Campaign for Coastal Lands
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What were the campaign goals? To conserve, for nature and future generations, major portions of Navy Island and to complete the protection of Sam Orr’s Pond and its watershed. At the campaign outset our goal was to protect 375 acres (151 ha) of identified high quality conservation land at these two locations.
Have we met the campaign goals? In partnership with our colleagues at the Nature Conservancy of Canada, in total 379 acres (153 ha) of coastal habitat and 3 km of coastline spread over eleven parcels of land were secured. The mechanisms used include the following: purchase, donation, conservation easement and voluntary stewardship agreements. In one case, we requested (successfully) that the Province acquire 6 acres of surplus federal land adjacent to our target area to set aside for conservation. In the final analysis, we actually exceeded our land securement goal.In 2007 the Nature Trust established a fundraising target of $950,000 for the coastal campaign. In completing this campaign, in addition to straight gifts of cash, we received funding for several supporting projects, for example, printing a widely-distributed newspaper flyer, a video on the campaign and a book on the architecture of St. Andrews. As a result of these project-related grants, we raised a little more than $67,000 over and above our original goal. Because campaign expenses were slightly higher than anticipated, however, these funds did not address our needs vis a vis establishing a stewardship fund to maintain the land in the long term.
How will we care for the land? Originally we budgeted $110,000 to go into a stewardship fund for lands conserved by the Campaign for Coastal Lands. We are still approximately $25,000 short of this goal. We need your help to address this shortfall and make sure we have the resources to steward and manage these lands for the benefit of the community.
Land Donations Much of the value of this campaign (but that is not included in the $950,000 above) has come from lands and easements that have been donated for conservation. In total, over 64 acres of land and easements worth in excess of $450,000 have been donated to our campaign. These include 51 acres from Sheila and Owen Washburn and Michael Caughey and a conservation easement on 13 acres (Navy Island) from the Williamson Family.
Nature Conservancy of Canada Both of our campaign sites qualified for funding under the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s) Natural Areas Conservation Plan for the Lower Bay of Fundy. As a result the various transactions drew upon NCC funding under the Government of Canada’s Natural Areas Conservation Program and the Province of New Brunswick. NCC contributed $429,667 under this program to secure fee simple interest in four key properties. These funds had to be matched to be activated, and we are so pleased and grateful to all those donors who gave generously to free-up these funds for our work.
The Months Ahead It is the goal of the Nature Trust to close-out our campaign by raising the additional $25,000 required for stewardship. We will be selling the book St. Andrews Architecture 1604 – 1966 and soliciting donations from those individuals whose homes directly benefit from proximity to one of our two campaign sites.In addition, we will hold a public meeting in St. Andrews to discuss developing a management plan for conservation lands on Navy Island. A management plan for the newly expanded Caughey-Taylor Nature Preserve is being worked on now. For those parcels acquired in conjunction with NCC the Nature Trust has signed land management agreements which guide our handling of those lands. We welcome any and all input to the management of these newly protected properties. Contact us at naturetrust@ntnb.org or (506) 457-2398.
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