Nature Conservancy of Canada
What they do:
The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is the country’s unifying force for nature, working to deliver large-scale, permanent land conservation. With nature we are building a thriving world.
The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is one of Canada’s leaders in land conservation and land management, and is rapidly advancing its ability to support Indigenous leadership in conservation. Since 1962, we have helped protect over 14 million hectares (ha) from coast to coast to coast. NCC’s Large Landscapes program goal is to protect at least 200,000 additional ha across Canada by 2023. It’s anticipated that 160,000 ha of our national goal will be realized in Ontario, where we are well positioned to act on once in-a-lifetime, landscape-scale conservation opportunities.
the project:
The project we have dedicated fund to is Landscape-scale Conservation Hastings Wildlife Junction. This massive 8,000 ha project south of Bancroft is the critical next step in landscape-scale conservation in southern Ontario. Located at the junction of the Algonquin to Adirondacks and The Land Between corridors, a project of this magnitude and ecological significance is staggeringly rare in southern Ontario. The Land Between corridor is where the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence lowlands ecoregion transitions to the Canadian Shield. This region is very high in biodiversity and provides some of the best habitat we have left for many species at risk. The Hastings Wildlife Junction boasts extensive interior forest with an astonishing 98% of natural cover, significant rivers and wetlands, and is adjacent to 30,000 ha of Crown Lands that have been specially designated as enhanced management areas. This project, within the Lake Ontario watershed and headwaters for the Bay of Quinte, is particularly critical for maintaining water quality for both aquatic life and downstream communities from Toronto to Kingston; and for storing vast amounts of carbon.
Our support has also helped NCC has secured three properties totaling 83 hectares (205 acres) in the Loughborough Wilderness north of Kingston, Ontario. The addition brings this important core protected area of the Frontenac Arch Natural Area to 1,720 hectares, amid rising pressure to develop new homes, cottages, and roads.
The Loughborough Wilderness connects to two other protected areas – Frontenac Provincial Park (5,355 ha) to the west, and the extensive lands held by NCC and Queen’s University to the east. Together these large blocks of natural land are ‘stepping stones’ for wildlife along the important ecological corridor that connects Ontario’s Algonquin Highlands with the Adirondack Mountains of New York State. The protected forests, rock barrens, wetlands, and lake shorelines in this relatively pristine landscape support a diverse community of flora and fauna, and there are numerous species at risk. This is the home of endangered butternut trees and cerulean warbler songbirds, threatened gray ratsnakes, and at-risk turtles.
