Blanding’s Turtles are one of Nova Scotia’s most at-risk species – and now with help from two generous donors, they have 30 more protected acres of critical habitat!

This region of the Pleasant River watershed is a long-term conservation priority area because of its exceptional significance for endangered species, particularly Blanding’s Turtle and Eastern Ribbonsnake, both federally listed species at risk.

The Nature Trust has been working in this region since 2008, and our growing network of conservation lands complement other protected areas nearby, including the provincial Pu’tlaqne’katik Wilderness Area. Together, these areas are collectively called Pu’tlaqne’katik, a name which originates from a local Mi’kmaw elder’s vision of a lake called “Shaving Lake” or “Shingle Lake.” The waterways in this region have been used by the Mi’kmaq for centuries.

Ed’s Island now adds 30 more acres (12 hectares) of protected habitat in this focus area, including 1.5 kilometers of shoreline on Shingle Lake itself.

Sometimes called “Ned’s Island” by the local community, the property is actually a peninsula, covered by intact mature forest. It lies fully within mapped critical habitat for Blanding’s Turtles, one of the longest-lived and slowest maturing freshwater turtles in Canada. They rely on intact waterways, undisturbed lakeshores, and sheltered land crossings to move safely (and very, very slowly). These landscapes were once widespread in southwestern Nova Scotia, but growing cottage development and road networks has edged the turtles out of much of their former habitat. With only approximately 500 adult turtles left in the province and a hatchling survival rate of less than 1%, protecting their remaining habitat is vital to ensuring that these special turtles will survive.

In addition to its high priority reptile habitat, Ed’s Island also holds habitat for Atlantic Coastal Plain Flora, including Common Buttonbush and Toothed Flatsedge. This group of rare native species occur in only a few lakes and coastal areas in Nova Scotia; they rely on natural water level changes and undisturbed shorelines, so they are extremely vulnerable to damaging effects from roads, cottages, and shoreline hardening. Many of these plants are now at risk, making intact shorelines like those along Ed’s Island especially important for conservation.

Ed’s Island was donated to the Nature Trust through the Canadian Ecological Gifts program, a conservation incentive initiative providing landowners with special income tax benefits in recognition of their contribution to protecting Canada’s biodiversity. Maggie Thomas and Richard Donat have had a small cabin across the small bay for many years and called the bay and the island “a serene spot used by our family and friends.” When the island came up for sale, they seized the opportunity to protect their small bay. Now that they have in turn donated it to the Nature Trust, it will indeed be truly protected forever.

This generous gift has given Blanding’s Turtles and the other at-risk species in this biodiversity hotspot a stronger future, so that they may remain in our nature forever.

We are grateful to our community of supporters as well. Donated land nonetheless requires additional financial resources for associated costs like surveys, legal fees, and investment in future stewardship of the land. Your donations give the Nature Trust the strength and resources to ensure the protection of places like Ed’s Island. If you are inspired to help us keep even more of Nova Scotia’s most ecologically important and at-risk lands in our nature, make a gift today.

This project was undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada through the federal Department of Environment and Climate Change’s Priority Places for Species at Risk Program.

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.