Smith Gut Salt Marsh HADD Compensation Project

Smith Brook is a tributary to Merigomish Harbour near Lower Barneys River in Pictou County. Nova Scotia Route 245 crosses Smith Gut, the lower tidal component of the system, via a 50 m long causeway. Previous to the installation of three 2.1 m diameter culverts in 2006, a single wooden box-culvert (1.37 m wide by 1.52 m high) on the western end of the causeway, restricted tidal flow and fish passage to the upstream component of the system. The goal was to restore the natural hydrology and fish passage to the 2.8 ha (approximate) of potential tidal wetland habitat immediately upstream of the causeway. The restoration of tidal flow, and ultimately of salt marsh habitat, to this site fulfills a compensation requirement (like-for-like estuarine habitat) noted in NSTIR’s HADD Compensation Proposal and Fisheries Act-Section 35(2) HADD Authorization for the Lower Eel Creek Bridge Replacement Project. Restoration activity: culvert replacement to restore tidal flushing