HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia Nature Trust says it plans to complete its largest acquisition of privately owned coastline by the end of the month.
The non-profit conservation group announced today that it had completed the purchase of Cape Negro Island, one of the province’s largest coastal islands at 317 hectares.
As well, the group says it has secured a deal to buy the adjacent Blanche Peninsula, but that deal won’t close until the required funds are raised — a goal the group hopes to reach by Sept. 30.
Together, the two properties in Shelburne County amount to 1,034 hectares of coastal wilderness.
In 2018, a local resident complained that the name of the island was derogatory and drew attention to other locations in the county that used the same outdated term.
In March 2021, councillors in the Municipality of Barrington voted unanimously to ask the province to change those names, and one location was renamed Eel Bay in March 2023.
Other locations, including an island named with a slur against Indigenous women, have yet to be renamed, and the Nature Trust says it supports the renaming process.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 3, 2024.
