Prince Edward Island is famous for its spectacular coastline. Yet this provincial treasure is densely settled, making it a major challenge to find and protect substantial pieces of undisturbed coastline. By using conservation strategies developed specifically for privately owned land, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) and our partners are helping safeguard the natural heritage in a province where more than 90 per cent of the land is in private ownership.
Thanks to our donors, we have been able to accomplish so much across our island. Click here to learn more about what has already been done, and the importance of furthering NCC’s mission of protecting PEI’s wild spaces.
We focus our efforts in these two key landscapes, where the threat to the natural habitat is greatest:
The sand dunes of PEI remain relatively intact as an ecosystem. But they are under threat from encroaching human habitation and recreational use, as well as from sea-level rise. The off-shore islands are secluded nesting sites for great blue heron, which feed in the shallow tidal water surrounding the islands. Salt marshes have been used for various purposes since European settlement, but most have reverted to natural conditions.
Some salt marshes have been lost due to infilling or conversion to fresh water impoundments for waterfowl production. However, those that remain are highly productive natural systems used by both nesting and migrating birds. Willet, black duck and sharp-tailed sparrow are marsh residents, as are salt-tolerant plants, such as salt-meadow cord grass and sea-milkwort.
Almost nothing remains of PEI's original old growth hardwood Acadian forest. Clearing for agriculture and timber harvesting for shipbuilding and other uses have reduced these forests to a mere fraction of what they once were. The remaining stands of hardwood Acadian forest are all the more precious for the plants and animals that thrive in these woods, including songbirds such as blue-headed vireo, Swainson's thrush and black-and-white warbler.
Kisiwa cha Prince Edward kinajulikana kwa pwani yake yenye kuvutia. Hata hivyo, eneo hilo lenye thamani lina watu wengi, na ni vigumu sana kupata na kulinda sehemu kubwa za pwani. Kwa kutumia mikakati ya uhifadhi iliyoundwa maalum kwa ardhi ya kibinafsi, Uhifadhi wa Asili wa Canada (NCC) na washirika wetu wanasaidia kulinda urithi wa asili katika mkoa ambapo zaidi ya asilimia 90 ya ardhi ni ya kibinafsi. Shukrani kwa wafadhili wetu, tumeweza kutimiza mengi sana katika kisiwa chetu. Piga hapa ili kujifunza zaidi juu ya kile ambacho tayari kimefanywa, na umuhimu wa kuendeleza utume wa NCC wa kulinda nafasi za porini za PEI. "Tunazingatia juhudi zetu katika mandhari hizi mbili muhimu, ambapo tishio kwa mazingira ya asili ni kubwa: ""Mipira ya mchanga ya PEI inabaki sawa kama mfumo wa ikolojia.""" Lakini zinatishwa na uvamizi wa watu na matumizi ya burudani, na vilevile na kuongezeka kwa usawa wa bahari. Visiwa hivyo vilivyo karibu na pwani ni mahali pa pekee pa kufanyiza viota vya ndege aina ya blue heron, ambao hula katika maji madogo ya mawimbi yanayozunguka visiwa hivyo. Maji ya chumvi yametumiwa kwa makusudi mbalimbali tangu Ulaya ianze kuishi huko, lakini mengi yamerudi katika hali ya asili. Baadhi ya mabwawa ya chumvi yamepotea kwa sababu ya kujaza au kubadilisha kuwa mabwawa ya maji baridi kwa ajili ya uzalishaji wa ndege wa majini. Hata hivyo, zile zinazobaki ni mifumo ya asili yenye matokeo sana inayotumiwa na ndege wanaofanya viota na wale wanaohama. Mnyama anayeitwa Willet, black duck, na sharp-tailed sparrow ni wakazi wa mabwawa, na vilevile mimea inayovumilia chumvi, kama vile nyasi ya mchanga na mchanga wa bahari. Karibu hakuna kitu kinachobaki cha msitu wa Acadian wa zamani wa PEI. Uharibifu wa misitu kwa ajili ya kilimo na kuvuna mbao kwa ajili ya ujenzi wa meli na matumizi mengine umepunguza misitu hiyo kuwa sehemu ndogo tu ya ile iliyokuwa wakati mmoja. Miti ya Acadian ya mbao ngumu ni muhimu sana kwa mimea na wanyama wanaositawi katika misitu hii, ikiwa ni pamoja na ndege wa kuimba kama vile vireo ya bluu, Swainson's thrush na warbler nyeusi na nyeupe.