Americans and Canadians come together Saturday on the northwest shore of Lake Superior to celebrate protection of one of the last privately-owned, undeveloped stretches of shoreline between Duluth and Thunder Bay, Ontario.
With support from U.S. donors, foundations and conservation organizations, and the government of Canada and private donors, the Nature Conservancy of Canada completed the purchase of Big Trout Bay, the crown jewel in a series of rugged coastal islands, peninsulas and bays along Lake Superior's northwest shore.
The dense coastal boreal forest at Big Trout Bay is a vital stopover for migrating waterfowl, songbirds, shorebirds and colonial nesting water birds and is essential to conserving wide-ranging mammals like the Canada lynx and gray wolf in the greater landscape.
Together the partners raised more than $6.3 million to purchase the 2,500-acre property and take advantage of an extraordinary opportunity to permanently protect 13 miles of undeveloped shoreline, rugged cobble beaches, coastal boreal forest and a spectacular cliff outcrop that supports breeding peregrine falcons.
More than $3.15 million of the purchase price was raised from U.S. donors and foundations in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Nebraska.
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"Protecting Big Trout Bay was a massive undertaking, and it wouldn't have happened without support from U.S. donors, foundations and conservation organizations," said James Duncan, Nature Conservancy of Canada vice president. He said it gives hope the landscapes shared and beloved by the citizens of both countries will be here for others to enjoy tomorrow.
"When you fly over the north shore of Lake Superior, you don't see an international boundary, you see an amazingly beautiful place, a global treasure that should be protected," said Debbie Cervenka, former chairperson of the Nature Conservancy's Board of Trustees in Wisconsin and Duluth resident who made a gift to help protect Big Trout Bay.
John H. Anderson, a Duluth businessman and Nature Conservancy board member in Minnesota who spearheaded the fundraising in the U.S. together with Cervenka. Anderson and his wife Mary Boyle Anderson donated a portion of their property at Pine Point on Big Trout Bay to NCC to become part of the protected area.
"The land on Big Trout Bay was slated to be developed into more than 300 home sites, Anderson said. "I have a deep connection to Lake Superior, having paddled the lake for decades and owned land on Big Trout Bay, and I wanted to see it stay as wild and untouched as it was the first time I set eyes on it."
