Category: Natural Area Profiles

This addition to the the Farmington Woodlands Natural Area is a 58.5-acre parcel located in Kings County, Prince Edward Island. The property contains forests dominated by balsam fir, red maple, red pine, white pine, larch and cedar. The eastern portion of the property is bisected by a waterway feeding into the Fortune and Naufrage rivers. The acquisition of this parcel further protects this region of the Island and the Fortune River complex, with the greater Natural Area being 374 acres.

Natural Area Map

Acquisition and Legal Status

This property was split-receipt donation from George Mason and family in March of 2024, where a portion of the land’s value was purchased, and the remainder donated.

George studied Resource and Wildlife Management before shifting to a career as a Professional Accountant. He has remained devoted to conservation on PEI, including on his forested properties in Kings County. George has been INT’s Treasurer on its Board of Directors since 2021, and has also volunteered with the Canadian Wildlife Federation, World Wildlife Fund, and the Trans Canada Trail.

After my son moved to Ontario, I realized he wouldn’t be returning to manage the land. Rather than selling it, I wanted to ensure it remained accessible and protected

George Mason, donor

Funding for this acquisition was provided by Environment and Climate Change Canada through the Forested Landscape Priority Place under the Pan-Canadian approach to transforming Species at Risk conservation in Canada.

This partial donation of land was made possible thanks to the Government of Canada’s Ecological Gift Program. This Program provides a way for Canadians with ecologically sensitive land to protect nature and leave a legacy for future generations. Made possible by the terms of the Income Tax Act of Canada and the Quebec Taxation Act, it offers significant tax benefits to landowners who donate land or a partial interest in land to a qualified recipient. Recipients ensure that the land’s biodiversity and environmental heritage are conserved in perpetuity. LEARN MORE

Landscape Context

This parcel of Farmington Woodlands Natural Area is located east of Farmington, near the pre-existing parcels that comprise the Farmington Woodlands Natural Area complex. The acquisition of this property expands on the connectivity of INT and Provincial protected areas throughout the area, specifically extending the protection of waterways associated with the Fortune and Naufrage Rivers. This new acquisition connects the bisected waterway to the east with a large wetland complex owned by Ducks Unlimited.

Ecological Description

This property has a history of agriculture and forestry, as much of the Island does, but contains desirable tree species including eastern white cedar, sugar maple, red pine, white pine, American beech, and yellow birch. The riparian forest is more mature and contains larger, seed producing trees. Also along the river is a freshwater marsh containing alders, yellow marsh marigold, and other hydrophytic vegetation.

Access

This parcel of Farmington Woodlands Natural Area is accessible by PEI Route 2 to the west and Klondyke Road that runs along the northern and southern boundaries. Klondyke Road is a seasonal, dirt road. This property can be accessed at your own risk. No campfires or overnight camping are allowed on Island Nature Trust Natural Areas.

For more information on access to our natural areas, please contact our Land Stewardship Team.

Owls’ Haven: the Bowden Kusters Natural Area is a 100-acre mature forest dominated by hardwood and cedar, located in Alaska, Prince County, Prince Edward Island. This natural area boasts a rich variety of ecosystems, including mature hardwood stands, upland cedar forest, and an expansive open marsh displaying evidence of long-term beaver activity. Due to the threat of timber harvest in this region, the donation of this property represents a crucial addition to the protected lands on PEI.

Natural Area Map

Acquisition and Legal Status

Owls’ Haven: the Bowden Kusters Natural Area was purchased by Island Nature Trust in February 2024 thanks to a generous donation from Marie-Ann Bowden in memory of her husband, Peter, an entomologist and forester.

The acquisition of Owls’ Haven offered me and my daughters, Bryn and Sydney, the opportunity to honour  Pete’s memory by protecting a forest property that he too would have treasured and enjoyed.

Marie-Ann Bowden, donor

Marie-Ann, who has been a member of INT’s Board of Directors since 2020, is a dedicated environmental advocate who taught and researched environmental, property, and water law at the University of Saskatchewan. She is also an active member with the Upton Farm Trust and the Coalition for the Protection of PEI Water.

Marie-Ann and INT staff visited the property in the spring of 2024 to conduct a biological inventory and were happily surprised to see a barred owl roosting in a red spruce. This gave the property its name, Owls’ Haven.

This property and its natural landscapes will be conserved forever under the PEI Natural Ares Protection Act.

