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CHIGNECTO NATIONAL WILDLIFE AREA
Name of Wetland: CHIGNECTO NATIONAL WILDLIFE AREA, Nova Scotia
- Country: Canada
- Effective Date of Information: The information provided is taken from text submitted at the time of
designation to the List of Wetlands of International Importance, October 1985. The information was updated by
CWS-AR in February 1993.
- Reference: Canada - 17.
- Name and Address of Compiler: Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
K1A 0H3.
- Date of Ramsar Designation: 16 October 1985.
- Geographical Coordinates: 45ø48'N., 64ø16'W.
- General Location: Located on Cumberland Basin at the head of the Bay of Fundy, 5 km south-west of the
town of Amherst, Cumberland County, Nova Scotia.
- Area: 1 020 ha.
- Wetland Type (Ramsar Classification System):
- Marine and Coastal Wetlands:
- Type 8- Intertidal marshes ;includes salt marshes, salt meadows, saltings, raised salt marshes, tidal
brackish and freshwater marshes.
- Inland Wetlands:
- Type 5- Permanent fresh water lakes (over 8 ha); includes large oxbow lakes.
- Man-made Wetlands:
- Type 1- Water storage areas; reservoirs, barrages, hydro-electric dams, impoundments (generally
over 8 ha).
- Altitude: 0 to 15 meters above mean sea level.
- Overview (Principle Characteristics): The wildlife area consists of John Lusby Salt Marsh and Amherst
Point Migratory Bird Sanctuary, two very different wetlands, and separated by a narrow, 1 km-wide upland
ridge.
- Physical Features (Geology, Geomorphology, Hydrology, Soils, Water, Climate): The 600 ha John
Lusby section is dominated by salt marsh. Small saline ponds (with depths from 15-30 cm) are interspersed
throughout the marsh, and two brackish impoundments (20 ha with average depths of 45 cm) have been
developed along the upland edge. Amherst Point Sanctuary section is a mosaic of freshwater wetlands of
several natural types ranging from sink hole ponds to small lakes (with average depths of 60 cm, with the
exception of a sink hole depression in one of the lakes that descends to 11 m), bogs and marshes. However,
shallow controlled water level impoundments (with depths from 30-60 cm) comprise nearly half of the wetland
area. Wetlands at the site are the most productive in the province, and derive this fertility from the gypsum-
limestone bedrock and from marine silt deposits.
- Ecological Features (Habitats, Vegetation): The John Lusby section is predominantly vegetated by Spartina
spp. Amherst Point Sanctuary section is dominated by wetlands ranging from ponds to small lakes, bogs and
cattail Typha marshes. Cattails and burreeds Sparganium are the most common emergent plants, with water-
milfoil Myriophyllum and pondweeds Potamogeton common throughout.
- Land Tenure:
- (a) Site: The area is federal Crown Land.
- (b) Surrounding Area: The surrounding upland adjacent to the John Lusby salt marsh consists of open
farmland and is all privately owned. The Amherst Point Sanctuary is bounded by privately held lands and by
lands owned and managed by Domtar Chemicals who operate a salt extraction plant at the site and retain
ownership to an abandoned gypsum quarry.
- Conservation Measures Taken: 1 020 ha is designated as a National Wildlife Area under the Wildlife Area
Regulations of the Canada Wildlife Act of 1973. Additionally the Amherst Point section (433 ha) is scheduled
as a Migratory Bird Sanctuary under the Sanctuary Regulations of the Migratory Birds Convention Act (1917).
- Conservation Measures Proposed: The site management Plan is to be updated.
- Current Land Use/Activities in:
- (a) Site: Ongoing management is designed to protect the unique ecological and aesthetic features of the area,
and to maintain habitat diversity. Nature trails, signage and observation decks have been installed. A
brochure and species checklist is available to the visiting public.
- (b) Surrounding Area: Farms, woodlots and private homes surround the site and Domtar Chemicals
operate a salt plant on land adjacent to the Bird Sanctuary. The main line of the Canadian National Railways
forms the eastern boundary of the site.
