NCC Magazine, Fall 2023

FALL 2023 

TKTKTKTKTKTKT 

natureconservancy.ca 

Connecting 

landscapes 

Linking protected areas is essential for plants, 

animals and natural systems to thrive 

WINTER 2021 1

FALL 2023 

CONTENTS 

Nature Conservancy of Canada 

4 People power 

Fuelling restoration from coast to coast. 

6 Lac Frye Nature Reserve 

This Important Bird Area in New 

Brunswick is a feast for a bird lover’s eyes. 

7 Less can be more 

Small actions, like restoration in your 

garden, can increase our resilience 

in the face of climate change and 

biodiversity loss. 

7 Backpack essentials 

The Yukon’s landscapes provide 

endless photographic opportunities 

for 16-year-old Evan Howells. 

8 Making connections 

Read about the first of four CARE 

principles — connected — and 

how it’s creating meaningful 

conservation outcomes. 

12 Spotted wintergreen 

This threatened species is found in 

only one place in Canada. 

14 Future-proofing 

conservation 

Meet the next generation of applied 

conservation scientists. 

16 Project updates 

Huge win for grasslands in BC; an island 

paradise in Ontario; restoring natural and 

cultural connections in Quebec. 

18 At home on the water 

Whether in Iran or Canada, there’s 

no place like home. 

Digital extras 

Check out our online magazine page with 

additional content to supplement this issue, 

at nccmagazine.ca. 

Nature Conservancy of Canada 

365 Bloor Street East, Suite 1501 

Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4W 3L4 

magazine@natureconservancy.ca | Phone: 416.932.3202 | Toll-free: 877.231.3552 

The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is the country’s unifying force for nature. We seek 

solutions to the twin crises of rapid biodiversity loss and climate change through large-scale, 

permanent land conservation. NCC is a registered charity. With nature, we build a thriving world. 

The Nature Conservancy of Canada Magazine is distributed to donors and supporters of NCC. 

TM 

Trademarks owned by the Nature Conservancy of Canada. 

FSC® is not responsible for any calculations 

on saving resources by choosing this paper. 

Printed in Canada with vegetable-based inks by Warrens Waterless Printing. 

This publication saved 28 trees and 25,920 litres of water*. 

CREATED BY: CALCULATEUR.ROLLANDINC.COM. PHOTO: GUILLAUME SIMONEAU (KENAUK, QC). COVER: MARK RAYCROFT. 

* 

2 FALL 2023 natureconservancy.ca

Featured 

Contributors 

ETIENNE BOISVERT. 

Dear friends, 

I 

have been amazed by nature since my childhood, wanting to 

protect all the wonders it has to offer. With the climate crisis 

and the decline of species, I care even more about taking action 

to increase its resiliency. 

It’s perhaps no surprise that at the Nature Conservancy of Canada 

(NCC), we CARE about nature every day. You see, for nature to 

thrive, protected and conserved areas need to be Connected, have 

Adequate quality habitats, be Representative of all species and be 

managed Effectively. Together, those principles represent an internationally 

recognized framework to support resilient landscapes. If 

the places we conserve meet these criteria, landscapes will be able 

to withstand the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss. And 

if they are resilient, then we feel confident we are building a thriving 

world with nature. 

In fact, CARE has become such an important lens for our work 

here at NCC, that we’re going to feature it over the next four issues 

of the NCC magazine. 

In this issue, we start the series off with the C in CARE: connected. 

As Dominique Ritter explains in her feature story, connectivity is 

important in all aspects of our work. It can mean a small passage to 

allow frogs to cross a road safely, or a large wilderness corridor for 

wide-ranging mammals to move within. Connected landscapes can 

ensure that when faced with severe weather events or the threat of 

invasive species, plants and animals can continue to thrive throughout 

their range. Connected landscapes can also be places where 

people spend time in and care for nature. 

Connecting landscapes and being connected to landscapes is vital. 

Thank you for the care you show in supporting Canada’s nature. 

Yours in nature, 

Marie-Michele Rousseau-Clair 

Marie-Michele Rousseau-Clair 

Chief conservation officer 

Dominique Ritter 

is a writer and editor 

based in Quebec’s 

Laurentians. She’s the 

former editor-in-chief 

of Reader’s Digest 

and several custom 

magazines for Bookmark, 

and has also 

worked at The Canadian 

Encyclopedia and 

Adbusters. She wrote 

“Making connections,” 

page 8. 

Chanelle Nibbelink 

is a Canadian-American 

illustrator who 

enjoys applying 

conceptual thinking 

and stylistic exploration 

to all of her 

editorial, publishing 

and advertising 

projects. She 

illustrated “At home 

on the water,” page 

18, and “Less can be 

more,” page 7. 


FALL 2023 3

COAST TO 

COAST 

Conservation 

Volunteer removing 

encroaching shrubs 

to restore species at 

risk habitat, Ethier 

Sandhills, MB. 

50 per cent of the 

encroaching juniper 

has been removed. 

People 

power 

Conservation Volunteers are fuelling 

restoration efforts coast to coast 

Once the Nature Conservancy of Canada 

(NCC) conserves a natural area, 

there may be areas that need some 

CARE to return them to a connected, adequate, 

representative and effective ecosystem. Restoration 

activities, like planting native plants and 

removing invasive ones, cleaning up debris and 

rehabilitating altered natural features, can help 

ensure the landscapes under our care are thriving 

and resilient. This work can take years of 

effort and a lot of elbow grease. 

