KINGSBURG COASTAL CONSERVANCY
Nova Scotia, Canada

KCC works to preserve West Ironbound Island

A Special Message to West Ironbound Island Donors!

As early supporters of the Kingsburg Coastal Conservancy's project to purchase and preserve the entirety of West Ironbound Island, we are very pleased to have you be among the first to know that the Nova Scotia Crown Share Land Legacy Trust Fund has offered the KCC $116,258 towards our purchase of the half of West Ironbound Island still under private ownership.

When these funds are added to the over $70,000 you donated in 2011 to this project, we are now almost half-way towards achieving our goal of raising $400,000 to purchase the final half of West Ironbound Island. It is our hope that this significant funding commitment by the Nova Scotia Crown Share Land Legacy Trust Fund will serve as a further catalyst for additional donations from individuals, corporations, or other nature organizations or trusts to support the island's full protection.

The Nova Scotia Crown Share Land Legacy Trust (NSCSLLT) was established by the Province of Nova Scotia in 2008 to fund the protection of the province's most ecologically significant, threatened, and irreplaceable natural areas on private land. NSCSLLT funds are available to charitable, non-governmental land conservation organizations (land trusts) recognized under the Conservation Easements Act to secure lands of provincial conservation significance and protect them to internationally recognized standards.

In their email to the board of the KCC regarding their offer of funding support, the Trustees of NSCSLLT noted that they "are impressed by the energy and commitment demonstrated by the Kingsburg Coastal Conservancy in working towards the conservation of West Ironbound Island, and congratulate your organization as being the first local land trust to make successful application for funding through the Nova Scotia Crown Share Land Legacy Trust."

The KCC is proud and thrilled to be the first local land trust to make a successful application to the NSCSLLT and will continue to work to protect the entirety of West Ironbound Island. As key supporters and contributors, we wanted to share this wonderful news with you.

Sincerely, Bob Buckley & Dave Cosh
Co-Chairs of the KCC

Chris Miller photo

Chris Miller photo

Photo supplied by Jake Wentzell

West Ironbound Island (lower center), Gaff Point and Hirtles Beach (lower right) and the LaHave Islands.

The Kingsburg Coastal Conservancy is celebrating its July, 2010, purchase of half of West Ironbound Island, a rugged 120 acres off the tip of Gaff Point, on the Kingsburg Peninsula, Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia.

This is an important conservation opportunity! The island hosts a Great Blue Heron rookery, other nesting birds, and several unusual lichen. The terrain is a mix of fields, forest, sandy beaches, and rocky coasts. And, we now have our own flock of hardy sheep as year-round residents!

Wildlife Biologist, Peter MacDonald, points out the value of island habitats and commends our efforts to preserve West Ironbound Island. . . . read more

This amazing purchase of half of the the island was made possible through a cooperative effort with a supporter who has given the KCC an option to purchase the rest of the island at cost, if the sale is concluded by December, 2011.

KCC is working to raise the $400,000 necessary to secure the other half of West Ironbound Island. We hope you can help!

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West Ironbound Island is 820 yards from the tip of Gaff Point, the nearest location on the mainland. At 120 acres, West Ironbound is one of the larger of the LaHave Islands, but rarely visited due to the ruggedness of its coastline and the rough waters around the island.

No one has lived on the island since the 1930s, when the lighthouse was automated and the lighthouse keeper and his family moved to the mainland. Since that time, the sheep and birds are the only residents. We want to keep it that way!

One important reason for acquiring West Ironbound is the physical continuity that Hirtle's Beach, Gaff Point and West Ironbound Island provide. Together, they offer 264 acres of environmental security and 9 km of public coastal access in one continuous zone.

However only half of West Ironbound Island is now protected.

We need your help to safeguard the entirety of West Ironbound Island! We have been able to purchase half of the island - we need to raise the funds for the second half. Your support is critical to our ability to do this!