Nature Trust seeks public support to protect unique karst landscape in Cape Breton

CITYnews halifax / By Rachel Morgan

The Nova Scotia Nature Trust is asking for public support in an effort to protect over 1,000 acres of land in Cape Breton.

The Plaister Cliffs, east of Baddeck, support a unique gypsum karst ecosystem. The Nature Trust says this ecosystem is globally rare, highly threatened and one of the last protected ecosystems in Canada.

Most karst landscapes are formed from limestone, but in Nova Scotia the most common form is gypsum.

These landscapes are identifiable through sinkholes, caves, springs, and disappearing streams which are created from dissolving bedrock.

“Few people have seen Nova Scotia’s karst landscapes close up, both because they are scarce and because they are incredibly rugged, difficult and even hazardous to navigate,” the Nature Trust said in a press release. “But for those who have, they describe them with words like surreal, otherworldly and magical.”

Related:

• Cape LaHave Island protected from development, says Nature Trust
• Province takes action to support N.S. hemlock trees

Nova Scotia has the most developed gypsum karst in Canada, but only five per cent of it is protected. Over 90 per cent of Nova Scotia’s karst landscapes are on privately owned land.

Protecting the 1,023 acres of land overlooking the Bras d’Or, would conserve large tracts of old growth forests, habitat for endangered plants, birds, wildlife and over three kilometres of shoreline.

“It’s in our nature as Nova Scotians to care deeply about the land, and it’s in our nature to step up for what we love. Nature needs us now more than ever,” Bonnie Sutherland, the Nature Trust’s executive director, said in a press release. “Supporting this campaign gives Nova Scotians an amazing way to take immediate, tangible and lasting action to protect the wild spaces they love across Nova Scotia forever.”

The Nature Trust says it is looking to raise $400,000 in public support by Nov. 28. According to the group, every donation will unlock four times more, meaning a gift of $100 provides $500 in support.

For more information, visit the Nova Scotia Nature Trust website.