TREPA owns and maintains the CRK Allen Reserve on Gillfillan Lake. It is the property along the stream just after you cross the bridge. We are pleased to announce that the Nature Trust will be a new neighbour, just one property removed. Wouldn’t it be a nice joint effort to work to acquire the piece in between. I bet we could do that.
NATURE TRUST PROTECTS ENDANGERED SPECIES AND THE NEXT PIECE OF THE PUZZLE ON GILLFILLAN LAKE HALIFAX.
June 29, 2012 – Last night, the Nova Scotia Nature Trust announced the permanent protection of a 44 acre lakeshore property on Gillfillan Lake, providing critical refuge for one of Canada’s most endangered species, the Plymouth gentian (Sabatia kennedyana). The new protected area makes an important contribution to a larger network of conservation lands on the lake, together providing some of the last habitat for the species in Canada.
Gillfillan Lake, along the Tusket River in Yarmouth County, is considered one of the highest conservation priorities in Nova Scotia. It provides critical habitat for the endangered Plymouth gentian and a suite of other imperilled species found on only a few lakes in Nova Scotia, and nowhere else in Canada. The property’s shoreline also provides habitat for the sensitive tubercled orchid (Platanthera flava var. flava).
In 2004, the Nature Trust protected the first site for Plymouth gentian, through conservation-minded landowners Jeanne Lange and David Haskell. Both New York based actors, they treasured the lakeshore property as their summer escape for many years and were delighted to discover it was valuable not just to them, but for biodiversity conservation on a national scale. Following protection of this first site, the Nature Trust acquired the adjacent property in 2007. Yet another important site on the lake has been donated as a bequest to the Nature Trust and will become part of the protected lands network. Other conservation organizations, including the Nature Conservancy of Canada and the Tusket River Environmental Protection Association, have already protected parcels of land along the shoreline, and the Government of Nova Scotia is considering several other extensive parcels for protection under their 12% initiative (a commitment to protect 12% of Nova Scotia for conservation by 2015).
The Nature Trust’s newest acquisition builds on these achievements by protecting the latest piece of the puzzle in creating a continuous network of protected areas, providing an extensive sanctuary for some of the last of these plants. Together, the protected lands and proposed protected areas on the lake equal over 2,500 acres, providing approximately 9 kilometres of important shoreline.
Nature Trust’s Conservation Coordinator Cristi Frittaion said, “Nova Scotia provides some of the best habitat in the world for this plant to grow. The permanent protection of this property is important and timely, as cottage development and shoreline alterations continue to increasingly threaten the communities of plants in the area.”
The recent protection of this property was made possible by the Government of Canada through the Department of Environment, as well as the William P. Wharton Foundation, Ascenta, Aveda, and the Imperial Oil Charitable Foundation, as well as the generosity of Nature Trust supporters.
The Nature Trust made the new property announcement at their conservation showcase and annual general meeting held Thursday night. The event, held at the Nova Scotia Natural History Museum, celebrated the Nature Trust’s exciting conservation achievements, including protecting, forever, over 6,000 acres of Nova Scotia’s natural legacy for the benefit of all Nova Scotians.