One pair of hands can only do so much, but 

as the saying goes, many hands make light 

work. Each year, our Conservation Volunteers 

play a vital role in restoring diverse ecosystems 

across Canada. 

The impact of our Conservation Volunteers 

is a testament to the power of collective action. 

Not only do they help NCC staff accomplish 

the work we simply couldn’t do alone, but our 

volunteers also inspire and empower communities 

to forge a deeper connection with nature. 

Thank you to all our Conservation Volunteers 

for their invaluable support in creating a thriving 

world with nature. 

READ MORE ABOUT OUR 

CONSERVATION VOLUNTEERS 

AND THEIR SUCCESSES ONLINE: 

CONSERVATIONVOLUNTEERS.CA 

LIL CREEK PHOTO & VIDEO. 


ALBERTA 

Adopt a patch 

If you’ve ever spent time trying to rid your garden of weeds, you know 

that it takes hard work and perseverance. Now imagine trying to weed 

a property 100 times that size! That’s not a single-handed job. And 

that’s why Conservation Volunteers at Golden Ranches Conservation 

Area are helping remove and control invasive plants that are growing 

among the 110,000 native trees and shrub seedlings that were planted 

by Project Forest as part of a multi-year restoration project. Volunteers 

have been trained and assigned patches to adopt and weed repeatedly 

over the summer. Over time, their efforts will prevent these unwanted 

weeds from reproducing and allow native plants to thrive. To learn 

more, visit natureconservancy.ca/adopt-a-patch. 

8,867 

SQUARE 

METRES 

of weed patches targeted 

to prevent them from 

becoming larger and 

more difficult to control. 

3,000 

SEEDLINGS 

including white spruce, jack 

pine, white birch, red-osier 

dogwood and chokecherry 

have been planted since 2017. 

SASKATCHEWAN 

Giving nature some TLC 

Located 90 minutes north of Saskatoon, Meeting Lake 03 features close to 

200 hectares of woodlands, wetlands and grasslands. Parts of this area are threatened 

by habitat fragmentation, wetland loss and the removal of plants. That’s why 

Conservation Volunteers joined forces to plant 400 white spruces as part of an 

ongoing restoration project, which aims to bring this project back to its full glory. 

TOP TO BOTTOM: NCC; NCC; ANDREA MOREAU/NCC STAFF; NCC. 

MANITOBA 

Students 

safeguard 

the sandhills 

Not only is Ethier Sandhills, 

located 88 kilometres 

southwest of Brandon, 

home to a number of 

native plants, but it also 

provides important 

habitat for Manitoba’s only 

lizard: prairie skink. And 

a team of student volunteers 

from Assiniboine 

Community College’s Land 

and Water Management 

program have been 

lending a hand to ensure 

the landscape there 

provides healthy habitat 

for these species. In the 

last two years alone, the 

team cleared significant 

areas of encroaching 

aspen stands and juniper 

shrubs, ensuring native 

plants and species have 

room to thrive. More work 

is planned for this fall, and 

NCC and the students are 

excited to continue these 

restoration efforts. 

ONTARIO 

Bend it like Willow Creek 

Willow Creek flows slowly through the Minesing Wetlands, one of NCC’s largest and least disturbed 

wetlands in southern Ontario. But it wasn’t always this way. Historical dredging of the wetlands for 

agricultural purposes led to an overload of sediment, reducing the channel’s ability to absorb and 

filter water. It also degraded habitat for the species that relied on the creek and its beds. The Nottawasaga 

Valley Conservation Authority and NCC have teamed up with volunteers to recreate the 

stream’s natural meander, by submerging coniferous trees in the creek along the banks. Post-restoration 

monitoring indicates that the aquatic bug community is more diverse (more bug groups). 

QUEBEC 

Rooting for 

turtles 

Turtles can be very picky during 

nesting season. At the Parc des 

Rapides-du-Cheval-Blanc in the 

west end of Montreal, buckthorn 

was invading a regularly used 

turtle nesting site. Conservation 

Volunteers removed the invasive 

species to protect this natural 

area, conducted nesting surveys 

and submitted sightings to local 

turtle monitoring project: 

carapace.ca. 

250 

SQUARE METRES 

are now turtle friendly. 

NOVA SCOTIA 

Youth for Boar’s Head 

One of the many benefits of being a Conservation 

Volunteer is that each event is a learning experience. 

And while at the Boar’s Head Nature Reserve 

shoreline cleanup, on the west coast of the island 

and surrounded on every side by the Bay of Fundy, 

volunteers literally participated in a community-based 

learning program. For the second year in 

a row, a group of Grade 10 students from Islands 

Consolidated School, along with local community 

members, joined forces at the event. Volunteers 

removed 19 extra-large garbage bags worth of 

debris from a 500-metre stretch of shoreline. To learn 

more, visit natureconservancy.ca/boars-head.1 

500 

METRE 

stretch of shoreline debris cleared. 

1KM 

of stream restored 

since 2010. 


