Nova Scotia makes largest single purchase of conservation lands in provincial history

The Nova Scotia government announced Monday that it has acquired $27 million worth of private lands from Bowater Mersey Paper Co. Ltd. in southwestern Nova Scotia for conservation purposes. This transaction represents the largest single purchase of conservation lands in Nova Scotia history.

CPAWS Nova Scotia worked to ensure that the acquisitions included the most significant ecological features, especially old growth forest sites, rare species habitat (e.g. Blandings Turtle, coastal plain flora), significant wetlands, coastal areas, frontage on significant waterways, sites adjacent to existing protected areas, and sites important for landscape connectivity.

A total of 29 parcels of high-value conservation lands were acquired, with a commitment from the Premier of Nova Scotia to quickly designate the "significant majority" of these acquisitions as protected wilderness areas or nature reserves. The Premier also announced for the first time that the province would pursue a 12% target for protected areas - a major victory in itself!

This announcement follows almost a year\'s worth of work by CPAWS-NS to engage the forest industry directly to expand Nova Scotia\'s system of protected areas.