Island Nature Trust is thrilled to announce the purchase and protection of 240 acres (97 hectares) of ecologically significant bog, salt marsh, and lowland forest that stretches from the Western Road to the Portage River in Prince County. The acquisition of these two properties adds onto the existing 207-acre Portage Bog and Ivan’s Branch Portage Bog Natural Area, now safeguarding a total of 446 acres (180 hectares) of carbon rich peatland forever.
This acquisition is incredibly ecologically rich, with over 85 observations of provincially rare plant and animal species through site visits by INT and the Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Center. This includes black ash, Tennessee warbler, cloudberry, and northern mannagrass.
Portage, known in Mi’kmaq as “Unikansuk,” or “portage trail,” was historically used as a crossing point for the Mi’kmaq people travelling between the Northumberland Strait and the Portage River.
Thanks to support from the Government of Prince Edward Island and the Government of Canada’s Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund and Natural Heritage Conservation Program – Land Trusts Conservation Fund, these two properties will be protected forever.
The Government of Canada’s Natural Heritage Conservation Program (NHCP) is a unique partnership that supports the creation and recognition of protected and conserved areas through the acquisition of private land and private interest in land. To date, the Government of Canada has invested more than $470 million in the Program, which has been matched with more than $982 million in contributions raised by Nature Conservancy of Canada, Ducks Unlimited Canada and the country’s land trust community leading to the protection and conservation of more than 800,000 hectares of ecologically sensitive lands.
Le Programme de conservation du patrimoine naturel (PCPN) du gouvernement du Canada est un partenariat unique qui soutient la création et la reconnaissance de nouvelles aires protégées et de conservation par l’acquisition de terres privées et de droits sur celles-ci. À ce jour, le gouvernement du Canada a investi plus de 470 millions de dollars dans le Programme, auxquels se sont ajoutés plus de 982 millions de dollars recueillis par Conservation de la nature Canada, Canards Illimités Canada et la communauté des organismes de conservation du pays, ce qui a permis de protéger et de conserver plus de 800 000 hectares de terres écologiquement fragiles.
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