Spring 2018 NCC Magazine

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PROJECT UPDATES 3 2 WANT TO LEARN MORE? Visit natureconservancy.ca/where-we-work to learn more about other NCC projects. 1 1 Protected: Island home of a nationally rare shrub YARMOUTH, NOVA SCOTIA BC NS Within an area 25 kilometres wide, on the southern tip of Nova Scotia, grows a unique perennial flowering shrub. A member of the aster family, eastern baccharis grows to about three metres tall. In fact, the entire Canadian population of this species, estimated at 3,000 plants, is found in and around the salt marshes of Lobster Bay, near Yarmouth. The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) recently protected a 61-acre (25-hectare) island habitat for this nationally threatened and rare plant. The newly conserved island in Lobster Bay is called Tete a Milie (Milie’s Head), named by the area’s Acadian settlers. Although found along the eastern coast of the U.S., in Nova Scotia the eastern baccharis is at the northern tip of its range. The island was entrusted to NCC by John Brett of Halifax, who was thrilled to discover eastern baccharis on the property about 15 years ago. “[Since I’m] an amateur naturalist, you can imagine how excited I was. It’s not every day you come across a large, prominent shrub that turns out to be the only member of its genus to be found in the entire country! And here it was, hiding in plain sight.” This dynamic environment, coupled with the shelter provided by Lobster Bay’s salt marshes and relatively mild climate, attracts a great diversity of wildlife: willets, bald eagles, ospreys, blue herons, kingfishers, harbour and gray seals, white-tailed deer, black bears, bobcats, minks, even the occasional porpoise and small whale. In the fall, many kinds of shorebirds feed on the mudflats before continuing their migration south. In winter, sea ducks, loons and mergansers shelter in Lobster Bay. NCC has now completed two conservation projects in Lobster Bay, building on work by the Province of Nova Scotia to establish the nearby Tusket Islands Wilderness Area. Learn more at natureconservancy.ca/easternbaccharis. Harbour seal Tete a Milie is a drumlin: a rich mound of soil and rocky debris formed thousands of years ago by retreating glaciers, which has been further shaped by the tides. SEAL: NICK HAWKINS. EASTERN BACCHARIS, TETE A MILIE: ANTHONY CRAWFORD. 14 SPRING 2018 natureconservancy.ca
Partner Spotlight Thank you to our sponsors of the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s cross-country NatureTalks series in 2017. NatureTalks events engage Canadians in discussions that focus on urgent conservation topics. The NatureTalks cross-country series brings together multi-disciplinary panels for knowledge sharing, enhancing connections between people, nature and conservation. John Walters (Nancy Ferrier’s nephew) and his wife, Sylvia. When Nancy passed away, they became the executors of the estate. In 2017, the NatureTalks series visited 10 major cities across Canada and delved into various topics, including water, grasslands and natural capital. Thank you to everyone who joined us for an evening of thoughtprovoking discussion. 2 Keeping it all in the family: The Ferrier property GOUGH LAKE, ALBERTA In 1904, brothers John and Tom Ferrier sailed from Scotland to Canada to look for a homestead and to make a better life. They settled on the edge of Alberta’s Gough Lake, 125 kilometres east of Red Deer, where they built a wood shack with a tin roof. John and his wife, Agnes, raised their children on the farm through the Great Depression and two World Wars. After decades of drought, dust and hail storms, the Ferriers’ children saw the farm prosper. Recently, John Ferrier’s last surviving child, Agnes Isabelle Ferrier, known as Nancy, passed away and willed the land to NCC. The property contains wetlands and shoreline habitats that are essential for the mammals, grassland birds, shorebirds and waterfowl that live in and migrate through the region. AB 3 Loomer’s legacy: Picking up where he left off VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA BRENT CALVER. Over two days this past September, the family of the late Dick Loomer, a former volunteer steward who passed away in June 2017, joined NCC Conservation Volunteers and staff at NCC’s Swishwash Island Nature Sanctuary. The group had assembled to recognize and carry on Dick’s important legacy of caring for this BC island, which perches in the mouth of the Fraser River. Located in the midst of one of Canada’s largest urban centres, Swishwash Island offers a safe haven for diverse wildlife, including coyotes, eagles, salmon and thousands of snow geese that use the island as a stopover spot during their flight south from the Arctic. After being taken over to the island on the Coast Guard’s bright red Zodiacs, the group planted 100 Douglas-fir seedlings, conducted a beach cleanup and cut Scotch broom, an invasive plant species. Watch a video of the event at natureconservancy.ca/swishwashsteward. NatureTalks will be coming to a city near you in 2018! Stay tuned for more information, including dates, panel topics and speaker lineups: natureconservancy.ca/naturetalks.
Page 1 and 2: SPRING 2018 Against the odds The Ma
Page 3 and 4: Contents Nature Conservancy of Cana
Page 5 and 6: SONGBIRDS Restore and care for bird
Page 7 and 8: peoples and more recent settlers. N
Page 9 and 10: With perhaps only 500 Poweshiek ski
Page 11 and 12: Helping hands In 2011, scientists w
Page 13: SIZE AND WEIGHT Weighs up to 16 kil
Page 17 and 18: Spanning the lush, vibrant grasslan
Page 19 and 20: Your passion for Canada’s natural

Spring 2018 NCC Magazine

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