In the largest-ever private land conservation project in New Brunswick, Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is protecting 853 hectares (2,106 acres) of forested land, including vital Atlantic salmon habitat on the Bartholomew River, a tributary of the Miramichi River. With Atlantic salmon in dramatic decline, and the Miramichi watershed believed to produce more wild salmon than any other river in North America, the establishment of this reserve is a significant conservation milestone for NCC and New Brunswick.

The property includes increasingly-rare old Acadian forest, 5 km of treed shoreline along the Bartholomew River, and deep, cold water pools which are integral to the health of salmon as they move upstream to spawn. The property will be called the Foxner Nature Reserve, based on a contraction of the former property owners’ names: Brian and Carolyn Fox, and Carl and Ann Faulkner.

The two couples made the land donation under the Government of Canada’s Ecological Gifts Program which provides tax incentives for individuals who donate ecologically significant land. The $1.3 million conservation project received wide support from New Brunswickers, including a significant financial donation from former New Brunswick Premier Frank McKenna, in honour of his friend Bob Kenny, a salmon conservation advocate.

This conservation project was supported by funding from the Government of Canada through the Natural Areas Conservation Program. Funding was also provided by the Regional Development Corporation.

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