THE WATERSHED
A watershed is an area of land that drains surface water from a connected system of watercourses and that ultimately drains into one particular river, creek, stream, lake or ocean. The watershed includes both the streams and rivers that transport the water, as well as the land surfaces from which water drains into the watercourses. The watershed acts like a funnel – collecting all the water within an area and channelling it into a waterway. Each watershed is separated topographically from adjacent watersheds by a ridge, hill or mountain, which is known as a water divide. Other terms that can be used to describe the same concept are catchment, catchment area, catchment basin, drainage area, river basin and water basin.
Click here to go to the New Brunswick Department of Environment website for the Petitcodiac Watershed.
Fundy Biosphere Region
The Fundy Biosphere Region includes an area of over 430,000 hectares of the upper Bay of Fundy coast, stretching from St. Martins to the Tantramar Marsh near Sackville and inland to Moncton. In 2007, the area was designated as a biosphere reserve by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The Fundy Biosphere Reserve designation by UNESCO provides not only international recognition for the uniqueness of the upper Bay of Fundy and its culture and history, but in addition emphasizes the importance of conservation and sustainability in the region. The Fundy Biosphere Reserve initiative provides a framework where communities, policy-makers, resource managers and scientists work cooperatively to achieve a greater degree of sustainability between human development and ecosystem health.