Bon Portage

Protection through a conservation easement

The island, owned by Acadia, will be protected, in perpetuity, through a conservation easement with the Nature Trust. The easement will protect the island from future development or activities that could... harm the natural values of the island, while allowing for continued educational and research use. Acadia’s faculty and students will work with the Nature Trust and other conservation partners to ensure the island’s unique natural assets are stewarded and managed with the best conservation science available.

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The first of its kind

The signing of this conservation easement marks a significant step in land conservation in Canada. It is the first conservation easement to permanently and legally protect university property through the... land trust approach. The project exemplifies Acadia’s commitment to environmental stewardship, and their national leadership in putting green thinking into action. It will no doubt inspire other universities and institutions to follow Acadia’s lead in taking direct, permanent conservation action for special natural areas they own.

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Our coast at risk

Over 85 per cent of Nova Scotia’s coast is privately owned and intense development pressures pose unprecedented risks to our coastal lands. In light of the growing vulnerability of islands like Bon Portage, this opportunity to protect such a critical part of our coastal legacy is invaluable.

A true ecological gem

• over 300 acres of diverse coastal ecosystems and habitats including cobblestone barrier beaches, ponds and intertidal lagoons, swamps, fens, barrens, saltmarshes and coastal forests

part of an internationally designated "Important Bird Area" and home to many nationally and globally significant bird populations

• largest known breeding population of Leach’s storm-petrels (estimated at 50,000 pairs) south of Newfoundland

• nesting habitat for over 80 other species of birds, including common eider, black-crowned night heron, and the southernmost breeding locations for "red" fox sparrows and blackpoll warblers

• a migratory stopover site for a myriad of songbirds, shorebirds, waterfowl, and raptors

surrounding waters sustain a great diversity of tidal, intertidal, and marine life

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Historical Bon Portage

Lighthouse keepers Evelyn and Morrill Richardson kept watch from the island’s shores for 35 years. Evelyn’s Governor General's Award winning book, We Keep a Light, is a delightful account of the... natural history of Bon Portage during the changing seasons. The Richardsons later donated the island to Acadia University as a site for the study of natural history, ecology, and wildlife management.

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An irreplaceable education and research haven

• a unique place providing field experience and study for generations of students at Acadia University

home to Acadia’s Atlantic Bird Observatory and the Evelyn and Morrill Richardson Field Station, named to honour former lighthouse keepers Evelyn and Morrill Richardson

an important wildlife research site used by government, community, and academic partners

• the easement will ensure that the island’s unique educational and research opportunities are available for generations to come

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