Researchers find at-risk species in Kluskap Wilderness Area after days-long trek

A group of researchers has found a number of at-risk species after spending days trekking across about 3,000 hectares around Kluskap Wilderness Area in Cape Breton.

Twenty-eight researchers participated in the undertaking, which focused on an Indigenous protected and conserved area (IPCA).

They found a range of plant and animal species including the little brown bat, the olive-sided flycatcher and a type of fungus called blue felt lichen.

Trish Nash works for the Unama'ki Institute of Natural Resources, which is one of the organizations involved. The research took place in an effort to collect "as much information as possible in the area of the Glooscap IPCA," she said.

"We didn't really know a lot about it." 

Part of the area the researchers covered was a provincial wilderness area, she said, "but there wasn't a lot of data that had been collected" there either.

The group set out on Monday, Nash said, "and were surprised to find several different species who were at risk because of the lack of research that has been done in the past in that particular part of Cape Breton."

The findings help reinforce that the area "is really important for biodiversity and it continues to support a lot of species that are in decline across Canada," she said.

The organizations that participated were: Parks Canada, the Province of Nova Scotia, Cape Breton University, Nova Scotia Nature Trust, Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre, Clean Annapolis River Project, and the Unama'ki Institute of Natural Resources.

One of the obstacles the group had to overcome was the damage done from post-tropical storm Fiona last fall, since many trees were downed across the area, making the trek more challenging.

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