The Nature Conservancy of Canada has acquired and will be protecting an additional 20 hectares of land along the Lake Huron shoreline near Tobermory.
The not-for-profit, private land conservation organization says in a media release the new Baptist Harbour property fills a gap in a network on conservation lands on the Bruce Peninsula.
“The new parcel of land exists not only in a tourism hotspot region, but also a biodiversity hotspot. The alvars found here – a rare ecosystem where flowers spring from barren-looking, unsuspecting limestone – are some of the only examples found on earth,” the Nature Conservancy of Canada says in a release.
Bayshore Broadcasting News reached out to the Nature Conservancy for an interview, but the request wasn’t met by publication deadline.
Financial terms of the property acquisition weren’t disclosed. The Nature Conservancy says it worked “in partnership with government, corporations, foundations and other supporters to secure the new property which is within Saukiing Anishinaabekiing – Saugeen Ojibway Nation Territory.”
“It includes three football fields’ worth of increasingly scarce undeveloped Lake Huron shoreline, globally rare alvar, thriving wetlands and dense forests,” the release explains.
Ontario’s Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks Todd McCarthy calls the addition of protected land at Baptist Harbour a “significant conservation win for Ontario.”
“I want to thank the Nature Conservancy of Canada and their partners for driving the protection of this key part of the Lake Huron shoreline,” McCarthy says in a prepared statement. “With support from the Greenlands Conservation Partnership, we are continuing to build the network of protected green space along the Bruce Peninsula so that residents and visitors can enjoy its famous crystal-blue waters for generations to come.”
According to the Nature Conservancy, shoreline alvar supports globally rare species, like the dwarf lake iris, purple-stem cliffbrake and Hill’s thistle.
The Nature Conservancy of Canada has protected more than 2,180 hectares of land on the Peninsula, an area which is a crucial stopover for migratory birds. It’s also a breeding area for at-risk species such as the eastern whip-poor-will or common nighthawk.