The wild blueberry sector offers significant economic opportunities for New Brunswick and the Acadian Peninsula. 
The region is blessed with naturally growing wild blueberry plants on land that is prized and the envy of many jurisdictions around the world. Wild blueberry development can only occur where wild blueberry plants naturally grow so development must be targeted to these areas.
Wild Blueberry Development – Former Tracadie Range
New Brunswick is one of only five locations in the world where wild blueberries are grown commercially and wild blueberries from these areas supply a local and global market. Wild Blueberries are recognized as one of New Brunswick’s global natural advantages.
Planned land and processing expansions of the wild blueberry industry in Northeastern New Brunswick has a projected cumulative economic GDP impact of $610 million over 12 years. By expanding our wild blueberry industry, the cumulative labour income expected for Northeastern New Brunswick is $324 million during the same period.
The Government of New Brunswick is supporting wild blueberry development in the region by offering land at the former Tracadie Range. This will create business opportunities and jobs and is consistent with the original land use plan developed with stakeholders for the former Tracadie Range.
Conservation is also a high priority. In 2022, Natural Resources and Energy Development conservation efforts in the former Tracadie Range were implemented through the Nature Legacy initiative. Three thousand five hundred sventy seven hectares of new protected areas were established meaning that 20% of the Tracadie Range which is permanently protected from industrial activities.
Forested wildlife corridors will be in place in targeted zones as well as larger thanrequired buffers around waterways and roadways. Only approximately 11 per cent of the former range will be used for wild blueberry development. The conservation actions are a gold standard and include:
- the vegetation management program for the forestry sector is longer performed on the range;
- 100m buffer between wild blueberry production blocks;
- 300m green wildlife corridors;
- 300m buffers along the Tracadie River and Portage River;
- 50m buffers along and around all other bodies of water (enhanced buffer along the Little Tracadie River of 75 m);
- treed windbreaks within blueberry fields; and
- water testing of the Big Tracadie River and the Lord and Foy River.
This planned development and release of Crown land for wild blueberry production can serve as a model for sustainable wild blueberry development in North America.
Producing wild blueberries at the former Tracadie Range will provide many benefits to the community and the province.
In 2021, based on the land use plan to develop wild blueberries on the former range, two request for proposals (RFPs) were posted on the New Brunswick Opportunities Network web page for the development of wild blueberries on the former Tracadie Range. The first RFP was to solicit proposals from farmers who wanted to expand their wild blueberry farm or wanted to start a new wild blueberry farm through the leasing of crown land suitable for wild blueberry development. The other RFP solicited proposals that would demonstrate new processing or value-add activities associated with the leasing of crown land suitable for wild blueberry development.