Nature Canada

Globally Significant IBA in Nova Scotia gains permanent protection!

[two_third]Saturday marked a wonderful milestone for land conservation in Canada, as well as a great achievement for one of Nova Scotia’s most prized Important Bird Areas (IBA)!

Through a historic conservation easement signed between the Nova Scotia Nature Trust and Acadia University, the Bon Portage Island IBA gained permanent protection. The 3 square-kilometre coastal island located off the southwest tip of Nova Scotia is recognized as a Globally Significant IBA for its concentrations of colonial seabirds, in this case Leach’s Storm Petrel. In fact, the island’s breeding colony is the largest one found south of Newfoundland. Also of note is a mixed species heronry found on the island, which includes breeding Great Blue Herons and Black-capped Night Herons, as well as Snowy Egrets present during the breeding season. The island is also a key stop-over site for many bird species during the spring and fall migrations.

Not to be overlooked, the conservation easement signed for Bon Portage Island also represents the first time Canadian university lands have been permanently protected using this legal conservation tool. In a press release from Nature Trust Executive Director, Bonnie Sutherland, applauded Acadia for being an environmental pioneer among academic institutions in Canada. “We hope Acadia’s conservation leadership will inspire other academic institutions and corporate landowners across Nova Scotia and across the country to take action to do their own part in protecting Canada’s unique natural legacy,” she said.

As part of Acadia’s long history on the island, the university offers a field school at Bon Portage Island, and alongside other researchers and scientists who use the Evelyn and Morrill Richardson Field Station, named to honour former lighthouse keepers Evelyn and Morrill Richardson, Acadia operates the Atlantic Bird Observatory at Bon Portage.

Read more about this historic conservation success and the details leading up to it on the Nova Scotia Nature Trust’s website. [/two_third] [one_third_last]

Image of a Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron

Image of a map of the Bon Portage Island IBA

Map of the Bon Portage Island IBA, with its location
in southwest Nova Scotia shown in the inset map
in the upper right corner.

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