Last week, the Federal government announced that together with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, it has purchased 1,485 hectares of land in Nova Scotia along the Atlantic coast for conservation. I didn't find a heck of a lot written about the announcement, with the exception of the press release details, an article in the Chronicle, and a few other articles on the wire. It looks as though this announcement went under the radar for a lot of Canadians. (Is this true, or did you hear more about it than I did?) With so little written about it in the news, my suspicious nature gets the best of me and I can't help but consider if 1,485 hectares represents the entire area in need of protection, or is there more that could be done?

It's being called "the largest private land conservation initiative ever in Nova Scotia." At the end of the day, this looks like a much bigger step than we're used to, and that is a step in the right direction. Right now, the Big Wild is collecting names in the hope that we catch the attention of the New Brunswick and Quebec Premiers. An area known as the Restigouche is under threat and we want to see it protected. You could say it warms my heart to hear about another conservation win for Canada on the east coast.

 

 

 

2. 12 properties that belonged to J.D. Irving were purchased for a total of almost 1,485 hectares -- that's a habitat 15 square kilometres in size.

 

3. The area is home to two river systems - the Tusket and Clyde.

 

4. It's home to trees like the red maple and black spruce, and animals like the black bear and bobcat.

 

5. Nova Scotia and the State of Massachusetts were originally connected when the continents were still moving towards what we know as North America today. Glaciers moved over the bridge of land that connected them. After the ice thawed, the land bridge was submerged under water. Entire eco-systems were separated and isolated. It created what we now call the Atlantic Coastal Plain Flora and our protected area is part of this plain.