A newly protected property pushes our North Mountain Ridge focus area further west than ever before!

The North Mountain Ridge is home to important old and unique forests as well as freshwater ecosystems. The 200-acre Macintosh Mountain property builds on a growing assemblage and is near several existing protected areas, including other Nature Trust conservation lands and the provincially designated North Mountain Wilderness Area, which protects the mountain’s plateau, a landscape rich in wetlands, ponds, and intact forests. The ridge slopes toward the Bras d’Or Lake and remains largely privately owned, making conservation of these lands an important complement to provincial efforts to maintain biodiversity and natural habitat connectivity.

A significant portion of the property is mapped as Old or Mature Forest, a designation that highlights its ecological value. Given the forest composition and baseline studies of similar habitats in the region, the property likely supports species such as the Eastern Wood-Pewee, listed as Special Concern under the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA) and as Vulnerable under the Nova Scotia Endangered Species Act. The mature forest and wetlands on the land may also provide habitat for priority bird species identified in the Bird Conservation Strategy for Nova Scotia, including the Canada Warbler and Olive-sided Flycatcher, both designated as Threatened under SARA.

The presence of old forest and moist, shaded conditions also suggest potential habitat for rare lichens, including the Blue Felt Lichen (Degelia plumbea), which has been documented within 2 kilometers of the property, and the globally rare Boreal Felt Lichen (Erioderma pedicellatum), known to occur in the region.

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.

We are so grateful to our community of Nature Trust supporters and donors for making the protection of this property possible.

Learn more about our work to protect old forest and freshwater ecosystems along North Mountain Ridge.