Minister's Face Preserve
Minister's Face Preserve consists of approximately 147 hectares (364 acres) of land on Long Island. The island is located in Kennebecasis Bay, Kings County, approximately 12 kilometres north of Saint John NB. The cliff formation rises 200 feet from the river on the northeast side of the island. The cliffs of Minister's Face have high ecological significance and have been recognized as an Environmentally Significant Area due to the presence of habitat for rare arctic flora, as well as providing a spectacular view from the eastern banks of the Kennebecasis. The vertical rock cliffs have been host to significant botanical findings from as early as 1866.
The majority of the property is covered by young mixed coniferous/deciduous forest of fir and birch with a rich understory of ferns; mature cedar stands dominate portions of drier slopes. The rugged rocky exposures in the area of Minister's Face are among the only areas that were not harvested on the island. In small sheltered forest outcrops and open rock faces along the shoreline rare plant species have been able to persist. The unique composition of the cobbles and boulders of Precambrian marble present on most of the island provides an excellent substrate for these significant plants. Rare arctic disjunct flora such as livelong saxifrage (Saxifraga paniculata) and alpine woodsia (Woodsia alpina) are known only from a few other locations in the province, besides Minister's Face. Rare species such as smooth draba, livelong saxifrage and others have been known here since the late 1800's. However the discovery of wall-rue during a botanical inventory on the island was especially significant, as it had not been previously found anywhere in New Brunswick.
Because of its prominence as a landform and the known presence of rare species, the Nature Trust entered into talks with the landowner in 1999 about the possible sale of the land to the Trust. It was officially purchased and became protected in 2001. In July 2005, 4 hectares (10 acres) of land were purchased on Minister's Face. The land also serves as an impressive lookout as well as a nesting site for a pair of peregrine falcons. In September 2005, 45 hectares (110 acres) were acquired, two-thirds of which was purchased while the remaining third was generously donated to the Trust by Ann and Robert Hebb as an ecogift. The land features several kilometres of the popular sandy Rayworth Beach on the southern end of the island.
