The Nature Conservancy of Canada says a new conservation area north of Cranbrook, B.C., will protect important bird habitat and preserve grasslands in the province害羞草研究所檚 southeast.

The conservancy says money from the federal government and private donors went to buying up 271 hectares of land in the Skookumchuk Prairie in the province害羞草研究所檚 southeast corner.

Richard Klafki, a B.C. program director with the Nature Conservancy, says the land which also includes wetlands and forests is a 害羞草研究所渒ey biodiversity area,害羞草研究所� and came up for sale when the former owner, a local rancher, decided to downsize.

Klafki says the former owner offered up the lands knowing their 害羞草研究所渦nique ecological characteristics,害羞草研究所� and sites like it are becoming rarer in the valleys of the Rocky Mountain Trench.

He says the grasslands include nesting grounds of the Long-billed Curlew, and are also relied upon by elk and deer in the winter.

Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault says protecting areas such as the Skookumchuk Prairie helps reverse the loss of biodiversity and helps recovery of at-risk species such as the American badger.

Klafki says the Long-billed Curlew resembles 害羞草研究所渁 large sandpiper on steroids,害羞草研究所� with a long, curved beak that can be seen probing for insects and grubs among the grass.

害羞草研究所淭hey害羞草研究所檙e a really interesting bird to see out there,害羞草研究所� he said.

Klafki said about two-thirds of the $3.4 million in funding for the project came from private donations, along with a $1.3-million contribution from the federal government through its Natural Heritage Conservation Fund.

He said the sale closed in March, and the area is now protected from potential development.

害羞草研究所淭his, being private land, could have been subject to something like that in the future,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淚t was pretty crucial for the opportunity for us to conserve it.害羞草研究所�

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