2 new conservation areas to be established on Ontario’s Bruce Peninsula

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the figure for the amount of land purchased.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada says it is adding two new areas to its collection of protected lands in Ontario.

The non-profit group says it has purchased over 60 hectares of land on the Saugeen Bruce Peninsula, and will turn it into a pair of conservation areas.

It says the Cape Hurd Fens and Forests area provides a habitat for around 230 different species of birds and is a travel “corridor” for animals like black bears that have wide-ranging habitats.

The group says the Dwarf Lake Iris Nature Reserve takes its name from a purple flower that is native to the area, and connects to lands already protected by the conservancy, and the federal and provincial governments.

The conservancy says the dwarf lake iris only grown in a small area on the Great Lakes and is threatened by development along the shoreline.

Nature Conservancy of Canada vice-president Wendy Cridland says it is critical to conserve these lands near Georgian Bay, not only for the plant and animal species that live there, but for the benefit of future generations of Ontarians.