AMHERST – A clever marketing campaign that garnered worldwide attention is still alive and well. The Nature Conservancy of Canada’s ‘Moose Sex Project’ is still on track to reach their goal of raising $35,000 to purchase a narrow strip of land on the Chignecto Isthmus near Amherst.
“We’ve been raising money since the fall (of 2012) and have been doing well,” said Andrew Holland, Atlantic spokesperson for the NCC. “Right now we need about $18,000. That’s what’s left.”
By purchasing the land the NCC becomes a matchmaker for moose by providing a corridor between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick where moose can walk safely across the border and, hopefully, find their way to some cross-border loving.
“Sometimes moose go looking for love in all the wrong places…and we want them to go looking for love in all the right places,” said Holland. “We’re trying to protect this wilderness corridor so they have a place to meet and do their thing.”
Moose are an endangered species in mainland Nova Scotia.
Holland said the most recent surveys, both aerial and on the ground, indicate there are roughly 500 to 1,000 moose in mainland Nova Scotia.
The NCC had land donated to them on the New Brunswick side of the border.
“The land on the Nova Scotia side is a land purchase,” said Holland. “We’re trying to acquire two more parcels of land, and when you combine them they’re roughly 250 acres of forest and wetland.”
The land to be purchased is ecologically sensitive.
“This is a key wildlife corridor,” said Holland.
“The reason it’s a priority for the Nature Conservancy of Canada is because of the conservation value,” said Holland. “Specifically you have bobcat and lynx, which are endangered. There’s a lot of duck populations we’re interested in conserving and, of course, there’s also moose we want to conserve.”
He said there is also flora and fauna on the isthmus that is rare and needs to be protected.
The NCC has about 830 acres of protected land along the New Brunswick Nova Scotia border.
“We also have roughly 26,000 acres protected in Nova Scotia, over 57,000 acres of protected land in the four Atlantic provinces, and over 2.6 million acres of protected land across the country,” said Holland.
The NCC is a non-profit charity and people making a donation receive a charitable tax receipt.
“There’s no government funding in the (isthmus) project, so we’re asking the general public, local groups, and foundations to consider supporting us,” said Holland.
There are several ways to make a donation to the project.
People can go to www.natureconservancy.ca or call toll-free at 1-877-231-4400.
dmathieson@amherstdaily.com
