MAES Project Themes

MAES contains three primary themes or components…

(1) Whole River Ecosystem Studies is the largest MAES theme and its goal is to construct baseline conditions from which to establish meaningful metrics for the upcoming EIA.  The individual studies focus on the physical and biological structure and function of the river and reservoir environments.   

(2) Fish Passage is a theme focusing on the key species of concern at MQGS, and then the upstream Beechwood and Tobique stations.  The goal is to inform the decision regarding engineering of passage at MQGS and managing the cumulative fish passage for the river, e.g., the economic-ecological trade-offs.

(3) Environmental Flows is a theme designed to provide a full plan that links flow directly to ecological structure and function in the river at MQGS and river-wide including the associated floodplain connectivity.  The goal is to model and predict future flows and management regimes for securing the river ecosystem’s goods and services while respecting the needs for hydropower generation.