Johnson's Mills Shorebird Reserve centre closes for first time in 20 years

It has been a rough season for the staff at Johnson's Mills Shorebird Reserve.

The reserve, owned by the Nature Conservancy of Canada,is known to birders around the world as an integral site to track and monitor semipalmated sandpipers during their pit stop in the Upper Bay of Fundy.

It is part of the shorebirds' annual migration from the Arctic to South America.

But for the first time in the site's 20 year history, they've had to close the interpretive centre to the public because of COVID-19. Thereserve remains open.

As many as 7,000people will normally make the trek to the remote location near Dorchester, N.B., to watch the birds as they eat and rest in preparation for their long journey south for the winter.

Although it is free of charge to visit the reserve and interpretive centre, visitors make donations, which the site relies on to help cover their operating costs.

Shorebird Reserve closes for first time in 20 years

4 years ago

Duration 2:41

The loss of donations from visitors and two recent break-ins could impact conservation work being done.

Denise Roy, a conservation representative in New Brunswick with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, says the money is used to maintain the building, cover staff salaries, and to continue their conservation work on their property, which spans about fourkilometres of the shoreline.

"We have a couple of small donation boxes here and people would regularly drop a few dollars or drop a lot of dollars into," she said.

Without those donations, Roy saidshe is concerned about how they will continue to do their work to protect the shorebirds.

Education, she adds, is another important part of the work they do there.

"Conserving the land alone is not good," she said. "We have to be able to have staff here on site to educate people as to the sensitivities of these birds."

If the loss of donations was not enough, two recent break-ins at the site are making it even harder for staff to do their work.

They lost all of their equipment.

"Literally it has taken us a span of 20 years to accumulate the kind of equipment that we've been using," Roy said.

They lost everything from shovels andtools to spotting scopes and laptops.

"Now we are left wondering how we are going to replace all that equipment," she said,

With a decline in the global population of shorebirds, Roy said they can use all of the help they can get.

"We need help as a non-profit organization. The work that we do, for nature is critical and people's donations are absolutely critical to that as well."