BLOOMING POINT, P.E.I. – The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is working to protect a 128-acre (52- hectare) property containing dunes, a large salt marsh and coastal forest behind the popular Blooming Point beach.
The privately owned property is one of the last remaining areas at Blooming Point that hasn’t already been conserved. The NCC has reached an agreement with the owner and is actively fundraising to purchase the property for conservation.
“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to conserve this natural gem at the western end of Blooming Point’s well-loved beach,” says Julie Vasseur, P.E.I. program director for the conservancy. “The Nature Conservancy of Canada needs to raise $35,000 this winter to purchase and protect this property. We are asking Islanders to keep this incredible local conservation project in mind for their year-end charitable giving.”
Blooming Point is the community that borders the national park, but its beach and wetland habitat were not included in the park system when it was established decades ago. The Blooming Point property is an important site for NCC to conserve because its dunes, wetlands and coastal forest provide a buffer for the beach, as well as habitat for many species of birds. Once conserved, the property will be protected as wildlife habitat.
This is not the first project the NCC has undertaken at Blooming Point. Its first project in P.E.I. was there and since the 1980s, it has contributed to the protection of more than 300 acres in the area.
The conservancy is Canada’s leading not-for-profit, private land conservation organization, working to protect the most important natural areas and the species they sustain. Since 1962, NCC and its partners have helped to protect more than 1.1 million hectares (2.8 million acres) and has conserved 29,500 hectares (73,000 acres) in the Atlantic provinces.
To learn more visit: http://www.natureconservancy.ca/en/where-we-work/prince-edward-island/
