Fourth Level Assessment- Aquatic Habitat Rehabilitation Plan
Restoration Activities Undertaken
Dump Site Clean Up
Dump Site Clean Up
Illegal dumping is a problem within the Pollett River watershed. As with much of rural New Brunswick, the woods are frequently viewed as an opportunity to abandon things. On an annual basis, the worst of it has tended to be tied to the Pollett River Run which until recent years was a big event each year the last weekend in April. Participants launch homemade boats in the midst of the spring freshet, and encouraged by a bit of alcohol, try their luck on the river. The traditional River Run began at Mapleton Bridge just below Elgin and ended in a mud bog at the takeout near the Sanitorium Rd. Bridge, where things often tended to get a bit out of hand (Figure 19). As a consequence, numerous bits and pieces of wrecked boats typically ended up scattered and abandoned yearly along the river, with the greatest density left near the takeout site. The debris left behind is a hazard or in the very least an eyesore for all other river users. Over the last several years steps have been taken by a loose coalition of organizations including the RCMP, DNR, DTI, Village of Petitcodiac, PWA and FFHR to discourage participants. Not being formally organized, the River Run continues today, but in a reduced form. The worst of the mud bog has ended (likely moved on elsewhere off the Pollett). Figure 37 provides an idea of what the clean-up of River Run debris along the Pollett was like in 2014