WINTER 2023 5

BOOTS ON 

THE TRAIL 

Gulf of St. Lawrence 

 

N 

Lac Frye 

Nature Reserve 

Lac Frye 

Route 113 Highway 

Lac Frye 

Nature Reserve 

Bird lovers, feast your eyes on the many feathered friends feeding 

and nesting around the Lac Frye Nature Reserve’s coastal pond 

Lac Frye is one of six nature reserves 

protected by the Nature Conservancy 

of Canada (NCC) on Miscou Island. 

This 54-hectare nature reserve is located at 

the tip of the island, at the northernmost 

point of New Brunswick. The island has been 

designated as an Important Bird Area — its 

wetlands and coastlines are a critical stopover 

point for migratory birds. Its beaches 

are also used as a nesting ground by endangered 

piping plovers. 

Birders can meander along the boardwalk 

and enjoy the sights from the viewing 

platform that overlooks a large coastal 

pond, which is surrounded by a sand 

barrier beach, salt marsh and forest. 

Come fall, Miscou Island’s expansive 

bogs light up in spectacular shades of 

red. And if that’s not enough to pique your 

interest, many species of shorebirds, 

waterfowl and plants can be spotted here, 

including the at-risk Gulf of St. Lawrence 

aster. Who knows, maybe you’ll even get 

lucky enough to feast your eyes on the 

hundreds of northern gannets that can be 

seen just off the coast.1 

LEGEND 

-- Boardwalk 

Viewing platform 

P Parking 

SPECIES TO SPOT 

• alder flycatcher 

• American goldfinch 

• belted kingfisher 

• common tern 

• common 

yellowthroat 

• dunlin 

• great blue heron 

• green-winged teal 

• Gulf of St. Lawrence 

aster 

• least sandpiper 

• northern gannet 

• northern harrier 

• piping plover 

• red-eyed vireo 

• red-winged 

blackbird 

• semipalmated 

sandpiper 

• Swainson’s thrush 

• swamp sparrow 

• yellow warbler 

• whimbrel 

LEARN MORE 

Visit natureconservancy.ca/lacfrye 

MAP: JACQUES PERRAULT. PHOTOS LEFT TO RIGHT: ANDREW HERYGERS/NCC STAFF; MIKE DEMBECK; 

ROBERT MCCAW; ANDREW HERYGERS/NCC STAFF; ROBERT MCCAW. 

6 FALL 2023 

natureconservancy.ca

ACTIVITY 

CORNER 

BACKPACK 

ESSENTIALS 

ILLUSTRATION: CHANELLE NIBBELINK. PHOTO: CATHIE ARCHBOULD. 

Restoration: 

Less can be more 

Restoration — assisting in ecosystem recovery 

— is a key part of the Nature Conservancy of 

Canada’s (NCC’s) work across the country. On a 

large scale, this work helps provide wildlife habitat 

and increases resiliency to climate change. But 

small actions can also contribute to the greater 

good. Read on to learn about how you can help fill 

in the pieces of the restoration puzzle. 

LET IT BE 

Press pause on the yard work and make a 

difference for Canadian wildlife. In autumn, fallen 

leaves, as well as plant stalks and seedheads, 

can provide habitat for small mammals, insects, 

amphibians and reptiles. Dead tree branches and 

areas of uncovered soil can be a place for native 

bees to overwinter. 

With the time you save, you’ll have lots of 

opportunity to observe and learn more about 

the species you encounter, using a field guide 

or app like iNaturalist. 

BACK WHERE THEY BELONG 

Replacing plants with native species and replacing 

lawns with native ground cover is a great way 

to contribute to restoration. Use the QR code 

below to learn about native gardening and select 

species suited to where you live. Less lawn means 

more habitat for wildlife. It also means less water, 

fertilizer, pesticides and herbicides. This reduces 

waste and makes a healthier place for people 

and wildlife. 

And if you take care in choosing the right species, 

you may notice an increase in butterflies, bees and 

other pollinators when your plants bloom.1 

TO LEARN MORE, 

VISIT NCC’S SMALL ACTS 

OF CONSERVATION 

Frame of mind 

Evan Howells, 16, one of this year’s Nature Inspiration Award 

youth finalists*, is grateful to be growing up in the Yukon, 

surrounded by nature and its endless photo opportunities 

Ilive in Whitehorse, known as the wilderness city, where a backpack adventure is 

only minutes away. I never leave home without my backpack, and an essential 

item I always pack is my camera. I like to connect to nature by capturing photos 

of whatever I see around me — from insects to plant life. 

In recent years, I learned the importance of using photography to document 

observations for my multi-year science fair project. At 13, I started collecting data 

for the first study that compared pollen foraging patterns of native bumble bees and 

honey bees in natural landscapes in Southern Lakes, Yukon. Each summer, I took 

photos of the study sites, including bees and flowers during each visit. After identifying 

bee pollen samples under a microscope, I used the photos for cross-referencing 

the flowers blooming in each collection period. 

Photography was also an integral part of communicating my study results online 

and in designing my science fair display. At the 2023 Canada-Wide Science Fair, 

I was honoured to receive a medal for my project. I hope my study findings will raise 

awareness of the needs of native bumble bees and further guide beekeeping and 

landscaping practices to maintain their populations locally. 

