Trust heralds largest acquisition of privately owned coastline in N.S. history

The Nova Scotia Nature Trust is celebrating what it calls the largest acquisition of privately owned coastline in the province's history.

The nature trust announced Tuesday the successful purchase of Cape Negro Island at the southwest tip of Nova Scotia and a deal to acquire the adjacent Blanche Peninsula, adding nearly 1,034 hectares to the province's coastal protected areas.

Executive director Bonnie Sutherland said conservation efforts are essential with less than five per cent of the province's coast protected and more than 85 per cent of it privately owned.

"We need housing and we need better schooling, we need more support for the medical system, all kinds of things," Sutherland said in an interview with CBC. "But fundamental to all of that is a healthy, intact planet and ecosystems that are thriving and providing fresh water and clean air."

Both acquisitions fall under the non-profit's Hope for the Coast campaign, which aims to secure "at least 5,000 acres [2,000 hectares] of critical coastal habitat," the trust said in a news release.

In the group's 30 years, the deal to protect the Blanche Peninsula represents its "most ambitious conservation project," the release said, and requires the public's help to complete the transaction of more than $4.5 million.

With federal and provincial government partners already offering $4.45 million in potential funds, the nature trust is turning to Nova Scotians to help raise the remaining $150,000 by a Sept. 30 deadline.

"[It's] a real opportunity for Nova Scotians to step up," said Sutherland. "This will be a place that's protected forever for their kids and grandkids. And they can take them there and enjoy and appreciate this incredible part of our coastal legacy that they helped to protect."

The peninsula encompasses more than 700 hectares, nearly 10 times the size of Point Pleasant Park in Halifax, and is "one of the best remaining coastal wilderness opportunities of its size in the province," the release said.

It boasts more than 14 kilometres of coastline, various habitats such as wetlands, coastal barrens, beaches and forests, and is home to 174 bird species, as well as endangered lichens, said the release.

Cape Negro Island is one of the province's largest coastal islands at 317 hectares and is important habitat for various species of birds. It is also of historic and cultural significance, once home to a year-round community of homes, a church and school.

It was purchased with the help of federal and provincial partners and community donations.

The community on the mainland has "expressed their happiness that the island, privately-owned and at risk of development, is now protected forever, and available for future generations to enjoy and to help steward," Tuesday's news release said.

Cape Negro Island will be renamed through a provincial process to change the place names of communities that contain derogatory words.