Expanding New Brunswick private protected areas

Backgrounder

The Government of Canada provided $542,000 to New Brunswick Nature Trust (Nature Trust) through the Canada Nature Fund to help conserve 345 hectares of ecologically sensitive land. This protection contributes to Canada’s goal of doubling the amount of nature protected across Canada’s lands and oceans.

Nature Trust used these funds towards acquiring 14 parcels (345 hectares) of private land in the Valley and Eastern Lowlands in 2018/2019. These lands and important watersheds support a variety of ecologically significant habitats, connecting with previously protected areas and conserving:

  • 250 hectares of mixed Acadian forest and old eastern hardwood forest, supporting diverse plant populations and high landbird diversity;
  • 95 hectares of sensitive wetland, floodplain and river shoreline ecosystems with unique plant and floodplain forest communities;
  • Species at risk, such as the yellow lamp mussel, butternut tree, peregrine falcon, wood thrush, wood turtle and eastern wood-pewee;  
  • Threatened Appalachian hardwood forest and forested wetland;
  • Marshland designated as a Provincially Significant Wetland and a New Brunswick Environmentally Significant Area, and;
  • Undeveloped St. Croix River shoreline/provincially significant wetland leading to the Passamaquoddy Bay.

Working Together

Nature Trust is working with partners, funders and private citizens for this project, including:

  • The Government of Canada, which made a $542,000 investment through the Canada Nature Fund to help conserve this 345-hectare expanse of ecologically sensitive land;
  • Private landowners who donated their lands to Nature Trust, some through the Ecological Gifts Program. These landowners wanted to see their families’ lands well taken care of by a professional land trust, which can ensure that nature is conserved for future generations;
  • First Nations – Nature Trust, which is working with New Brunswick First Nations groups to build relationships and understanding, with the intention to grow First Nations’ involvement in Nature Trust’s land stewardship over time.
  • The Province of New Brunswick, to allocate these lands under the Protected Natural Areas Act.
  • The Province of New Brunswick, the Wildlife Trust Fund, the Gosling Foundation, the McCain Foundation, the Clean Foundation, Ducks Unlimited Canada, land and financial donors, volunteers, and many others contributing towards completion of this project.

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