Spending lots of time in the meadows of the Southern Lakes region has made it 

one of my favourite nature spots in the Yukon. I plan to go on many hikes there in the 

future, and I’ll be sure to take my camera along.1 

*An annual award hosted by the Canadian Museum of Nature. 


Making 

connections 

Collaboration between conservationists is helping create meaningful 

outcomes in habitat preservation, education and research 

BY Dominique Ritter 


GUILLAUME SIMONEAU. 

Connection is visible throughout nature, 

like here, between tree, rock, land and 

sky in Kenauk. Inset: Lac Papineau, 

Kenauk Nature Reserve, QC. 

In summer, King Kong sticks close to his 

home range. The eight-and-a-half-year-old bull 

moose — who earned his nickname thanks to his 

imposing stature — spends his nighttime hours 

feeding on new-growth poplars and beech. During 

the warm daytime hours, he can be found digesting in the 

shade of large fir trees, reclined on a cool, moist bed of moss, 

with his legs tucked up by his belly and the left side of his 

140-centimetre antlers, with its signature downward-facing 

tine, resting on the ground to support his handsome head. 

This munching-and-napping routine all sounds quite leisurely 

until you consider the effort of eating 22 to 25 kilograms 

of vegetation per day, not to mention the substantial 

challenges ahead. Because, come fall, King Kong will set off 

on a vital journey: fathering next year’s calves. 

Starting in the first days of September, King Kong transforms 

from homebody to travelling salesman. From his tract 

in the Kenauk nature reserve, in southwest Quebec, he has 

to signal to the female moose in the area that he is ready, 

willing. It’s time to roam the deep temperate forest. 

King Kong begins his fall pilgrimage by covering about 

10 square kilometres to rub his molting antlers, which have 

been carefully doused in his testosterone-accented urine, on 

trees. It’s not unusual for five or six females to come calling 

in response to this olfactory marketing campaign. It’s also 

not unusual for several young bulls to travel to King Kong’s 

patch and try to persuade a female that the big bull isn’t 

quick enough to satisfy. 

All to say that while most moose don’t typically migrate, 

they do move around — quite a bit. And this freedom to 

move is absolutely essential to their health, their ability to 

successfully reproduce and the population’s long-term 

survival, especially on a warming planet. Accommodating 

that movement is one of the key considerations when 

conservationists talk about ecological connectivity. 

Building a network 

A common set of guiding principles is indispensable if conservationists 

are to work toward shared goals that translate 

across ecosystems and boundaries to create long-term 

solutions. To that end, most systematic conservation plans 

worldwide — including those of the Nature Conservancy of 



Connections abound in Kenauk. 

Continued from previous page 

Canada (NCC) — follow four key principles: 

connectivity, adequacy, representation and 

effectiveness (often referred to by the acronym 

CARE). 

“Connectivity is about how much landscapes 

allow species to move and ecosystem 

processes to occur. It’s directly related to 

resilient landscapes and the genetic diversity 

of populations,” explains Marie-Andrée 

Tougas-Tellier, project manager for NCC 

and its Quebec Ecological Corridors Initiative 

(QECI). 

We’re at the edge of the 93-hectare Lac 

Maholey, in Kenauk. It’s a rich source of the 

aquatic plants King Kong likes to eat in 

springtime. Looking out over a floating blanket 

of lily pads, there’s a great blue heron 

poised knee-deep in the shallows, searching 

for its next catch. The only human-made 

structure in view is the dock beneath our 

feet. But while this is ideal habitat for 

moose, they also need safe corridors to help 

them travel over wide expanses. 

Because of the area’s exceptional natural 

values, NCC has been partnering with the 

Kenauk Institute since 2013 to ensure its 

long-term care. At 26,500 hectares, it is one 

of the largest temperate forests dedicated 

to conservation and research in North 

America and significant habitat for species 

(112 rare species have been identified 

here in the past eight years). 

Kenauk also is important because it’s 

a crucial piece in a much wider natural 

network (see map inset, p. 11). This 

300-kilometre corridor, which stretches 

between the Adirondacks and Parc 

Mont-Tremblant, is vital to species — from 

Canada warbler to painted turtle, to wolf 

and black bear. 

People power 

Cary Hamel, NCC’s director of conservation in 

Manitoba, has spent close to three decades 

protecting land and easing the passage of 

wildlife from one area to another. One of his 

team’s challenges: continuing to conserve important 

habitats and restore connectivity in 

key areas between Riding Mountain National 

Park, about 250 kilometres northwest of 

Winnipeg, and Duck Mountain Provincial 

Park, to its north. 

“At the end of the day, if those parks 

end up being islands, completely developed 

all around, they’re going to lose ecological 

integrity and they’re going to lose species,” 

Hamel explains. 

Success in NCC’s conservation efforts 

isn’t dependent on keeping humans out; it’s 

dependent on bringing them in. “People are 

part of nature,” he says. 

With that in mind, Hamel and his team 

have been working within the Blue Wing 

corridor, a 106,578-hectare area separating 

Riding Mountain and Duck Mountain. Here, 

maintaining habitat for golden-winged warbler, 

moose and elk amid tracts of privately 

owned land is largely focused on building 

relationships in the community, based on 

shared values. 

