CIMP 193: Understanding changes in aquatic ecosystem health and water quality in the Fort Good Hope, Ramparts Area

Over the short term (3 years), our project aims to build community partnerships, identify field sites, and develop and implement sampling protocols for long term, community-based, monitoring of wetland ecosystems near Fort Good Hope. We expect initial data from this area (i) will reveal that environmental change as a result of anthropogenic activities is underway, (ii) will help establish “baseline” wetland conditions, and (iii) will increase knowledge of the complex relationships between landscape-level environmental change and wetland characteristics - findings that will be critical for identifying changes in protocol that will strengthen future research and long-term monitoring of aquatic health in the Sahtú. After completion of CIMP funding, our longer-term objective will focus on continued building of community partnerships to understand and provide information on changes in freshwater ecosystems related to the cumulative impacts of anthropogenic and natural environmental stressors in this priority geographic area.