Nova Scotia Raise Money to Protect Vital Turtle Habitat

Nova Scotia’s endangered tortoises have secured new habitat thanks to a successful fundraising campaign over the holidays.

The province is home to four species of turtles, three of which are in danger of extinction. Blanding’s tortoise, which sports an endearing smile, is one of the most vulnerable. It is estimated that there are only 500 of them left, which is especially concerning given their low maturity rates.

So an additional 50 acres of protected habitat is key, said Anna Weinstein, communications leader for the Nova Scotia Nature Trust, which secured the property. More than $ 70,000 was raised to purchase the land, and any additional funds not spent on the purchase will go toward future turtle conservation efforts.

“It was like: let’s do something benignly undeniably nice and good for the holidays. So it definitely touched people’s hearts, ”he said.

The once abundant Blanding’s turtle habitat is also favored by developers and people building homes and businesses on the shores of lakes, wetlands, and rivers in Nova Scotia. The Barren Meadow Turtle Sanctuary, which is where the new acreage is located, is located on the southern coast of the province in Lunenburg County, a popular tourist area.

Habitat destruction is the main obstacle for the turtles, as is the traffic on the roads, which the females travel slowly to spawn on land. Reptiles, which can live up to 80 years, are listed at both the federal and provincial levels as endangered species.

The organization has been monitoring the population in conjunction with the Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute to identify which habitat is most crucial for the species’ survival. This year, they monitored three females, Lumpy, Lucy and Smoothy, who nested and had young on Nature Trust conservation lands. The species’ hatchling survival rate is only one percent, so the group emphasizes that each turtle is important.

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“With so few Blanding’s tortoises in Nova Scotia, their fate is truly in our hands,” says Bonnie Sutherland, executive director of the Nature Trust.

“This important addition to the Barren Meadow Turtle Sanctuary is crucial to the survival of not only Lumpy and his friends, but also the survival of all of this species in Nova Scotia.”

Looking ahead, Weinstein said the Nature Trust will continue to secure more habitat for the turtles, as well as other species at risk in the province.

“This is one great story among so many, and we are working on so many different types of terrain right now. And everything is meaningful to the creatures, and some of them are as cute as turtles, and some of them are not, but they are all equally important, ”he said.

“And everyone needs a place to live. And so we rejoice when there is something that really speaks to people. And we hope that this is an entry point for people to also connect to a broader perspective ”.