Water Policy Fellowships

Stephanie Merrill

Stephanie graduated from the University of New Brunswick in 2004 with a BSc in Biology (Aquatic Ecology) and is currently an MSc Candidate in the Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management at the University of New Brunswick under the supervision of Dr. Shawn Dalton at the Environment and Sustainable Development Research Centre (ESDRC). Stephanie's graduate research involves a detailed characterization of the provate reparian landowners within a rural amentiy region, the Canaan-Washademoak watershed, in southeastern New Brunswick. A self-administered mail survey was used to investigate the experiences and relationships of seasonal, permanent, new and long term residents within the region. This community profile, along with observations of private stewardship levels will be used to prioritize, develop and deliver more effective communication strategies to resource users of the area.

Over the past 7 years, Stephanie has been involved withmany research programs at the ESDRC, working closely with community-based watershed groups in rural and urban New Brunswick. In addition to NB, she has worked in New Zealand on a long-term Integrated Catchment Management Programme. Upon completion of her graduate studies, Stephanie would like to continue her work at a local scale; working with communities to prioritize and set goals toward sustainability.

Previous research on the biophysical conditions of the Canaan-Washademoak watershed indicates recent degradation of the shoreline (vegetation removal, exposed soils, erosion, and silty adjacent waters). However, when surveyed by Stephanie, the private riparian zone landowners have a high perception of their individual stewardship levels and engagement in beneficial land management practices when it comes to managing their property. This suggests that landowners along Washademoak Lake may have skewed perceptions of their land management efforts.

Fellowship Project Description

Community and landscape changes to the Canaan-Washademoak watershed in recent years have prompted concerns about the effect on local resources, namely the quality and quantity of Washademoak Lake and Canaan River. Anecdotal information and some scientific research on the biophysical conditions of the Canaan-Washademoak watershed indicate recent degradation of the shoreline (vegetation removal, exposed soils, erosion, and silty adjacent waters). Current graduate research has revealed, through a self-administered survey to private riparian landowners, high perceptions of individual stewardship levels. Forty-four percent of respondents felt that they have oriented their entire lifestyle around being a responsible land manager, 46% say they "do more" in terms of stewardship than the average landowner in the region and the majority indicate that they do generally engage in the beneficial form of three land management practices related to riparian zones. This suggests that landowners along the system may have skewed perceptions of their land management efforts.

In response to this potential disconnect, a rapid riparian zone assessment (RRZA) was conducted to measure the levels of actual stewardship of riparian landowners. The detailed assessment of 766 private residential and recreational properties along Washademoak Lake measured 21 indicators of riparian zone structure and function. Indicator scores were summed and categorized into a continuum of riparian zone condition: very poor, poor, fair, good, and excellent. Results indicate that the riparian zone of Washademoak Lake is relatively in tact; 61% in the "good" category and another 20% being "excellent". This is not to say however, that there are not concerns over the 20% of properties with varying degrees of limited vegetation cover and regeneration, soil erosion, and hard structures.

There is a general tendency for landowners to have high stewardship scores and high stewardship perceptions. However, when comparing the categories of perceptions (low, limited and always) to actual stewardship fair/good, and excellent), 34% of landowners have actual stewardship levels lower than what they perceive. When comparing how landowners feel they compare to the average stewardship in the region (do less, same, and more) to the actual average stewardship (poor/fair, good, and excellent), 23% of property owners are, in fact, doing less. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was examined between the mean management scores and both the perceived levels of stewardship and stewardship relative to others' in the region. There were no significant relationships; a landowner with lower stewardship perceptions does not necessarily have a lower management score (and visa versa). This is to say that a landowner's perception of their own stewardship level generally does not reflect how they actually manage their property. In this study, therefore, self-reported perception is not an appropriate predictor of actual behaviour.

This individual property and landowner scale data has provided a better representation of the present conditions of the shoreline, and along with the recent survey, an understanding of attitudes toward private land stewardship in the Canaan-Washademoak watershed. Landowner perceptions do not always translate into the same level of stewardship; however it is evident that there is already an existing stewardship ethic present in the region. This presents an opportunity to foster a culture where land management expectations are raised for future developments and waterfront alterations on current properties. In lieu of the relatively intact recreational and residential land, more questions are raised as the cause of reported water quality degradation of the system. Continuing research into the biophysical condition of the watershed and other sources of possible water quality decline is needed to fully understand the changes to the Canaan-Washademoak.