At the beginning of this month, we set out to save more than a thousand acres of globally rare forest along the show-stopping Bras d’Or coast.

Thanks to the unhesitating generosity of hundreds of people across the province and beyond who stepped up to help, today we are proud to announce that the exceptional land at Plaister Cliffs will remain In Our Nature, forever.

The stunning property harbours extensive coastal habitats, wetlands, ponds and forests, large tracts of rare old growth forest, important habitat for endangered plants, birds and other wildlife, and over three kilometers of shoreline. Most exciting, it supports a unique ecosystem known as gypsum karst, which is globally rare, highly threatened and one of the least protected ecosystems in Canada.

As water flows across the “plaister,” or gypsum, for which this area is named, it slowly dissolves the rock in its path. Over time, this relentless erosion leaves behind otherworldly above- and underground terrains of sinkholes, caves, and escarpments, creating a fragile landscape called karst. Its unique dimensionality and the alkaline environment created by the dissolution of the gypsum itself support a specialized range of plants and animals who rely on these characteristics to thrive.

Most karst around the world is formed from limestone, but Nova Scotia’s karst is special: it is formed from impressively deep deposits of gypsum. Gypsum karst is also particularly rare in temperate and moisture-rich climates like ours. Together, these features make our karst lands a true rarity across the entire world.

While Nova Scotia likely has the largest and best developed areas of gypsum karst in Canada, they are also among the least protected in Canada. Less than 5% of gypsum karst lands in Nova Scotia have been protected to date; over 90% are privately owned and highly fragmented into small parcels, making the 346 acres (140 hectares) of mapped karst forest on this property a critical achievement for the future of this fragile landscape.

The property also includes nearly three kilometers of shoreline along the Bras d’Or Lake and supports extensive areas of old Wabanaki-Acadian forest. It supports exceptionally high levels of biodiversity, including globally rare and endangered species like the Threatened Canada Warbler, and species of Special Concern such as the Olive-sided Flycatcher and the Rusty Blackbird. The Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre has documented a total of 284 native vascular plant species and 79 exotic species on the property, including 13 native species that are of conservation concern provincially. They also observed many rare species are associated with gypsum in Nova Scotia, including Balsam Groundsel, Soapberry, Woodland Strawberry, Hyssop-leaved Fleabane, Ebony Sedge, Small Yellow Lady’s-Slipper, and very rare Small-flowered Grass-of-Parnassus.

The property lies within the Bras d’Or Lake Biosphere Reserve, within Maliamuki’k msit Ko’kmanaq, a Community-Nominated Priority Place, and within the Mi’kmaw-identified biocultural connectivity corridor in the region. It directly borders the Nature Trust’s already-protected Plaister Cliffs Conservation Lands, as well as MacAulays Hill Nature Reserve and the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s Plaister Mines Conservation Lands. This new addition expands contiguous conservation land by an impressive 217%, strengthening habitat connectivity and landscape resilience.

The passion and swift action of so many people from across Nova Scotia has succeeded in keeping this vast and ecologically diverse land In Our Nature, forever. Thanks to you, the land at Plaister Cliffs will help to conserve biodiversity, guard against further species decline due to habitat loss, and ensure the resilience of the region’s natural heritage.

Our campaign to protect Nova Scotia’s most ecologically significant, rare, and at-risk nature areas isn’t over. If we are to keep more places like Plaister Cliffs in our nature we have to keep working as fast as we can – before it’s too late. We can continue to unlock 4X the value of all donations through the end of December. If you’re inspired to support this work, now is a great time to make a big impact.

This project was made possible by the Government of Canada through the Natural Heritage Conservation Program, part of Canada’s Nature Fund.

The Government of Canada’s Natural Heritage Conservation Program (NHCP) is a unique partnership that supports the creation and recognition of protected and conserved areas through the acquisition of private land and private interest in land. To date, the Government of Canada has invested more than $470 million in the Program, which has been matched with more than $982 million in contributions raised by Nature Conservancy of Canada, Ducks Unlimited Canada and the country’s land trust community leading to the protection and conservation of more than 800,000 hectares of ecologically sensitive lands.

This project was also made possible by the Waltons Trust.