Nature Conservancy of Canada expands protected lands in northwestern Ontario

The Nature Conservancy of Canada is now protecting nearly 1,000 more hectares of forest, mesas, and wetlands in northwestern Ontario.

The charitable organization announced on Friday that it has acquired more land in the area of Black Bay Peninsula and Big Trout Bay on Lake Superior.

"It's in kind of three different hubs," said Kaitlin Richardson, the conservancy's program director for northern Ontario. "We purchased some land around Pine River and Cloud Lake, as well as some parcels that bolster our existing protected areas at Big Trout Bay."

"Adding a couple parcels to our Black Bay Peninsula holdings as well."

The project was named "Nor'Westers" by the conservancy, as the land includes part of the Nor'Wester mountain range.

Richardson said all the land was owned by the same private landowner prior to the conservancy's purchase.

"We looked at the holdings with the lens of where do we know we want to work, either now, or will want to work in the future?" she said. "Where are the key habitat connections, and which of the parcels have species at risk that we want to protect?"

"That kind of factored into our decision-making for the 12 parcels we purchased."

In a media release, the conservancy said the newly-acquired lands, which total 935 hectares, are a habitat for species like the American black bear, Canada lynx, moose, the peregrine falcon, and at-risk turtles.

Now, the conservancy, which acts as a private landowner, will protect the land in perpetuity, Richardson said.

"We can never sell them or develop them," she said. "They become part of our nature reserves."

"Each one, once we have protected it, gets a five-year property management plan that looks at the targets, the things we're trying to protect, and weighs those against the threats to those targets and develops a list of stewardship actions for our staff on the properties," Richardson said. "After five years, based on the information we've gathered, we'll renew those, and kind of adapt to ongoing management needs of the properties."

The purchases are made with support from the federal and provincial governments, with the conservancy matching any government funding contributions with money raised through charitable donations, Richardson said.

"We all know that some of the most beautiful country in Canada, and the world, is the area around us,"Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP Marcus Powlowski said. "And certainly every year, that's being threatened by development."

"It's great that we're dedicating some land to to stay in its natural state for future generations to come."