Landscape Context

Owls’ Haven: the Bowden Kusters Natural Area is situated amongst a contiguous forest block south of Coleman, PEI. The property expands on a network of Crown land and protected areas in the region. The Provincial and Ducks Unlimited Portage Wildlife Management Area and Acadian Marshes Natural Area are positioned roughly 4 kilometers east of this property and Island Nature Trust’s Alaska Forest Natural Area and Acadian Marshes – Percival River Salt Marsh Natural Area are situated approximately 2.5 kilometers south.

Ecological Description

While this property has been impacted by timber harvesting in the past, most of the forest was left to mature and naturalize. Canopy species include sugar maple, red maple, red spruce, yellow birch, as well as the provincially rare American beech, white elm, white ash, black ash, and eastern white cedar. The property also hosts a rich forest floor with numerous wildflowers, ferns, and shrubs, including the uncommon showy lady’s slipper, swamp red currant, alder-leaved buckthorn, and cucumber root. The forest structure contains ideal habitat for the federally at-risk Canada warbler, eastern wood pewee, little brown bat, and northern long-eared bat.

Roadside beaver activity has created a large freshwater marsh with open water sections on the property.

Access

Owls’ Haven: the Bowden Kusters Natural Area is situated off the Terry Boylan Road, which is a dirt road and only accessible at certain times of the year. This property is roadside and can be accessed at your own risk. The Alaska – Derby region is fairly undeveloped, and it is recommended that visitors have two navigation devices on them. No hunting, campfires, or overnight camping are allowed the property.

For more information on access to our natural areas, please contact our Land Stewardship Team.

The Judson Salt Marsh Natural Area is 117 acres located on the Crown Point headland in Alexandra, Queens County, Prince Edward Island. This donation adjoins Island Nature Trust’s existing 182-acre Crown Point – Wjikijek Natural Area. The majority of the property is coastal saltmarsh on Jardines Bay, bounded by mixed dominated forest and a three-acre forested island. The Mi’kmaq name for Crown Point is Wji’kijek, meaning “the place where stumps are found.”

Natural Area Map

Acquisition and Legal Status

The Judson Salt Marsh Natural Area was donated by William and Tara Judson and family in October 2023. William Judson’s parents, Donald and Virginia Judson, purchased the land for their family farm in the late 1960s.

“This land has been part of my family’s life for generations, even before my parents purchased it in the 1960s. The Judson family has lived in the area for over 200 years. Stories have been passed down from generation to generation about the marsh and the families that made use of it.”

William Judson

To learn more about this generous donation, click here.

This donation of land was made possible thanks to the Government of Canada’s Ecological Gift Program. This Program provides a way for Canadians with ecologically sensitive land to protect nature and leave a legacy for future generations. Made possible by the terms of the Income Tax Act of Canada and the Quebec Taxation Act, it offers significant tax benefits to landowners who donate land or a partial interest in land to a qualified recipient. Recipients ensure that the land’s biodiversity and environmental heritage are conserved in perpetuity. LEARN MORE

Landscape Context

Crown Point is a relatively undeveloped coastal headland located southeast of Stratford, PEI. The point acts as a coastal barrier protecting the rural communities of Alexandra and Pownal from storm surges, winds, and high spring tides. The salt marsh within the property is a part of a broad band of coastal salt marsh that extends along the Hillsborough Bay from Stratford to Orwell. Converging marshes may lead to the headland becoming an island in the future.

Crown Point has significant cultural history for both the Mi’kmaq and the Acadians. Several independent anecdotal reports point to Mi’kmaq and Acadian burial grounds on the point, as well as Mi’kmaq camps and French battlegrounds. Traditional use for this area includes seal hunting and oyster harvesting. Sand flats just off of Crown Point were known as the Mi’kmaq seal harvesting site Ntoagoagantijg before European settlement.

Ecological Description

Crown Point hosts a variety of ecosystems, including salt marsh, bog, freshwater marsh, krummholz forest, coastal bluffs, and mature forest. The headland acts as a wildlife shelterbelt, providing species habitat that is not found in the nearby developed areas.

The coastal forest on the Judson Salt Marsh Natural Area consists of mixedwood stands including white spruce (Picea glauca), trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides), white birch (Betula papyrifera), red maple (Acer rubrum), eastern larch (Larix laricina), and American beech (Fagus grandifolia). The 3-acre island within Jardines Bay hosts a similar forest structure, with older hardwoods and more present pit and mound topography. There are additionally sections of alder swamp along the salt marsh, which provides habitat for the federally at-risk Canada warbler (Cardellina canadensis).