Improving connectivity can look like the 

purchase of a piece of land or a conservation 

agreement in a critical movement corridor. 

But it can also be about innovative programs 

to help maintain grasslands and pastures 

and support livestock farmers, whose lands 

might otherwise be converted. Or it can look 

like students from the Waywayseecappo 

Off-campus School who have been coming 

out and working with Elders and NCC staff 

since 2018. They do a wide range of handson 

activities that benefit conservation, including 

restoration work on NCC properties, 

with the goal of improving movement 

across landscapes. 

“Our goal is to support vibrant rural communities 

where people can make a living, and 

nature is seen as part of the economy and not 

as a barrier to development,” says Hamel. 

Similarly in Quebec, NCC is leading an 

initiative to build alliances and accelerate its 

efforts. Launched in 2017, QECI is comprised 

of 10 organizations and hundreds of 

partners, and uses a collective approach to 

boost the conservation of ecosystems connected 

by natural corridors. The initiative 

includes municipal and regional governments, 

woodlot owners, farmers, environmental 

organizations and experts dedicated 

to protecting and conserving nature across 

borders. It’s a remarkable confluence of interests, 

not least of all because it’s the first 

time all key stakeholders have worked 

together on a common goal. 

Thanks to QECI, woodlot owners learn 

that their forest management work is also 

beneficial for wildlife corridors. And by leaving 

tree stumps and woody debris, they provide 

critical habitat for pileated woodpecker 

and salamander. In turn, NCC has learned 

much from woodlot owners, making it a mutually 

beneficial collaboration. 

“When we started, in 2017, not many 

people were working to conserve ecological 



connectivity,” reflects Kateri Monticone, director 

strategic conservation and innovation 

at NCC in Quebec. 

“Now we hear it referenced more and more 

— in government, among the owners of woodlots, 

citizens, regional mayors,” says Monticone. 

“That’s a really great achievement.” 

Common knowledge 

Valerie Pankratz, executive director of Manitoba’s 

Riding Mountain Biosphere Reserve, 

has spent two decades promoting connectivity 

and is credited with finding solutions to some 

of the area’s more divisive issues between 

farmers and conservationists. 

“Really what we’re trying to do is conserve 

and preserve biodiversity within the 

region and hope that we can entice people, 

through education and communication, to 

do the right thing,” she says. “We can’t tell 

people what to do; our job is to act as a conduit 

of information.” 

Sometimes, education about connectivity 

needs to focus on the threats to an ecosystem 

and what not to do, in order to support 

the local species. “Last week, we did 

a kids’ program in which we made zebra 

mussel replicas they could take home,” says 

Pankratz. Zebra mussels are an invasive species 

that take over an aquatic ecosystem by 

hoarding the nutrients and starving out native 

fish populations and the industries that 

depend on them. 

“Now the kids know what they look like,” 

says Pankratz, “and we hope they understand 

the importance of not moving the zebra 

mussels from one lake to another.” 

Freedom to roam 

Back at Kenauk, improving connectivity 

remains, of course, an ongoing challenge. 

A recent study examining habitat loss in the 

transborder corridor from the Adirondacks to 

the Laurentians and up to Parc Mont-Tremblant, 

between 2000 and 2015, found that, as 

a species, moose had experienced the largest 

impact: their habitat shrank by 26 per cent. 

Compounding this deficit are the ongoing 

fragmentation and degradation of habitats 

and the growing pressures of climate change. 

“With climate change, animal habitats are 

shifting north at a rate of four kilometres per 

year. So, animals are going to follow their 

habitats to survive, and ecological corridors 

are going to become more and more important,” 

says Monticone, who notes several 

climate refugee species have already been 

spotted in Quebec, among them possums. 

Despite ongoing changes, she remains optimistic. 

“There’s a lot of hope in action. 

Together, we go further.” 

Action — though of a different variety 

— is also one of King Kong’s primary goals. 

Come October, driven to maintain his status 

as one of Kenauk’s most successful breeding 

males, he will undertake a second round of 

reproductive outreach, this time travelling 

up to 10 kilometres in a single night, in order 

to find any fertile females he may not have 

encountered in the first round. 

Over the past five years, King Kong’s dedication 

to these efforts have produced impressive 

results: around 30 surviving calves. One 

day, one of them might take over as the new 

king of Kenauk.1 

CARE 

It’s perhaps no surprise that at 

NCC, we CARE about nature every 

day. You see, for nature to thrive, 

protected and conserved areas 

need to be Connected, have 

Adequate quality habitats, be 

Representative of all species and 

be managed Effectively. Together, 

those principles represent an 

internationally recognized 

framework to support the creation 

of resilient landscapes. If the 

places we conserve meet these 

criteria, landscapes will be able to 

withstand the impacts of climate 

change and biodiversity loss. 

And if they are resilient, then we 

feel confident we are building 

a thriving world with nature. 

SEAN FEAGAN/NCC STAFF. INSETS: DOUG DERKSEN; LETA PEZDERIC/NCC STAFF. MAP: NCC. 

Quebec Ecological Corridors Initiative vision 

Key zone for connectivity 

Public or private protected area 

Public managed area 

Ecological corridors restoration area 

Ecological network 

vision of the QECI 

An important consideration in 

creating protected areas is 

ensuring that important places 

for biodiversity conservation are 

connected so that plants, animals 

and natural systems can survive. 

