‘This beautiful place will be preserved forever’: New nature reserve for N.L.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada has announced a new nature reserve on Newfoundland’s west coast that provides habitat for fox, snowshoe hare and the threatened American marten. (File Photo: Maya Bialik/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

STEPHENVILLE, N.L. — The Nature Conservancy of Canada has announced a new nature reserve on Newfoundland’s west coast that provides habitat for fox, snowshoe hare and the threatened American marten.

The Barachois Brook Nature Reserve borders the Barachois Pond Provincial Park near Stephenville and surrounds more than two kilometres of Barachois Brook, an Atlantic salmon river.

The reserve was presented to the conservancy by Fred and Ralph Carter in memory of their late father, Fred Carter Sr., who was an avid salmon fisherman.

Fred Carter Sr. received the land as a christening gift in 1927 and enjoyed spending time in his cabin on the property, surrounded by white spruce, black spruce and balsam fir.

A portion of the 79-hectare reserve was donated by the Carter brothers, and the remainder was purchased by the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

The area will remain open to the public.

A statement from the Carter brothers said one of their father’s greatest pleasures was fly fishing, and he made many memories at his cabin.

“Dad would be so pleased that this beautiful place and land will be preserved forever for everyone to share and enjoy,” the statement said.

The reserve also provides a habitat for a number of species of birds, including the ruffed grouse, the black-and-white warbler and Swainson’s thrush.

The American marten, a threatened species in Newfoundland protected under Canada’s Species at Risk Act, is also found in the area.