The Nova Scotia Nature Trust is seeking public support to protect over 1,000 hectares of land in Cape Breton.
The Plaister Cliffs east of Baddeck are home to a unique gypsum karst ecosystem. According to the Nature Trust, this ecosystem is rare worldwide, critically endangered, and one of the last protected ecosystems in Canada.
Most karst landscapes are made of limestone, but in Nova Scotia gypsum is the most common form.
These landscapes can be recognized by sinkholes, caves, springs and disappearing streams formed from dissolving bedrock.
“Few people have seen Nova Scotia's karst landscapes up close, both because they are rare and because they are incredibly rugged, difficult and even dangerous to navigate,” the Nature Trust said in a news release. “But those who have done it describe it with words like surreal, otherworldly and magical.”
Nova Scotia has the most developed gypsum karst in Canada, but only five percent of it is protected. Over 90 percent of Nova Scotia's karst landscapes are on private land.
Protecting the 1,023 hectares of land overlooking the Bras d'Or would preserve large areas of ancient forests, habitat for endangered plants, birds and wildlife, and over three kilometers of coastline.
“It is in our nature as Nova Scotians to care deeply for the land and it is in our nature to stand up for what we love. Nature needs us now more than ever,” said Bonnie Sutherland, executive director of the Nature Trust, in a news release. “Supporting this campaign provides Nova Scotians with a wonderful opportunity to take immediate, tangible and lasting action to forever protect the wild places they love in Nova Scotia.”
The Nature Trust aims to raise $400,000 in public support by November 28th. According to the group, every donation unlocks fourfold, meaning a $100 donation brings in $500 in support.
For more information, visit the Nova Scotia Nature Trust website.