The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is unveiling the purchase of a 24-hectare piece of land near Tobermory.
NCC Midwestern Ontario Program Director Esme Batten says the purchase of the Baptist Harbour Alvary property on the Peninsula in late 2022, protects one kilometre of shoreline along Lake Huron and support several alvars.
Alvars are naturally open and flat habitats with little or no soil and cover either limestone or dolostone bedrock and are very harsh ecosystems with periods of flooding and drought.
“Despite these inhospitable conditions, alvars provide habitat for a distinctive set of rare or at-risk species that have adapted to life here,” says the NCC.
Batten says the area is home to a number of different plant and animal species like the American black bear, the Massasauga rattlesnake, and over 230 bird species.
“It has been this priority for conservation for us for many years, it is a missing piece of the puzzle in terms of being surrounded by other conservation lands and within a really significant movement corridor for wide-ranging species,” says Batten. “The western side of the peninsula is a really critical movement corridor for bears and birds and many other species, so this shoreline property is an important habitat and is typically a place where development often occurs.”
She says over the next year, they will be working on their baseline inventory and management plan for the area.
“For this particular property, we are really excited to learn more about its unique biological features, like the species that are there,” says Batten. “For now, this property is going to be protected largely for the benefit of the species that call it home.”
The total project cost, from the purchase of the land and stewardship and maintenance, cost $690,000, which was funded in part by the federal government, the Ontario Government, Bruce Power, and donations.
The NCC says conservation projects like the one at Baptist Harbour, is part of an acceleration by the organization to conserve areas in Canada. This includes the purchase of 395 acres of land on Britain Lake in Northern Bruce Peninsula.