This is important for species’ 

movement between habitat 

patches, to ensure an exchange of 

genetic material between locations. 

It is also becoming increasingly 

important to adjust to the 

effects of climate change and give 

species the opportunity to move 

as climate conditions change. 



SPECIES 

PROFILE 

Spotted 

wintergreen 

This threatened species, once found in both Ontario and Quebec, 

is now only seen in southern Ontario 

GERRY BISHOP/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO. 

12 FALL 2023 


APPEARANCE 

This low-growing evergreen 

plant can reach 10 to 25 centimetres 

high. Its blue-green toothed 

leaves feature a white stripe along 

their mid-rib. The five-petalled 

flowers, which arise from a stalk 

atop the whorl of leaves, 

are pink or white. 

HABITAT 

This species occurs in 

well-drained sandy soil 

and oak-pine mixed 

forests and 

woodlands. 

RANGE 

Spotted wintergreen can 

be found in southern Ontario, 

the eastern U.S., most of Mexico 

and parts of Central America. In 

Canada, it is found in southern 

Ontario. Until recently, the species 

was spotted in Quebec as well, 

but it can no longer be found 

in this province. 

THREATS 

A threatened species, 

spotted wintergreen is at risk 

from habitat loss from 

development and habitat 

degradation from recreational 

activities. 

DAN HANSCOM/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO. 

What NCC is doing to protect habitat for this species 

Weston Family Conservation Science Fellow Amy Wiedenfeld is trying to understand whether some of the 

spotted wintergreen populations in Ontario are growing or shrinking, and what environmental factors may 

be contributing to the population changes. This information will help the Nature Conservancy of Canada 

natureconservancy.ca plan conservation or restoration activities to support this and other rare species.1 

HELP 

OUT 

Help protect habitat for 

species at risk at 

natureconservancy. 

ca/donate. 


FORCE FOR 

NATURE 

Future-proofing 

conservation 

Empowering students 

with the skills, experience 

and community they need 

to become tomorrow’s 

leaders in applied 

conservation science 




The next 

generation 

of leaders in 

applied conservation 

science are hard at 

work, thanks to the 

Weston Family 

Conservation Science 

Fellowship Program. 

The program supports 

and trains graduate 

students conducting 

Nature Conservancy 

of Canada (NCC) 

priority research on 

the conservation and 

management of important 

natural areas and 

biological diversity 

across Canada. 

The program aims to provide the fellows with 

relevant and unique learning opportunities 

that extend beyond their own research. Fellows 

engage with NCC staff and the organization’s 

work, and are offered opportunities 

for professional development. They develop 

a sense of community that fosters peer 

support, creating strong connections that 

will carry into their professional careers. 

Fellowships are awarded to graduate 

students conducting world-class applied 

conservation research that directly addresses 

pressing conservation challenges and NCC 

priorities, including species at risk, ecological 

connectivity and invasive species. 

Fellowships for specific research projects 

are typically advertised in the fall, for master’s 

or PhD students to begin their studies the 

following summer or fall. The first cohort of 

fellows began their studies in fall 2020.1 

LEARN MORE ABOUT 

THE FELLOWS, THEIR 

RESEARCH, AND HOW TO 

APPLY FOR A FELLOWSHIP 

ZACHARY MOORE 

Master’s student, University of Manitoba 

(2020–present) 

Zachary Moore will tell you that conservation 

theory is for the birds. He is studying 

the response of grassland songbirds to 

vegetation structure and cattle grazing on 

NCC properties in the Waterton Park Front 

in Alberta. His research will inform best 

management practices to support grassland 

songbirds. 

AMY WIEDENFELD 

PhD student, University of Lethbridge 


Amy Wiedenfeld believes plants are cool 

and wants to dispel the misperception that 

they are uninteresting. She is researching 

whether populations of four rare plants in 

southern Ontario are increasing or decreasing 

over time, the rate of change, and how 

environmental barriers such as soil quality 

impact this. 

JESSICA SÁNCHEZ-JASSO 

PhD student, University of Manitoba 


Jessica Sánchez-Jasso feels as though her 

dreams have come true. With her love of 

butterflies and expertise in land management 

and GIS, she wants to show the role 

that butterflies play within ecosystems. She 

studies how prairie management affects 

two endangered butterflies in Manitoba: 

Poweshiek skipperling and Dakota skipper. 

EMILY TRENDOS 

PhD student, University of Guelph 


If you ask Emily Trendos, there’s nothing 

creepy about the crawlies she studies. 

She is researching the growth and survival 

of the endangered mottled duskywing 

butterfly in southern Ontario. Her research 

will provide information to support both 

current populations and future reintroductions 

of this species into suitable habitat. 

BRIELLE REIDLINGER 

Master’s student, University of Saskatchewan 


Brielle Reidlinger is passionate about the 

Prairies, birds and ranching. With the help 

of the fellowship, she hopes her research 

will help further the understanding of 

prairie songbirds and best grazing practices. 

She is comparing the impact of grazing 

cattle versus bison on grassland songbirds 

at Old Man on His Back Prairie and Heritage 

Conservation Area in Saskatchewan. 

