on the St. John River’s outstanding cultural values, the river also has many exceptional natural values. The river sustains many different habitats, including a number of regionally rare species. One such vegetative community is the Appalachian Hardwood Forest, which currently occupies 1% of its historic range. The lower St. John River is an important bird research area, with the Oromocto section of the river identified as an Important Bird Area of Canada. The river also supports Atlantic salmon and 52 other species of fish.
The river and its surroundings are of outstanding cultural and human heritage value, with a history spanning 10,000 years for the Wolastoqiyik people, original inhabitants of the region. To them, the St. John River was known as the “Wolastoq” – the good and bountiful river. The waterway also holds important value as a historic exploration and transportation route, which provided European explorers with first contact to Eastern and Upper Canada. The river played an important role in settlement of the region, first by the French and then by the British. Called by one historian “The Road to Canada,” the St. John River was the key communication route between the Canadas and the Atlantic Provinces and also has strong links to the military history of Canada, including the War of 1812.
Today, the St. John River forms the spine to the most densely populated region of New Brunswick. Modern-day residents of the river valley descend from Wolastoqiyik, Acadian colonists, Loyalist refugees from the American War of Independence, and waves of immigration from Europe, particularly Great Britain and Denmark.
News Release associated with this Backgrounder.
