FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
JULY 13, 2022
WAASIS, NB

The Nature Trust of New Brunswick has the exciting opportunity to protect 38.2 hectares (89.4 acres) of important mature forest and Provincially Significant Wetland habitat in Waasis, New Brunswick, as part of the Conserve Y(our) NB: Protect the Places You Love campaign. 

Following the soft bends of a gentle creek, this pristine property is considered an area of high conservation value under the Habitat Conservation Strategy. The area contains diverse habitats found in New Brunswick, including Provincially Significant Wetlands, Eastern white cedar swamp forest, and silver maple floodplain forest.

The property neighbours an existing nature preserve which is home to rare, uncommon and at-risk species, and protecting this parcel of land represents a significant step toward achieving strategic conservation goals.

“Conserving land adjacent to existing nature preserves is a top priority for the Nature Trust,” says Lynn MacKinnon, Conserve Y(our) NB Cabinet Co-Chair and Nature Trust Trustee Emeritus. “It ensures the unfragmented protection and expansion of critical habitat for species at risk, and provides safe passageway for migratory species and wildlife requiring greater home ranges.”

This important property is at risk of being developed and needs to be protected now. Urban development continues to impact wildlife and contributes to species population decline through habitat loss; this property is no exception. With sensitive ecosystems already threatened by climate change, preventing further environmental degradation by limiting disturbances is essential.

"The decline of species and habitat diversity throughout New Brunswick is becoming increasingly apparent,” Cabinet Co-Chair Wayne Burley states. “We have a responsibility to conserve and encourage the reestablishment of these diverse ecosystems for future generations. Land conservation has become a critical lifeline in the face of climate change, and the time to act is now.”

The protection of this property in Waasis ensures the conservation of land that provides not only a developmental buffer between human activity and wildlife, but also essential climate change mitigation in the form of carbon sequestration and flood water management.  

“New Brunswick is one of the provinces with the least amount of protected land, despite land conservation being one of our strongest defenses against climate change and biodiversity loss. By growing our network of connected nature preserves, we can maintain unfragmented wildlife refuges and conserve sensitive ecosystems that are already under threat of complete destruction,” says Stephanie Merrill, Nature Trust CEO.

As of July 13th, the Nature Trust has raised $125,0000 to protect this remarkable property. This project was undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada through the federal Department of Environment and Climate Change and the Davis Conservation Foundation.

To secure this important wildlife refuge, the Nature Trust is seeking public support to raise the remaining $45,000 by September 21st, 2022. 

The protection of the mature forest and wetland in Waasis is part of the Conserve Y(our) NB: Protect the Places You Love campaign (CYNB). CYNB is a 10-year conservation campaign created by the Nature Trust of New Brunswick to increase the amount of land the organization protects to 15,000 acres by 2030. Since launching the campaign in 2020, 14 new nature preserves and conservation easements, as well as 6 nature preserve extensions have been protected with the help of generous supporters.

The Nature Trust celebrates protecting over 11,000 acres of ecologically significant land throughout the province. Some of the newly protected areas include the Leo Currie Nature Preserve, the Wilson Family Nature Preserve, an old-growth forest property in Gagetown (name TBD), as well as extensions to the Reg Bonney Nature Preserve, the Mapleton Acadian Forest Nature Preserve, the Beardsley Hill Nature Preserve, and the Hampton Marsh Nature Preserve. The protection of the new properties was made possible by the Government of Canada through the federal Department of Environment and Climate Change’s Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund, the New Brunswick Wildlife Trust Fund, the Echo Foundation, the William P. Wharton Trust, conservation-minded land donors, and hundreds of individual donors.

 

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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 11,000 acres in more than 70 beautiful and diverse nature preserves in New Brunswick.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Eugénie Gaujacq
Communications Coordinator
Nature Trust of New Brunswick
T: (506) 457-2398
eugenie.gaujacq@ntnb.org