The origins of Two Rivers Farm in the Belle River / Flat River area began when Richard and Judy Davies purchased a farm at Flat River in 1979. Richard had a passion for sheep farming and forest management and together they were able to initiate these interests on the farm. The attached article shows how the Davies family incorporated sustainable environmental practices and adapted to a changing climate in the expansion of the farm operation.
Sources: Richard Davies from an interview by DE Jardine, June 27, 2011; Bradley Davies and Lisa MacDonald, December, 2022; Note on Coastal Changes on PEI, Canada, K. McCaffrey & J. Granzoti, 2017; Atlantic Open Farm Day, 2022; DE Jardine, December, 2022; Obituary, Dec. 22, 2018, https://www.saltwire.com/obituaries/richard-james-davies-12415/
The Rustico / North Rustico Harbour area has experienced severe impacts from major storm events over the years. This account provides information observed by Vance, Alice and Emard Court during their time living at the family home on Rustico Harbour.
Background: Joey was brought up in Rusticoville and has been fishing lobsters for around 40 years. He also operates Joey’s Deep Sea Fishing by the bridge in Rusticoville and operates a takeout restaurant. He has been placing the buoys to mark the channel into North Rustico and Rusticoville and has been doing this for the past 30 years.
Figure 1 Joey’s Deep Sea Fishing Sign 2011
Storm Surges: Joey mentioned that the Dec. 21, 2010 storm surge was the worst he has seen in a long time. This surge ruined his wharf and caused a loss of about 8 feet of his bank. He had placed gabion baskets after another severe storm in September about 8 to 10 years ago but the waves still eroded his bank. Joey mentioned that there was another bad storm about 40 years ago which caused similar damage.
Sea Level / Tides: In the last five years he has observed that there is no real low tide at Rusticoville anymore. He said they mostly have high and higher tides. When he replaced his wharf this past spring, he made it a foot higher to allow for sea level rise and storm surges.
Sea Ice: There has been basically no ice in the harbour or the Gulf the last few years. They haven’t had pan ice or any big ice from up north enter the Gulf in many years. The lobster boats have not been held back due to ice in the past few years.
Shoreline Erosion: As mentioned he lost 8 feet of bank in the Dec. 21, 2010 storm and probably about 10 feet in the bad storm about 10 years ago. This storm caused him to lose a fence he had placed along the shore. He has also observed a lot of erosion on Robinson’s Island. During his lifetime at least 3 miles of this Island has been lost due to erosion.
Siltation: The severe erosion in recent years has caused a lot of sedimentation in the channel into Rustico, throughout Rustico Bay and upriver as far as New Glasgow. North Rustico used to be one of best harbours on PEI when he started fishing but the silt and sediment has basically ruined it. One example are the buoys he placed to mark the channel by Robinson’s Island into Rustico Harbour back in early May. The buoys were placed in 10 feet of water and today they are on a sand bar at low tide. The sand and sediment eroding from Robinson’s Island is moving westward at a rapid pace.
Fishing: When he started fishing 40 years ago a good year lobster fishing would be 7000 to 8000 lbs. In recent years some fisherman harvested 40,000 lbs and a fisherman needs 20,000 lbs just to pay the bills. The cost of supplies has gone up and one example is the cost of fuel for his boat. When he started fishing the fuel cost 30 cents per gallon, today the cost is $1.10 per litre. The past spring was not as good as previous years and this may have something to do with the temperature of the water. This year the highest temperature he has seen so far is about 66 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature has been fluctuating and an example is this past Wednesday, August 3rd when during a thunder storm the water temperature dipped to 56 degrees. He said that normally at this time in August the water temperature would 70 degrees or more.
Groundwater / Salt Water Intrusion: Most of the older wells in the area near his business are shallow ranging in depth from 15 to 18 feet. These wells were hand dug and have little or no casing. A few years ago he drilled a new well for his business and the drillers had to put in 120 feet of casing to seal out salty water. Joey said that he had a well on the property which was 60 feet deep and when the tide was low, the water was fresh and during high tide the water turned salty.
Source: Interview of Joey Gauthier, by Don Jardine, August 5, 2011
Jimmy Kickham lived most of his life at Souris West and has observed a lot of changes over his lifetime. The following pdf file contains an account of an interview with him in June 2011 which focused on his observations of coastal change in the Souris area.
Our Island Climate 