The Nature Conservancy of Canada has expanded its Sunset Valley Nature Reserve near Grand Bay-Westfield.
The land conservation group announced Thursday that it has purchased two parcels of land totalling 70 hectares along the Nerepis River.
Joseph O’Donnell of Fredericton entrusted the lands to NCC in honour of his family and also donated to the group’s stewardship endowment fund.
The new additions to the nature reserve, which is now 319 hectares in size, will be named the Flanagan Property after the family that cared for the lands for years.
“My father, Charles O’Donnell, always intended to maintain this property for his family and for other family members and descendants, so that we were connected to our Irish roots. NCC’s work to protect nature, forever, is right in line with that,” Joseph O’Donnell said in a news release.
“To permanently conserve this land and have it available for the family members and descendants to visit and feel connected to their relatives is amazing and something we are very happy about.”
According to the conservation group, small streams cross the properties near the joining of the Nerepis and Saint John rivers. The forested property has some trees that are well over 100 years old and is a mixture of white pine, red and black spruce, balsam fir, cedar and black and white ash trees.
The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada has assessed black ash as a threatened species because of impacts from the invasive emerald ash borer.
The Sunset Valley Nature Reserve is also important for waterfowl and other wetland birds as well as two species at risk listed as threatened under Canada’s Species at Risk Act: the Canada warbler and the barn swallow.
“We are excited to expand the conservation of this beautiful area and important wildlife habitat and are grateful that Mr. O’Donnell and the Flanagan family were such good stewards of this land for generations,” Paula Noel, NCC’s New Brunswick program director, said in the release.
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