Nova Scotia Nature Trust protecting two Medway Harbour islands

The proposed transaction will see the Nature Trust purchase Selig Island for well below fair market value, and together with Zimmerman and Hauer, place a permanent legal conservation agreement over Great Island, eliminating the potential for development and restricting environmentally destructive activities such as forestry, while allowing Zimmerman and Hauer to retain ownership and the right to use their existing house. All in all, the islands, worth well over $1-million, will be protected for less than a quarter of their value.

Located side by side in Medway Harbour, between Lunenburg and Liverpool, Great and Selig Islands are home to salt marsh and tidal flats, sandy beaches and rugged rocky shores. These diverse coastal landscapes are important habitat for a variety of wildlife including migratory birds journeying to or from summer feeding grounds in the Arctic and serve as nursery grounds for several commercially fish species and other marine life. The islands are less than a stone’s throw from Cherry Hill beach, a known stronghold for the nationally endangered piping plover.

The Nature Trust, by making use of incentives offered through Environment Canada’s Ecological Gifts Program, will help Zimmerman and Hauer receive both an exemption from capital gains tax and a charitable tax receipt for the value of their donations.

The announcement of efforts to protect these islands is the latest significant step in the ongoing coastal conservation efforts of the Nova Scotia Nature Trust, building upon other work in the Medway Harbour area and across the province. In total, the Nature Trust has preserved over 4,000 acres of Nova Scotia’s outstanding natural areas.

Zimmerman and Hauer lived on Great Island for 15 years, first in a geodesic dome and later in a house powered by a wind turbine. They now live in Wolfville but still return to the island.

Donations can be made through canadahelps.org or through a donation form available at www.nsnt.ca