Nature group takes action to protect large chunk of coastal forest in Murray River area

Meig Campbell · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 22, 2025 5:46 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

A caller run from the Nature Conservancy of Canada is aimed astatine raising $5 cardinal to support 202 hectares of onshore connected the Point Pleasant peninsula adjacent Murray River successful eastbound Prince Edward Island. 

The non-profit biology extortion group wants to bargain and support the coastal wood adjacent Murray River on the southeastern extremity of P.E.I., according to a quality merchandise timed for Earth Day. 

The onshore is presently known arsenic Point Pleasant but the Mi'kmaq called it Kiwto'qitek, meaning "reverberating echo" oregon "surrounding" and pronounced "Geyou-dough-ed-deg."

The Nature Conservancy says this is the largest and astir ambitious fundraising run it has ever pursued successful P.E.I., aiming to go a steward of the intact Wabanaki or Acadian forest, bog and 5 kilometres of shoreline.  

"The spot is implicit 200 hectares, truthful a small implicit 500 acres. Properties this size connected P.E.I. are incredibly rare. If determination is simply a spot this size, it's apt a tract of potatoes," Lann Campbell, the group's programme manager successful P.E.I., told CBC's Mainstreet P.E.I. 

"So seeing a spot this size that is intact and has a beauteous wood and a beauteous benignant of bog wetland is truly rare. So we consciousness truly fortunate to beryllium capable to measurement successful and conserve the property." 

According to Campbell, the onshore serves arsenic a quiescent haven for the divers wildlife and autochthonal taxon that telephone it home. Those see ruffed grouse, large bluish herons, American mink and harbour seals, arsenic good arsenic pinkish lady's slipper, the elusive orchid that is the province's floral emblem. 

The existent owners of the spot had been proposing that it become a cottage improvement called Water's Edge. 

"For galore decades the onshore owners person been trying to merchantability it for improvement purposes. The onshore owners were known to the Nature Conservancy Canada; we person a spot of a relationship," said Campbell.

"We stepped up and said that we wanted to beryllium the purchaser and we thought that the spot had unthinkable imaginable to enactment arsenic it is, arsenic a earthy landscape." 

The 2 parties negotiated a selling terms of $5 million, and the NCC has already raised 80 per cent of that. The radical is waiting to unlock the authorities backing it needs by confirming donations volition besides beryllium coming from foundations, businesses and individuals. 

Campbell hopes the spot volition enactment unfastened and accessible to the public. Although plans person yet to beryllium acceptable successful stone, she said they volition invitation the Islanders to sojourn and research the property. 

"We request to person areas that we workplace and unrecorded on, but it's besides truly important to acceptable speech areas for quality and for wildlife to unrecorded connected and to inhabit," she said. "And I deliberation arsenic Islanders, we tin besides cherish and emotion these spaces for america to enjoy."