Patch of pristine bush in central Alberta donated to become nature preserve

A pristine parcel of forested land in central Alberta will be protected from development after it was donated to a nature conservancy by the son of its original owners.

TheDr. Thomas S. and Mary Wilson Nature Preserve,located about60 kilometres southwest of Edmonton, was created by the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC).

The gift of land fulfilled a promise made to his father, said his son Thomas W. Wilson, who lives in Saskatoon.

"I had told my dad that I would never sell this land and that we would keep it in pristine condition,"Wilson told CBC's Edmonton AM.

"He loved that place, as did my mom, and they wandered around and looked at the birds and trees and that sort of thing."

Wilson said his father bought the 65 hectares of "bush" in 1965. No one had ever lived on it, and it had never been used to grow crops or as pasture land.

The grey-wooded soil of the property is not conducive to growing crops and it was never cleared, he added.

However, he said that the land's unspoiled nature is part of what his parents, who were keen bird watchers, appreciated about the property.

The NCCsaid theland contains extensive boreal mixed wood forests, which provide an importanthabitat for many bird species, some of which migratefrom as far away as South America.

The nature preserve also provides refuge for other species, including moose, deerand black bears as well as reptiles and amphibians.

The NCC said that the unaltered landscape of the property is also important for watershed protection, as the land's natural vegetation and streams help protect water quality and mitigate flood risk in the area.

Promise to preserve

Wilson said that his father continued to visit the propertyeven in his old age and asked that the land not be sold off after his death. Wilson and his wife Merne inherited the property after his father, a former surgeon at the University of Alberta hospital, died in 2003.

"If I had sold it to somebody, then it would probably be used for development sooner or later because it is between Edmonton and Calgary and that's part of the province that is growing," he said.

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Wilson decided that the best way to keep his promise to his father was to donate the land to the NCC.

"I reached out to their office in Calgary, and they had a look at the land and said they were interested," said Wilson. "So, we went through the mountain of paperwork and transferred the land to them."

Wilson said hebelieves his parents would be "absolutely delighted" with the decision.

"We feel that Canada needs to keep some of its land in its original condition, and that's what the NCC does, and we were happy to support them."