Removal of the rest of the dam will be complete by November. The project began in April and was expected to continue through much of the summer. Government agencies had planned to study the effects of the experimental opening to determine the feasibility of restoring free-flow to the tidal river. The Petitcodiac, which travels through southeastern New Brunswick to the Bay of Fundy, is one of many rivers in the Gulf of Maine blocked by dams and causeways. Controversy has surrounded the Petitcodiac River Causeway since its construction 30 years ago.
Environmentalists say it is killing the river's natural ecosystem, and want it removed.
Ranking the value of habitat, biological diversity, and fisheries above the potential worth of gas and petroleum reserves, a panel has recommended extending a drilling moratorium on the Canadian portion of Georges Bank. Convened under the 1988 Canada-Nova Scotia Accord Acts establishing the moratorium, the panel was charged with conducting a public review of the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of exploration and drilling on the Bank and recommending a course of action to the Canadian Minster of Natural Resources and the Nova Scotia Minister responsible for the Act. The recommendation was due by July 1. The ministers must make their decision by January 1, 2000. Following a series of information sessions, community workshops, and public hearings in Nova Scotia, the panel issued a report citing what it described as the Bank's exceptional ecological value, and the value of its fishery.