Mature forest on the north side of Marble Mountain, in our North Mountain Ridge focus area.

The North Mountain Ridge is a stronghold of old forest, with important long-term strategic value for carbon storage and broad climate resilience. Overlooking the Bras d’Or Lakes in the Unama’ki region of the province, the steep slopes and ravines connect the lakeshore to the top of the plateau. The lands on the ridge are almost entirely privately owned, making the Nature Trust’s work protecting these private lands an irreplaceable complementary role to the province’s conservation efforts in protecting the full range of biodiversity within this natural landscape. Our conservation efforts in this area have previously focused on the south side of the mountain – but two newly protected lands will extend protection and increase ecological connectivity to the north side.

The two newly protected properties span a combined 156 acres (84 acres, and 72 acres) along the northeastern slopes and plateau of North Mountain Ridge. These two lands share boundaries with each other and with several existing protected areas, including other Nature Trust protected lands and the provincially protected Little Beaver Nature Reserve on the plateau of the mountain. The properties’ location on a north-facing slope, coupled with their mature forest cover, may provide a natural refuge for species under climate stress.

The two protected properties encompass a diverse forest landscape, featuring hardwood and mixwood stands that are mature, and in some places nearing old growth. Dominated by late successional Wabanaki-Acadian forest species such as Eastern Hemlock, Yellow Birch, Sugar Maple, and Beech, the forests also include White Birch and Red Maple throughout. The mature hardwood and mixedwood stands support long-term carbon storage.

Mature hardwood forests are a preferred habitat of the Eastern Wood-Pewee. (Photo credit: Alix d’Entremont)

These mature hardwood forests provide potential habitat for the Eastern Wood-Pewee and likely provide habitat for a number of other priority species identified within the Bird Conservation Strategy for Nova Scotia; for example, Ruffed Grouse were observed during our initial site visit. The mature forests on the property may also be habitat for rare lichen species, as have been found on nearby protected lands.

This project was undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada through the federal Department of Environment and Climate Change.

Our thanks as well for generous support from the Nova Scotia Crown Share Land Legacy Trust, a critical source of land securement funding for Nova Scotia’s land trusts.

These new lands add to a growing assemblage of protected nature along the North Mountain Ridge – learn more about this focus area.