Conservancy buys Fundy coastal site to protect shorebirds

The Nature Conservancy of Canada has purchased a 13 hectare coastal site in the upper Bay of Fundy to protect migratory shorebirds in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

The Johnson's Mills conservation area, near Dorchester, is considered a haven for many species of shorebirds, especially for tens of thousands of semipalmated sandpipers.

These birds' survival depends on the conservation of the area's mudflats and beaches, where they feed and rest before their three-day, non-stop journey to South America.

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"We are making a global impact for shorebirds, which are facing serious threats," said Denise Roy, the conservation representative of the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

With this new addition, the private land conservation group's shorebird reserve now expands to 226 hectares.

The project to acquire the land was supported with funding from the government through the Natural Areas Conservation Program, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Gosling Foundation, as well as many other individual donors.

"This program shows what we can achieve when we work together towards our conservation goals," said Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

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Approximately 30 per cent of the global population of semipalmated sandpipers stop over in the Bay of Fundy while on their southern migration.

These lands also provide crucial habitat for two species listed under Canada's Species at Risk Act, the red knot and peregrine falcon.