JUSTIN KRELLER 

Master’s student, Carleton University 

(2023–present) 

Justin Kreller will use his GIS skills and 

passion for ecology and conservation to 

study some of Canada’s most invasive plants. 

He will use computer models to map their 

distribution and forecast their spread and 

future burden across the country. 



PROJECT 

UPDATES 

1 

A huge win for grasslands 

BUNCHGRASS HILLS CONSERVATION AREA, BC 

1 

THANK YOU! 

Your support has made these 

projects possible. Learn more at 

natureconservancy.ca/where-we-work. 

2 

3 

In June, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) celebrated 

one of the largest private grassland conservation achievements in 

BC with the establishment of the Bunchgrass Hills Conservation 

Area. The area’s more than 6,100 hectares of native grasslands 

offer vital habitat and connectivity for the species that live in the 

Thompson-Nicola region and within the traditional territories of 

the Secwépemc, Nlaka’pamux and Syilx Nations. 

The area’s rolling hills are covered in bluebunch wheatgrass and 

other native grasses, and are punctuated by Douglas-fir woodlands 

and scattered wetlands. 

Bunchgrass Hills offers important habitat for dozens of species 

iconic to BC’s interior. This includes several listed on the federal 

Species at Risk Act, such as Great Basin spadefoot toad, Great Basin 

gopher snake, American badger and Lewis’s woodpecker. Sharp-tailed 

grouse leks (mating sites) are also known to occur in the area, which 

indicates these grasslands are important breeding grounds for this 

provincially at-risk species. 

This project demonstrates the important contribution that 

private land conservation is making to our country’s climate and 

biodiversity goals. 

FERNANDO LESSA; FERNANDO LESSA. PORTRAIT: LA HALTE STUDIO. 

Nature is 

our lifeline 

“In 2021, we donated a large portion of our land 

to the Nature Conservancy [of Canada] with the 

belief and trust that it would be protected. 

“Why did we do it? It is about the future. Not so 

much my future or my husband’s future, but where 

we are going as a society. I believe that if we are 

lucky enough to be able to own land and it’s possible 

to protect it, then that is what we should do. 

“Nature is our lifeline. It’s not something outside of 

us that we need to protect; we are part of it. We are 

so interconnected, that if we don’t have trees, we 

don’t breathe. If we don’t have water, we cannot 

stay alive. We need to have these swaths of land 

that are full of forests and functioning ecosystems. 

“It’s not just how pretty the land is — I think of it 

as a survival mechanism. That’s why for me, it’s so 

important [to protect it].” 

~Ewa Dorynek Scheer has been an 

NCC donor since 2015 

These lands expand the protected areas in the southern 

flank of Quebec's Sutton Mountains and connect 

existing projects that are important for wide-ranging 

mammals, like black bear, bobcat and moose. 

Creating a corridor of protected areas allows these 

animals space to reproduce, raise their young and 

Bunchgrass Hills, BC. 

move in search of food. 

Inset: Checkerspot butterfly. 

16 WINTER 2023 natureconservancy.ca

2 

Island paradise 

BATCHEWANA ISLAND, ON 

Kenauk, QC. 

LEFT TO RIGHT: GARY J. MCGUFFIN; MIKE CRANE; KENAUK NATURE. 

The future of Lake Superior’s largest privately 

owned island is now ensured. Batchewana 

Island boasts close to 30 kilometres of shoreline, 

which encircles more than 2,000 hectares of 

pristine forests and wetlands. Gray wolf, black 

bear, moose and more than 30 provincially 

significant bird species live in the island’s woods. 

Many fish, including endangered lake sturgeon, 

spawn in the shallows offshore. 

The old-growth forests and wetlands that 

cover the island store carbon, filter water and 

provide habitat to plants and animals, helping 

to slow the pace of climate change and biodiversity 

loss. The carbon stored here is equivalent 

to the energy used by over 500,000 homes 

each year. As the forest continues to mature, 

it pulls even more carbon dioxide out of 

Ci di cor seque core et aciduci aepere optatiis del 

the atmosphere. 

NCC has already raised 80 per cent of the 

$7.2 million needed to purchase and care for 

the property, thanks to the support of federal 

and provincial governments and private donors. 

To learn more or to donate, visit 

natureconservancy.ca/batchewana. 

Batchewana Island, ON. Black bear. 

3 

Restoring natural and 

cultural connections 

W8BANAKI NATION 

Recently, Indigenous artifacts — stone chips for 

manufacturing tools and pottery shards — were 

uncovered on two different NCC sites in Quebec: 

Lac du Portage and Île Bouchard. W8banaki and 

NCC used archaeology to assist with conserving 

the cultural heritage of Indigenous communities. 

This collaboration inspired a rich conversation 

about the role of conservation sites, their meaning 

for Indigenous communities and Indigenous 

traditional use of natural resources.1 

To learn more, visit natureconservancy.ca/archeology. 

Partner Spotlight 

The American Friends of Canadian 

Nature (AFCN) is a U.S. not-for-profit 

charity that supports land conservation 

efforts in Canada and the 

work of Canadian conservation 

organizations, including but not 

limited to the Nature Conservancy 

of Canada (NCC). U.S. taxpayers 

who would like to be part of a 

landscape-scale approach to North 

America’s conservation legacy can 

donate to the AFCN. 

