Landowner wetland near Northumberland Strait
Approximately 118 acres of habitat have been secured at this site located along the Northumberland Strait. The landowner has signed a registered conservation agreement with DUC, which has a term of 99 years.
Map of DUC conserved landowner lands in the Yarmouth region

In Nova Scotia, DUC has 541 landowner partners. All of these partners have a signed private land agreement with DUC.

 

Land Securement  

Wetland habitat conservation is also achieved through land securement activities. In Atlantic Canada land securement activities can be grouped into three categories.

Land Purchase:

  • Land purchase and subsequent ownership is the most secure way to protect habitat. Due to the cost of purchasing land this method of habitat securement is only used for targeted critical habitat.
  • Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) also secures habitat through a partnership with the Department of Natural Resources. The Owners Unknown program allows DUC to secure land that has unknown ownership status.  Through this program a large amount of wetland habitat can be secured that otherwise would not be affordable. DUC has been involved in this program since 2003 and has secured 6350 acres of important habitat.

Stewardship & Private Land Agreements:

  • In its broadest definition, stewardship is anything we can do to encourage landowners to conserve or improve wetlands and wildlife habitats on their properties. With stewardship we are simply helping people to do things that they already want to do, but lack the technical expertise to complete. Stewardship can lead to other conservation activities such as the signing of a private land agreement.
  • DUC uses a variety of private land agreements. In Atlantic Canada the most common agreement is the conservation agreement. This is the traditional free agreement DUC signs with landowners in order to complete a project. These agreements are not usually registered although they could be. The term of the agreement is usually 30 years and is not legally binding to future owners, but the majority of new owners honor these agreements. Other types of agreements include conservation easements, registered conservation agreements, and management agreements.

Land Donation:

  • This securement tactic involves the donation of property rights to land. In this instance the donor would not be paid for the land, but would deed it to DUC in exchange for a tax receipt. Before accepting a land donation, DUC evaluates the property to ensure it meets with organizational objectives. Land ownership is the most secure form of land protection and the donation of land is the most cost-effective way of securing title.
 
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