International gathering to raise awareness about region’s watershed

It takes a community to rebuild an ecosystem. That's the lesson discovered by a consortium of players who worked for years to bring migrating indigenous fish such as the alewife back to the St. Croix River.

Now that same philosophy is now being applied to the larger watershed of the Passamaquoddy Bay as numerous conservation and Native groups are inviting people to the Eastport Arts Center on Friday, May 1, and Saturday, May 2. The event, titled We Are the Watershed, will celebrate successes as well as discuss how to move forward as concerned people on both sides of the international border on the many challenges ahead.

"What I've learned is it's often human relationships that are the keys to good things happening," says Fundy Baykeeper Matt Abbott of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick. "It's been a fight to bring the Skutik, also called the St. Croix, River back to life."

Abbott has seen that fight from its inception nearly two decades ago when conservation groups, led by the Passamaquoddy Tribe, battled to rehabilitate the river for the alewife and blue herring. Millions of those fish had historically migrated upriver to spawn, replenishing the river and feeding people for over 10,000 years -- so numerous at one time that their bodies prevented people from dipping paddles into the water.

By 2002, after the construction of several dams that prevented migration, the fish navigating the St. Croix had dropped to 900. However, thanks to the efforts of a dedicated consortium of individuals and groups that forced governments and corporations on both sides of the river to listen to their pleas, the alewife migration has climbed to more than a million fish.

Now new pressures face the Passamaquoddy Bay watershed, including the St. Croix, which forms the largest watershed between the Penobscot and Saint John systems, covering some 1,630 square miles in Canada and the United States.

"We know we're in trouble," says Alexa Meyer, the conservation manager of aquatics for the Passamaquoddy Recognition Group in New Brunswick. "We see how things are declining. It is a dire situation for a lot of species."

That's why the organizations involved in mounting the We Are the Watershed weekend are adamant about getting more people involved in conservation efforts. "As people who live on and around the St. Croix watershed, we know that it provides the lifeblood to everything we do in this region," says Geo Neptune, director of Indigenous teaching and learning for the Cobscook Institute. "It's what keeps the Downeast region alive. This entire economy would collapse if something happened to these waters."

The participating groups range from the Downeast Salmon Federation to the Cobscook Institute, from the Maine Indian Tribal‑State Commission to the Passamaquoddy Tribe, and from the Rockweed Coalition to the Passamaquoddy Recognition Group.

To get people more involved in rehabilitating and preserving the watershed, event planners have put together a packed series of free events on both Friday, May 1, and Saturday, May 2, at the Eastport Arts Center. Part of the push involves transmitting information from the groups involved in the event to attendees, showing them ways they can become involved in larger conservation efforts.

"There's a place for everybody who wants to help," Neptune stresses. "Just because you might be new to a certain struggle doesn't mean that your strengths won't add benefits."

The event will begin by underscoring Neptune's point - that everyone has a place in conservation - with a celebration of visual and written arts that's been especially created to illustrate people's deep connections to the watershed. The EAC doors will open at 6 p.m. on May 1 to allow visitors to see a wide collection of art on the walls and hear from the poets, both of whose works have been published in a special book made available that evening. Musicians from both sides of the border will accompany the poets' verse.

"An artist's job is to share their own perspectives of the world, and this is an opportunity to see those perspectives," says Alison Ross, director of the Eastport Gallery and the person who launched the arts‑based component of We Are the Watershed. "We want people to take a moment to consider the things that are all around them."

The event's second day will begin at 10 a.m. and be filled with both information and entertainment. Organizations taking part will have booths set up in the EAC to take questions and, in some cases, involve attendees in on‑site activities. A panel discussion involving many of the participants will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m., documentaries regarding the watershed will be screened along with appearances by the Thunder Women from Sipayak -- Cipelahq Ehpicik -- and Dwayne Tomah, a Passamaquoddy language keeper.

"This is an important event. These waters are our lifeblood," Tomah says. "We all need to be good stewards of the land. Let's do it side by side."

The day will end with a presentation at 2:30 p.m. of an interactive play, Becoming Seagrass, inspired by Passamaquoddy Bay and its watershed. The play ends with a snake dance in which everyone is invited to take part.

"What I see coming from this is a collaboration between neighbors, reaching over the border and bringing awareness of our environment," says Schoodic Riverkeeper Brian Altvater Sr. "We're at a point now where if we don't do things collectively, some things may be irreversible."