Each U.S. dollar donated to AFCN 

can leverage up to $4 for conservation 

in Canada, thanks to 

match dollars from government 

funding, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service and various Canadian 

conservation organizations. 

Nature knows no borders, and 

neither should conservation. In 

fact, many of Canada’s largest 

forests, mountain ranges and lakes 

extend well into the U.S., along 

with the habitats of species living 

in these areas. To successfully 

safeguard North America’s 

immense biodiversity, cross-border 

conservation efforts are essential. 

Support from AFCN has helped 

support projects from coast to 

coast, such as NCC’s work on Brier 

Island, NS, Reginald Hill, BC, 

Kenauk, QC, and The Yarrow, AB. 

Since landscapes and species in the 

U.S. directly benefit from conservation 

work done in Canada, American 

taxpayers are encouraged to 

support this vision. All contributions 

are tax-deductible under U.S. law. 

For more information: 

americanfriendscanadiannature.org. 


CLOSE 

ENCOUNTERS 

At home on the water 

By Saba Mozaffari, NCC communications intern in Atlantic Canada 

Growing up in a big city in Iran, a country with 

a vast and varying geography, I had little opportunity 

to explore and enjoy the outdoors. But 

each Iranian New Year, my family and I would visit the 

northern region of the country, where the air felt fresh 

and the sea was only a few steps away from our villa. 

The beautiful, lush greenery was mesmerizing, and it 

was an escape from busy city life. 

I always hoped to see more of my country. But by age 

16, I had moved to Canada, a new home with much to 

explore. My internships with the Nature Conservancy of 

Canada (NCC) have allowed me to explore Atlantic Canada’s 

magnificent landscapes in my new home country. 

In 2022, while on vacation with a friend, I visited 

NCC’s Gaff Point Nature Reserve in Nova Scotia. With 

our hiking boots laced up and our water bottles filled, 

we headed out. That day was magical. The sun peeked 

through the trees, the sky was a clear, bright blue, 

and it was the perfect temperature. Having seen many 

pictures of Gaff Point, I knew what to expect, but it 

was much more beautiful than any photo could ever 

capture. At that moment, for the first time in years, 

I felt at home. 

To reach the trailhead, we crossed the stunning 

crescent of Hirtle’s Beach. I can still vividly recall the 

feeling of being surrounded by trees, the salty, refreshing 

scent of the ocean and the sounds of waves pulling 

in and drifting away. 

My favourite spot on the trail was an open area at the 

point where the Atlantic Ocean spreads out before us as 

far as the eye could see. We took a moment and sat on a 

safe and stable rock, admiring and appreciating the view. 

Breathing the ocean air, I knew this was where I was 

meant to be. The sound of waves smashing against the 

rocks, the bright sun above and the calm around were all 

I needed to realize that no matter how far away I was 

from my native country, I could always call this place 

my home.1 

CHANELLE NIBBELINK. 


LET YOUR 

PASSION 

DEFINE 

YOUR 

LEGACY 

Your passion for Canada’s natural spaces defines your life; now it can define 

your legacy. With a gift in your Will to the Nature Conservancy of Canada, 

no matter the size, you can help protect our most vulnerable habitats and the 

wildlife that live there. For today, for tomorrow and for generations to come. 

Order your Free Legacy Information Booklet today! 

Call Jackie at 1-877-231-3552 x2275 or visit DefineYourLegacy.ca

YOUR 

IMPACT 

Protecting Canada’s Prairie grasslands 

With Prairie grasslands disappearing at an alarming rate, conserving this ecosystem is crucial. 

Thanks to you, a conservation agreement at McIntyre Ranch, in southern Alberta — the 

largest agreement of its kind in Canadian history — will ensure the protection of more than 

22,000 hectares of intact grasslands and wetlands. Grasslands store about a third of the world’s 

land-based carbon through their deep root systems. And by supporting McIntyre Ranch, part 

of the Nature Conservancy of Canada's (NCC's) campaign to protect Canada’s Prairie grasslands, 

and in partnership with Ducks Unlimited Canada, not only are you making a positive 

impact for Canadians, but for the entire planet. 

Natural 

partners 

The Government 

of Canada's Natural 

Heritage Conservation 

Program continues to 

support the conservation 

of critical habitat. 

NCC and program 

partners recently 

entered into a new 

three-year agreement 

to protect at least 

180,000 hectares. 

Since 2007, NCC and 

program partners 

have conserved 

nearly 800,000 hectares 

across Canada, 

including close to 

100,000 hectares 

of grasslands. 

LETA PEZDERIC/NCC STAFF. LETA PEZDERIC/NCC STAFF. 

Community 

grazing 

groups 

Thanks to generous donors and 

partners like you, we are making 

a significant impact. NCC's partnership 

work with local grazing 

groups supports conservation 

activities on 290,000 hectares of 

Prairie grasslands and sustains 

the livelihoods of local communities. 

These partnerships allow 

NCC to support conservation 

on about five per cent of the 

total remaining native prairie in 

Saskatchewan. 

Thank you for all you do for nature in Canada!

NCC Magazine, Fall 2023

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