FALL 2018 REFUGE RECONNECTING THROUGH CONSERVATION HOW TWO HIGH SCHOOL CLASSMATES RECONNECTED AFTER 50 YEARS THROUGH CONSERVING LAND WITH THE NATURE TRUST THE NATURE TRUST OF NEW BRUNSWICK REFUGE VOL. 27, NO. 1 | FALL 2018 Nature Trust of New Brunswick 649 Queen Street, 2nd Floor P.O. Box 603, Stn. A Fredericton, NB E3B 5A6 www.naturetrust.nb.ca Phone: (506) 457-2398 Fax: (506) 450-2137 The Nature Trust of New Brunswick is a charitable land conservation organization that is responsible for conserving over 7000 acres (2600 hectares) of land in more than 50 beautiful and diverse nature preserves across New Brunswick. HONOURARY PATRON: The Honourable Jocelyne Roy Vinneau HONOURARY DIRECTORS: Jessie Davies Robert Stewart BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Vince Zelazny - President Mike Bonga - Past President Wayne Burley - Vice-President Peta Fussell - Treasurer Jane Fullerton - Secretary Tannis Beardmore Walter Emrich Sophie Jensen Jamie LeMesurier Sandy Loder Timothy Nowlan Roger Roy Sara Taaffe Raja Wetuschat TRUSTEES EMERITUS: Bill Ayer Mike Dillon Jane Tims Don Vail Dorothy Diamond Ken Hirtle Lynn MacKinnon Eric Hadley EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Renata Woodward STAFF: Chelsea DiValentin Brandi Rideout Aaron Dowding Bethany Young Danielle Andrus Carli le Roux Cheyenne Currie FRONT PAGE, THIS PAGE, PAGE 6, 7: Justin Dutcher Photography PAGE 4: Dr. J Blanchette TEMPORARY STAFF: PAGE 10: Alyssa Martin Photography Catherine Wisniowski CONTENTS FALL 2018 REFUGE 4 6 10 SPECIES AT RISK DONOR PROFILES: STEWARDSHIP GROUPS: WATCH: RECONNECTING THE MAGIC OF FURBISH'S THROUGH GRINDSTONE LOUSEWORT CONSERVATION ISLAND 12 14 15 FALL 2018 BEFORE UNTIL EVENTS YOU GO NEXT TIME WWW.NATURETRUST.NB.CA 3 SPECIES AT RISK WATCH: FURBISH'S LOUSEWORT The importance of this significant plant and why we must work together to protect it. BY: AARON DOWDING, CONSERVATION PLANNING MANAGER 4 Talk about searching for a needle in a haystack. I had long since When I learned about these fascinating tidbits, I was given up on swatting away black flies and wiping away sweat hooked. I finally understood what our George Stirrett Nature that stung my eyes, as I crouched under an alder bush along Preserve, located in Victoria County, was all about. I felt like the sunny banks of the Saint John River. We were searching for I’d been let in on another of New Brunswick’s great secrets. a tiny cluster of fern-like leaves growing low on the ground. “Is that it? No.. wait. Maybe that’s it?” I knew if I stepped on one of There are only five Furbish's lousewort sites known in New the plants we sought, I chanced getting tossed into the river by Brunswick, between Grand Falls and Aroostook, Maine, one of my eagle-eyed and determined companions. where the bulk of the population is located. I must confess, that when I first started working on Species at This is both an advantage and a challenge for the Risk projects with the Nature Trust, I wasn’t terribly excited by conservation efforts in New Brunswick; on one hand, we an odd plant with an unfortunate name, Furbish’s lousewort can focus our limited resources on five sites, however, or Pedicularis furbishae. Since then, I’ve changed my tune on the other hand, our scant populations are much more because this amazing plant has changed the way I look at our vulnerable to the threats facing sensitive shoreline habitat. beautiful Saint John River. As you read this, the Nature Trust is working alongside Furbish’s lousewort has an interesting history of being biologists from the Province of New Brunswick and the discovered, declared extinct, rediscovered again, and then University of New Brunswick to determine the cause of finally protected as an endangered species in Canada and the recent population declines and ways to preserve this United States. It’s a rare plant endemic to the Saint John River species. in Northern New Brunswick and Maine – meaning that in the entire world, it only grows along this one river. Very few species Though other researchers are scouring the river shoreline are restricted to eastern Canada, let alone one section of one in search of additional populations along the river, the river. key to preserving this species rests in the hands of private landowners along the river. The Nature Trust works First discovered in the late 1870’s by two amateur botanists together with people who have Furbish’s lousewort and from New Brunswick, it wasn’t until 1882 that a proper other Species at Risk on their land so they can do their part name was given in honour of Kate Furbish, an intrepid Maine to preserve species living on the edge. botanist who figured out that this was an unknown species. Two local conservation heroes, George