The saltmarsh on this property is extensive and makes up three quarters of the natural area. Salt marshes were historically dyked and farmed on Prince Edward Island, leaving few fully intact. Salt marshes store high amounts of “blue carbon” in their soil and act as carbon sinks. During spring and fall migrations, saltmarshes provide critical stopover locations for Canada geese (Branta canadensis), as well as migratory shorebirds including greater yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca), belted-kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon), and great blue heron (Ardea herodias). Additionally, when they are downstream from agriculture and lawns, salt marshes filter high concentrations of nitrogen from entering ocean water. This is an important local service for the Judson Salt Marsh Natural Area due to a relatively high amount of development and farmland nearby.

Access

The Judson Salt Marsh Natural Area has no trails; those visiting can do so only on foot and should have a good comfort level with navigating using a compass or GPS. The property is accessible via Crown Point Rd. The road is dirt and can be rough in the winter and after rainfall. In the past, the road has flooded after the first curve in Crown Point Road, and it may be best for visitors to park prior to this, at the turn, if water levels are high. The road becomes privately owned at the second curve and has been taken over by a freshwater marsh due to beaver activity. No campfires or overnight camping are allowed on Island Nature Trust Natural Areas.

For more information on access to our natural areas, please contact our Land Stewardship Team.

The Buffalo Road Natural Area is a riparian forest and reforesting field in Anglo Rustico, Queens County, Prince Edward Island. The property contains several small wetlands and two tributaries of Chapel Creek. Due to the high amount of nearby agriculture and development, this donation is an extremely significant addition to protected lands on PEI.

Natural Area Map

Acquisition and Legal Status

The Buffalo Road Natural Area was donated in January 2023 in loving memory of Geoffrey Willem Paynter by his life partner, Janet Marshall, daughter, Rilla Marshall and family of Belfast, PEI, and son, Logan Paynter and family of Sunnyvale, California. Geoffrey was born and grew up in Montreal, Quebec. He, Janet, Rilla and Logan moved from Newfoundland to PEI in 1985. Geoffrey worked at the Atlantic Veterinary College UPEI until he retired in January 2012. In 2011, Geoffrey and Janet bought a house on the Buffalo Road in Rustico, and subsequently purchased some of the farmland abutting their property in 2014.

This donation of land was made possible thanks to the Government of Canada’s Ecological Gift Program. This Program provides a way for Canadians with ecologically sensitive land to protect nature and leave a legacy for future generations. Made possible by the terms of the Income Tax Act of Canada and the Quebec Taxation Act, it offers significant tax benefits to landowners who donate land or a partial interest in land to a qualified recipient. Recipients ensure that the land’s biodiversity and environmental heritage are conserved in perpetuity. LEARN MORE

Landscape Context

This Buffalo Road Natural Area is located between the town of Hunter River and the Green Gables Coastal Highway. This region of PEI is predominantly agriculture, housing, and tourism, with the greater watershed area being 73% agriculture and 7% developed. The property was identified by INT as one of the last standing forests along Chapel Creek not set for harvest or clearing.

Ecological Description

During the spring of 2015-16, Geoff and Janet participated in a reforestation program offered by the PEI Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action. Over the next two years, a mixed Acadian Forest of over 6000 tree seedlings were planted on the property. During the last several years of his life, Geoffrey became a dedicated tree planter. He delighted in starting trees from seeds, nurturing and planting them throughout the property. Planted trees include white spruce (Picea glauca), eastern larch (Larix laricina), red oak (Quercus rubra), red maple (Acer rubrum), yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis), hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), red spruce (Picea rubens), white pine (Pinus strobus) and sugar maple (Acer saccharum).

This forest regeneration is significant because expanded riparian forest cover further moderates river temperature and sediment runoff from nearby farmland and lawns. The reforested portion slopes into a swale that further filters water entering Chapel Creek. The riparian forest and a small riparian alder swamp is habitat for a range of wildlife, including migratory songbirds and the federally-at-risk Canada warbler (Cardellina canadensis).

Access

The Buffalo Creek Natural Area has no access and is closed to the public.

For more information on access to our natural areas, please contact our Land Stewardship Team.