This newly protected land lies outside our current geographic focus areas, but we lichen it too much to let that stop us – welcome to Jordan Falls!

Jordan Falls (Four Mile Brook) is located in Shelburne County, north of the community of Jordan Falls. Its 203 acres (82 hectares) hold a diverse mix of forests and wetlands, including peat bogs.

More than half of the property’s forest cover is mature, which is particularly important for its significant assemblage of rare and at-risk lichens. Lichens are a unique life form, a composite organism formed through a symbiotic partnership between fungus and algae (or cyanobacteria). They are too amazing to be constrained to classification within a single Kingdom!

Fortunately, lichens tend to have names that match their fundamental uniqueness. At-risk lichens found on the newly protected property include Graceful Felt Lichen, Blue Felt Lichen (Nova Scotia’s provincial lichen!), and Wrinkled Shingle Lichen, while other rare lichens present include such delights as Salted Shell Lichen, Blue-gray Moss Shingle Lichen, Ghost Antler Lichen, Blistered Jellyskin Lichen, Roughened Shingle Lichen, Peppered Moon Lichen, and White-rimmed Shingle Lichen.

Black Foam Lichen. Approximately half of the global population is believed to occur in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

Perhaps most significant is the Black-foam Lichen, which is listed as Threatened under the federal Species at Risk Act. Approximately half of the global population is believed to occur in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The Jordan Falls property contains mapped critical habitat for this exceptional lichen. Observations document an additional 17 occurrences within a 10 kilometer radius, but none of the surrounding patches are currently under formal protection, making the protection of this property especially important for the conservation of Black-foam Lichen in the region.

Lichen are particularly sensitive to environment changes associated with climate change, making the property’s peat bogs a winning complement. Peat bogs are supremely effective carbon sinks, holding vast quantities of partially decayed plant matter and preventing it from releasing its carbon. Left undisturbed, peat bogs continue to build slowly over thousands of years, locking away more and more carbon as they do so. Conservation of these ecosystems prevents them from being drained and developed, and ensures that their carbon won’t be released into the atmosphere to further contribute to climate change.

The property also lies within core habitat for Mainland Moose, which are listed as Endangered under the Nova Scotia Endangered Species Act.

These rare species will remain in our nature, forever, thanks to the support of so many donors and supporters who care about preserving Nova Scotia’s natural legacy. Learn more about the next places we are working to keep in our nature.

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.