Nature Conservancy to buy Eastern Shore land sites
HALIFAX — Some of the last privately owned wilderness in Nova Scotia will soon come under the protection of the Nature Conservancy of Canada, but the nonprofit’s president said they need an extra funding push to cross the finish line.
John Lounds held a press conference Thursday in Halifax to announce the purchase of Young’s Island along the Musquodoboit Estuary and the lands surrounding Fishing Lake in the Ship Harbour area within the next six months.
The NCC has raised about most of $1.4 million needed to buy the land, but are hoping Nova Scotia residents and businesses can help with the final $200,000.
“They’re important not only for the nature that’s there … but for the people who live in the community who want to see these places conserved,” Lounds said.
Craig Smith, the organization’s program manager for N.S., said the two parcels of land are some of the highest priority in the area.
“The fact they’ve both become active projects of the [NCC] at the same time is pretty remarkable, and an incredible opportunity,” Smith said.
Lounds said both sites are included in the 85 areas across Canada the organization is specifically targeting for their scientific value, which include rare bird habitats and interesting sediment deposits around Young’s Island. For every property the NCC acquires, Lounds said they set aside 15 per cent of funds for stewardship of the area to make sure nothing degrades in the future.
The Fishing Lake site was important to purchase quickly because of the high threat of development from its American owners, Smith said.
“But they’ve come along in their ethic and they now believe perhaps they shouldn’t be the Americans that fly in to Nova Scotia, subdivide some land and threaten the integrity of the sur- rounding wilderness,” Smith said.
Smith said they had an opposite experience with Young’s Island, because the local residents had taken good care of the land for generations and actually approached the NCC to ensure future protection.