Canada 150 plaques: honouring habitat conservation

As part of Canada’s 150^th anniversary of confederation celebrations this year, we are recognizing a representative group of Canadians who have set aside private lands for long-term conservation, through sale, donation, or conservation agreement. Canada 150 commemorative plaques are being installed on 150 properties across Canada to celebrate the exceptional habitat and biodiversity benefits of the properties. These 150 properties represent over 87,000 hectares (more than 5 times the size of Bruce Peninsula National Park in Ontario) of ecologically important land that will be protected and conserved forever.

These lands were conserved with the support of Government of Canada funding or tax incentives under 1 of 4 programs.  Find out more about these 4 programs and how you can get involved in habitat conservation including donating ecologically sensitive land while receiving significant tax credit:

Let’s help to continue building Canada’s environmental legacy for the next 150 years.

Select Canada 150 plaque recipients

cliffLAND (Ontario)

Owned by the Clifford family, cliffLAND is 506 hectares of beautiful wilderness. It is located high in the hills of Ontario’s Lanark Highlands. This special piece of the Canadian Shield is forever protected by the Mississippi Madawaska Land Trust, under a conservation easement through the Ecological Gifts Program.

CliffLAND is made especially unique by significant underlay of marble that produces an incredible richness of biodiversity. The property has a wide variety of habitats for wildlife including pine and hemlock ridges, cedar groves, scenic outcrops, waterfalls, creeks, ponds, marshes, and a bog filled with wild cranberries. A long list of species have been recorded and photographed on the property including at least 12 species at risk.

Malcolm McArthur 1899 Natural Area (PEI)

The Malcolm McArthur 1899 Natural Area covers 32.4 hectares. It is mostly mature upland hardwood forest. This ecosystem type is under-represented in the protected lands of Prince Edward Island.

The land was donated by Eric MacPhail and his sister-in-law Helen, through Canada’s Ecological Gifts tax incentive program. This land is now forever protected by the Island Nature Trust.

Lac de La Loutre (QC)

In 1998, Shirley McCall-Stikeman acquired a vast wooded area near Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec. This property  surrounds Lac de la Loutre and is full of biodiversity. Its forests and wetlands are home to many diverse flora and fauna.

Ms. McCall-Stikeman donated 101 hectares of this magnificent estate to Conservation Manitou under the Ecological Gifts Program in 2016.

Brousseau (QC)

In 2014, Ms. Claire Brousseau carried out the wishes of her late husband, Claude Tétrault, by making an ecological gift of part of the bog in St-Joachim-de-Shefford, Quebec.

Mr. Tétrault was a pioneering ecologist in Haute-Yamaska and co‑founder of the Fondation pour la Sauvegarde des écosystèmes du territoire de la Haute-Yamaska. He worked passionately for many years to defend this exceptional natural environment. With this donation of 21.1 hectares to the Fondation SÉTHY, 10% of the St-Joachim-de-Shefford bog will be protected in perpetuity.

Hawk Cliff Woods (ON)

Hawk Cliff Woods located close to the Lake Erie shoreline in Ontario is home to several species at risk. It was important to former owner Cheryl Barendregt that the land be conserved for future generations, in particular for her grandchildren. Now managed by Thames Talbot Land Trust, the land is forever protected.

Tamara Ranch (AB)

Tom and Margaret Towers from Tamara Ranch had seen many changes to lands around their property at the headwaters of Pine Lake. They wanted to make sure their property’s conservation value was maintained for future generations.

This land is home to most waterfowl species typical for Alberta plus elk, moose and deer. Tom and Margaret now work with Ducks Unlimited Canada through the North American Waterfowl Management Plan to conserve their 259 hectares of ecologically sensitive lands.  

Ferriview Stock Farms (MB)

The wetlands and grasslands found at Ferriview Stock Farms, near Shoal Lake, Manitoba, hosts close to a dozen waterfowl species, including mallards, blue-winged teal, canvasback, redheads, shovelers, etc. and also sprague’s pipit.

The farm, owned by the Short family, is working with the Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corporation to improve grazing management activities. This will enhance grassland and wetland habitat.  They are doing this with support from the Habitat Stewardship Program and the North American Waterfowl Management Plan.

Napier Lake Ranch Conservation Area (BC)

In the Nicola Valley, south of Kamloops, British Columbia, a variety of species at risk enjoy the native grasslands, including burrowing owl, long-billed curlew, columbian sharp-tailed grouse and, swainson’s hawk.

Agnes Irene Jackson donated this property through the Ecological Gifts Program, and with funding from the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, to protect it forever.  

The long-term conservation of this property is managed by the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

Antelope Brush (BC)

Antelope Brush conserves one of the largest remaining areas of Antelope-brush in the South Okanagan. It  protects some hillside rocky areas and a beautiful desert stream. The property also hosts at least 20 species at risk including behr’s hairstreak, the american badger, nuttall's cottontail, the pallid bat and, the desert nightsnake. Donated by McIntyre Bluff Ranch through the Ecological Gifts Program to The Nature Trust of BC, and supported through the Habitat Stewardship Program, the property will be forever protected.