2 P.E.I. sites bought for protection by Nature Conservancy of Canada

Two forested siteson P.E.I.'s Percival Riverhave been purchased by theNature Conservancy of Canada.

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The two sites,located about 40 kilometres west ofSummerside, P.E.I., total 130 hectares or323 acres.

"ThePercivalRiver area provides people with a view rarely seen on Prince Edward Island: forest all around you,"saidJulieVasseur, P.E.I. Program Director with the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

"It is one of the best examples of natural connectivity remaining in the province, with a network of habitat corridors reaching all the way to Conway Narrows,"

ThePercival RiverfeedsintoEgmontBay and theNorthumberlandStrait andis a strategic area for conservation, the nationalconservation group said.

By protecting the lands from development, the area will continue to be arefuge for migratory birds, and ultimately contribute to the sustainability of waterfowl populations in P.E.I. and along the Atlantic Flyway, the conservancy said.

The sites feature forests with red maple, black spruce, white birch, white cedar, white ash, aspen and balsam fir trees.The lands include salt marshes, which provide habitat for wildlife, and also provide buffers against storm surges and act as a natural water filter,Vasseur added.

Both sites arehome to beavers and many species of birds including black ducks, Canada geese andgreat blue herons, as well asshrubs, ferns and wildflowers.

One of the two sites will now be part of a larger protected complex. It's next to an existing 28-hectarereserve and a 42-hectareprovincially-owned property protected by the Natural Areas Conservation Act.

The purchase of the properties wassupported throughlocal donors, federal government programs,TD Forests,the United States Fish and Wildlife Service through the North American Wetlands Conservation Act and the Joan and Regis Duffy Foundation.

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