Cape LaHave Island

Cape LaHave Island is the largest of all the LaHave Islands, measuring approximately 2,600 acres in size. The island is special for many reasons—one of which is that it is a rarity to see such a large and undeveloped island like it along Nova Scotia’s coastline.

Last fall, after a series of public presentations and meetings, Council passed a motion to work with the Nova Scotia Nature Trust on creating a conservation easement for Cape LaHave Island to ensure that this special place is conserved through permanent, legal protection for current and future generations.

Despite some setbacks due to COVID-19, the project is forging ahead. Officials with the Municipality and Nature Trust staff have been working in coordination to better understand the conservation features of the land (i.e. rare/at risk species or important habitats), document its historic and current uses, and plan for community consultation.

In August, a field team of scientists from the Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre and Nova Scotia
Museum spent a few days on Cape LaHave, cataloguing the diversity of plant and animal life found there. They traversed almost the entire periphery of the island on foot and ventured throughout the island’s thick interior forests, documenting over 300 different plants and three species at risk. They are now working on compiling their data for a report that will inform community consultation and help the Nature Trust establish a baseline for future stewardship of the island. The Nature Trust has also been coordinating with partners at Birds Canada and the Canadian Wildlife Service to acquire long-term monitoring data on the endangered Piping Plover who breed and nest on Cape LaHave Island in the spring and summer months.

(Banner photo credit: Corey Isenor)