Low Percentage in preservation report

P.E.I. scores low in nature preservation report

Ryan Quigley

Journal Pioneer

P.E.I.’s large amount of private land is a big factor on why P.E.I. scored lowest on nature preservation report, said Island Nature Trust executive director Jackie Waddell.

The report issued by Global Forest Watch Canada had Prince Edward Island scoring the lowest of all provinces at 2.6 per cent of natural land preserved in 2010 compared to most provinces, which are around 10 per cent.

Currently on P.E.I. only about 10 per cent of the Island is owned by the government.

Peter Lee, executive director at Global Forest Watch Canada, said he also thinks the high amount of private land was a big factor for P.E.I.’s low finish.

“When you start looking at the details, you understand why (the per cent) is that way,” he said. “There’s very little Crown land left in P.E.I., most of it is privately owned.”

The Island Nature Trust is a non-governmental organization that works with people who would like to donate parts of their land with natural significance, a forest with hardwood or mixed wood trees, cliff, trees and other natural beauty.

It is then put under the Nature Areas Protection act, where it can no longer be used

Lee said the organization was one of the most credible in Canada.

“Working with groups like that would be relatively easy for the government at least to identify the most important biologically rich areas.”

Waddell said most other provinces have more crown land to work with.

“A lot of the other provinces, their Provincial government and Federal government, have jointly protected the vast majority of the land.”

Waddell said in the 90s the World Wildlife Federation had set goals for the provinces and land protection. P.E.I.’s was the lowest.

“They set goals of 12 per cent for all the provinces and territories except P.E.I. because we were so small and had so little public land they had a (goal) of seven per cent.”

She said there are many reasons some people won’t donate land, but economics is a large one.

“Economics comes into it to, it always does because when you protect land like that it lowers it’s overall value and permanently restricts its future use because designation under the act is permanent.”

Waddell said that education and awareness could speed up P.E.I.’s natural protection growth.

“It’s private land owners knowing there’s ownership problems they can solve through protection. One of them is that any person or company that owns land, if they designate that land under the Natural areas protection act, it’s removed from the aggregate total.”

If anyone would like to donate land, Waddell encourages them to contact the Island Nature Trust.