Stirrett and Fred Tribe, With your membership and support, the Nature Trust can discovered new sites in 1977 and Mr. Tribe was one of the first carry out this and other important work in New Brunswick to successfully grow and out-plant louseworts in an early as we preserve the best of what makes our province so conservation effort. special. Anyone who has had the good fortune to spend time in Thank you to the following funders for their support of Furbish’s lousewort country knows that the Saint John River is our Species at Risk projects: Environment and Climate the gem of our province; a place that is so scenic and peaceful Change Canada's Habitat Stewardship Program (HSP) for that you must pry yourself off the shore to leave. Species at Risk, New Brunswick Wildlife Trust Fund, New Brunswick Environmental Trust Fund, and the Atlantic If, on the other hand, you’ve been out searching for Furbish’s Canada Conservation Data Centre (ACCDC). lousewort, you probably have taken strained eyes, back pain, and a few good stumbles home with you. Furbish’s lousewort is a parasitic plant where roots of the Furbish’s lousewort populations young plants tap into the roots of other plants nearby in search are known to fluctuate from time to of nitrogen. The plants then mature with the help of their hosts. time, however, recent surveys suggest When the plants finally flower in their third year, just a single major declines at known sites in New species is known to pollinate their flowers - the Half-black Brunswick by 70 to 90% since 2002; bumblebee (Bombus vagans). work is underway now to find ways to help this endangered species survive Botanists call this a fugitive species because it periodically pops here. up and then disappears along the river. Furbish’s lousewort only grows in a narrow strip of north or west-facing river shoreline where the banks are steep and moist, with shade provided by forest cover from above. The cancellation of the Dickey- Lincoln Dam project near Allagash, Maine in 1984 has kept the northern This tenacious little plant must also endure an annual Saint John River wild and free-flowing onslaught of ice that scours the shoreline during the river’s in this state; vast stretches of habitat for spring freshet. Furbish’s lousewort has adapted to the forces of Furbish's lousewort and nearly 40 other ice knocking down competitive vegetation, but every so often rare plants were saved from flooding. the ice breakup is so destructive that it can wipe out entire plant colonies or render a section of the bank unsuitable for these plants. WWW.NATURETRUST.NB.CA 5 DONOR PROFILES: RECONNECTING THROUGH CONSERVATION How two high school classmates reconnected after 50 years apart through conserving land with the Nature Trust BY: DANIELLE ANDRUS, COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER 6 It was a warm spring day in 2017, and Judith Seymour was on her way into town for a coffee date. She was working on finalizing her land donation, 94.5 acres of mixed woodland in Estey’s Bridge, to the Nature Trust of New Brunswick and was driving to the city to meet with Nature Trust Executive Director, Renata Woodward, to see how things were shaping up. The two met at a local café and began to chat about the new preserve, among other things, when Judith asked about other projects the organization was working on. Renata began to speak of a property that they had recently acquired and were working to finalize in the Keswick Ridge region. When she mentioned the names of the land donors, Patricia and Jan Volney, it took Judith by surprise. “She said 'we’re working on another donated property up in Keswick or Keswick Ridge, donated by Pat and Jan Volney,'” said Judith. “I said ‘okay, there aren’t many Volney’s around’ and that I went to school with a Pat Cameron.” The recently acquired property, 16.5 acres of rare mixed Appalachian Hardwood forest, was to be named the Margaret Coburn Cameron Woods Nature Preserve, in memory of Margaret Coburn Cameron. This, Judith said, solidified it. She must be her old classmate. Renata offered to reconnect Judith with Patricia, whom she hadn’t spoken with in 50 years. When she returned to the Nature Trust office, she sent out an email to both women so that they would have each others’ contact information. It was a kind gesture, yes, but nothing came of it – at first. C1 Classmates Judith and Patricia met in 1963 when they entered secondary school at Fredericton High School. They were from opposite sides of the river, with Judith living in Estey’s Bridge and Patricia on the south side of Fredericton. Prior to their first day, they had individually decided to add an extra class in Latin to their coursework, which meant they were placed into a C1 class.