A significant island has been saved and a vast coastal wilderness is poised for protection on the south shore.
The Nova Scotia Nature Trust has announced the largest acquisition of privately owned coastline in the province’s history.
The group says they’re celebrating the successful purchase of the already protected Cape Negro Island, and a deal to acquire the adjacent Blanche Peninsula.
It means more than one thousand hectares will be protected.
According to a release, “Saving Blanche Peninsula is the Nature Trust’s most ambitious conservation project in the group’s 30-year history—protecting nearly 1800 acres of incredible coastline and requiring over four and a half million dollars to achieve. But according to Executive Director, Bonnie Sutherland, the Nature Trust felt compelled to act.”
The deadline to raise $150,000 to save Blanche is less than five weeks away.
Government partners have already stepped up, with $4.45 million in potential funds including federal and provincial grants.
At about 317 hectares, Cape Negro Island is one of the province’s largest coastal islands. It is an important habitat for various species of birds. It also holds historic and cultural value, once home to a community of homes, a church and school.
The island, located at the southwest tip, is being renamed through a provincial process to change place names containing derogatory words.
Both coastal conservation acquisitions are part of the Nature Trust’s Hope for the Coast campaign, an effort to secure at least 5,000 acres of critical coastal habitat.
Tax-receipted charitable donations can be made to save Blanche Peninsula and to give
Hope for the Coast at nsnt.ca
