Conservation group buys large section of land along Bay of Fundy

The Nature Conservancy of Canada has acquired almost 60 hectares of land along the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick as a way to protect local habitat.

Johnson's Mills, near Dorchester in the province's southeast corner, is the latest parcel of land to be protected by the conservation group in its national campaign to safeguard sensitive areas from development.

This latest purchase adds to the existing 128 hectares the group already owns as a part of its Johnson's Mills Shorebird Reserve. That means the group has protected about two-thirds of the shoreline at Johnson's Mills.

The feeding grounds of the upper Bay of Fundy provide the perfect rest stop for many species of shorebirds as they migrate south from the Arctic to South America.

While these birds are not endangered, Denise Roy, a spokeswoman for the Nature Conservancy of Canada, said their numbers are decreasing.

Roy said that's why they teamed up with other non-profit groups and convinced the federal and provincial government to chip in to purchase more than 59 hectares of shoreline.

"We like to say that we actually achieve results you can walk on," Roy said.

"Birdwatching, and just getting to know your own province and your own country is getting to be very popular and to see hundreds of thousands of birds flying together is a feast for the eyes."

Roy said birds such as the semipalmated sandpiper will benefit from protecting this area.

"For the semipalmated sandpiper, a shorebird species, research shows that 75 to 95 per cent of its world population, of that species, depends on the upper Bay of Fundy for its survival," Roy said.

"So if something did happen to those sites, who knows what would happen to that species."

Mary Majka, a local environmentalist, has lived along the Bay of Fundy for 50 years. And she has been buying environmentally sensitive property herself in an attempt to keep it out of the hands of developers.

"I can see how the shore is being taken over by development so there is a tremendous need," Majka said.

Majka said she is thrilled that more groups, and government, are coming on board.

She said she will be pushing for the protection of other areas even if it means buying the land herself.