- Threats to Integrity of:
- (a) Site: Urban expansion around the Town of Amherst will increase recreational use pressures on the site,
but is not expected to cause serious damage. The site is regulated by the Wildlife Area Regulations of the
Canada Wildlife Act. The possibility of development of a major tidal power installation on Cumberland Basin
is a potential threat to the salt marsh section of the wildlife area. Should a tidal barrage ever be developed
across Cumberland Basin, tidal amplitudes will be reduced,greatly changing the ecology of John Lusby Salt
Marsh.
- (b) Surrounding Area: Changing land use from farms and woodlots to housing developments.
- Hydrological/Physical Values: The John Lusby Salt Marsh is the largest continuous section of salt marsh left
in the Bay of Fundy ecosystem. The "sink-hole" landscape and wide diversity of habitats at the Amherst Point
Sanctuary make it a very special place and unique in the Region.
- Social/Cultural Values: The site is traditionally used for birdwatching and outdoor recreation.
- Noteworthy Fauna: The salt marsh supports flocks of up to 6 000 Canada Geese Branta canadensis
during spring migration and lesser numbers of Black Duck Anas rubripes, Green-winged Teal Anas crecca
carolinensis and Northern Pintail Anas acuta. In summer, broods of Black Duck are common on the
impoundments and salt marsh ponds, where Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca are frequently observed.
Throughout fall the wetland supports flocks of mixed waterfowl species (numbering in the hundreds).
Waterfowl and other marsh birds are abundant in the freshwater wetlands and include most species commonly
found in the region, along with the regular occurrence of regionally rare species such as Gadwall Anas
strepera, Redhead Aythya americana, Ruddy Duck Oxyura jamaicensis, Virginia Rail Rallus limicola,
Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus, American Coot Fulica americana and Black Tern Chlidonias niger.
One 40 ha impoundment in the sanctuary supports the highest densities of Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus
podiceps ever recorded in the literature. Over 200 species of birds have been recorded at the sanctuary.
- Noteworthy Flora: Uplands in the sanctuary support a relict stand of Eastern Hemlock and a single Sugar
Maple tree that is estimated to be over 200 years old. Plants that are unique to a gypsum environment are also
noteworthy.
- Current Scientific Research and Facilities: Research studies have been conducted on the ecology and
productivity of John Lusby Salt Marsh and on a unique limnological phenomenon that occurs at Layton's
Lake within the Amherst Point Bird Sanctuary. A study of Pied-billed Grebe at one of the artificial
impoundments has revealed nesting densities unparalleled elsewhere in North America.
- Current Conservation Education: Display area and nature trails are in place at the site.
- Current Recreation and Tourism: Trails and observation decks on site are used by naturalists, hikers and
birdwatchers during the spring, summer and fall. In winter the Sanctuary is used for cross country skiing, and
outdoor skating.
- Management Authority: The site is managed by the Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada in
cooperation with the Province of Nova Scotia and with development assistance from Ducks Unlimited
Canada.
- Jurisdiction: Federal; Department of the Environment.
- Selected Bibliography:
- Forbes, M.R.L. 1982. The Nesting Ecology and Breeding Behaviour of the Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus
podiceps) at a National Wildlife Area in Nova Scotia. Honours thesis, Acadia University. Wolfville, Nova
Scotia.
- Foshay, G.M. 1974. The Limnology of Layton's Lake, N.S. B.Sc. thesis, Mount Allison University.
Sackville, New Brunswick.
- Morantz, D.L. 1976. Productivity and export from a marsh with 15 m tidal range, and the effects of
impoundment of selected areas. M.Sc. thesis, Dalhousie University. Halifax, Nova Scotia.
- Van Zoost, J.R. 1970. The ecology and waterfowl utilization of the John Lusby National Wildlife Area.
M.Sc. thesis, Acadia University. Wolfville, Nova Scotia.
- Reasons for Ramsar Designation: High waterfowl use of the John Lusby salt marsh and the uniqueness and
high productivity of the Amherst Point Sanctuary.
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