FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
SEPTEMBER 15, 2021
CAPE ENRAGE, NB

The Nature Trust of New Brunswick (Nature Trust) is working with community members, partners, and stewards of the Cape Enrage Nature Preserve to raise awareness of the detrimental impacts the removal of rocks and fossils have on wildlife and their essential habitat. 

Rock collection of any kind is prohibited when visiting any Nature Trust nature preserve. The unpermitted removal of rocks from a known fossil site, like the Cape Enrage Nature Preserve, is also illegal under the New Brunswick Heritage Conservation Act. 

Rocks are being removed from the preserve in large quantities and at rates which concern Nature Trust staff and volunteers. This activity has been ongoing over several years and is threatening the ecological integrity of the site, particularly Barn Marsh, a highly sensitive salt marsh opposite the beach. 

The Nature Trust is dedicated to the protection of the sensitive landscapes, plants, and wildlife found within the Cape Enrage Nature Preserve. As part of the iconic the Bay of Fundy coastline, the Nature Trust is committed to ensuring the salt marsh protected by the pebble beach remains intact for future generations to respectfully visit and enjoy. The Nature Trust is calling on all visitors to respect there is no camping, campfires, rock collection, all-terrain vehicle usage, or hunting permitted on this nature preserve. 

“Rocks are being removed from the beach by the truckload, and that is alarming,” says Bethany Young, Stewardship Manager at the Nature Trust. “We have tried putting up signs and restricting vehicle access by way of concrete blockades, but they have not helped. We are hoping this public message calling attention to the laws will help raise awareness and deter individuals from removing rocks. We want people to be able to visit Cape Enrage Nature Preserve respectfully in perpetuity.” 

Visitors are welcome to respectfully use the nature preserve for beach walking, swimming, picnicking, photography, and observing wildlife. 

The Cape Enrage Nature Preserve consists of 29.9 hectares (73.9 acres) of salt marsh, barrier beach, and forested slope. The Cape Enrage Nature Preserve contains Provincially Significant Wetland and a Class I Fundy salt marsh. The 13-hectare (32.1 acres) salt marsh on the preserve provides a feeding ground and migration stopover sites for waterfowl and songbirds. Cape Enrage is globally classified as an Important Bird Area. Species such as the common eider (Somateria mollissima), cliff swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota), bank swallow (Riparia riparia), black guillemot (Cephhus grylle), and northern gannets (Morus bassanus) have been recorded on the preserve. 

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ABOUT THE NATURE TRUST OF NEW BRUNSWICK: 

Established in 1987, the Nature Trust of New Brunswick is a charitable land conservation organization dedicated to preserving the province’s ecologically significant landscapes. To date, the Nature Trust has conserved over 10,000 acres in more than 60 beautiful and diverse nature preserves in New Brunswick. Our mission is to conserve areas in New Brunswick that are ecologically significant, to establish nature preserves that remain protected forever, to steward the preserves through a network of volunteers and supporters, and to engage with the public on the importance of land conservation, New Brunswick’s natural heritage, biodiversity, and species at risk. 


MEDIA CONTACT:

Eugénie Gaujacq
Acting Communications Coordinator
Email: eugenie.gaujacq@ntnb.org
Telephone: (506) 457-2398