Nature Conservancy of Canada purchases large area of land in southwestern Nova Scotia

This is the third largest acquisition in the organization’s 50 year history in the province

CITYnews halifax \ Chris Halef

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A large area in southwestern Nova Scotia has been purchased by the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

The not-for-profit organization announced on Tuesday it purchased 950 hectares of Acadian forest, over 25 kilometres of lakefront shoreline and 130 hectares of freshwater wetlands in Upper Ohio, Nova Scotia.

This is the third largest acquisition in the organization’s 50 year history in the province.

Jaimee Morozoff, NCC Program Director in Nova Scotia, told CityNews Halifax this is a rare type of habitat.

“Only one to five percent of the forest remains intact in this region,” she said. “This large piece of land helps to protect a big piece of it and also feeds into existing protected areas in the region, including the Tobeatic Wilderness Area, links into Kejimkujik National Park and some of the other areas that are protected.”

Morozoff said this acquisition helps fill in some of the gaps of unprotected land in the southwestern region of the province.

The property features large eastern hemlock, sugar maple, red maple, red spruce, white birch, balsam fir, white pine, and aspen trees.

According to Morozoff, the wetlands provide habitat for eastern painted turtle and snapping turtle, both of which are listed as species of special concern.