**** DNR Release
Funding for Wildlife Habitat Conservation Projects
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Fifteen projects that aim to enhance and conserve wildlife and habitats are moving forward with funding from the Habitat Conservation Fund.
“This fund is vital for maintaining ecosystem health, supporting biodiversity, habitat conservation and community research,” said Tory Rushton, Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables. “I thank all groups advancing habitat projects and hunters and trappers whose wildlife habitat stamp purchases make these efforts possible.”
Wildlife habitat stamps are required to hunt, trap or snare in Nova Scotia.
An Acadia University project to track black bears and analyze their movements and behaviour and another looking at deer parasites are among this year’s funding recipients. A project through the Trappers Association of Nova Scotia will promote humane trapping methods. The full list of projects is available at: https://novascotia.ca/natr/wildlife/habfund/
Quotes:
“Mainland moose in Nova Scotia are endangered, and one reason is that they can die if they acquire a deer parasite called brainworm. The likelihood of moose acquiring this parasite may be related to deer population densities. We are funding students to dissect deer skulls to get a sense of where hot spots for deer infections, and therefore threats to moose, are most intense. These results will help the province in refining management tools to improve the health of moose populations.”
— Dave Shutler, professor emeritus, department of biology, Acadia University
Quick Facts:
– the 15 projects have received more than $263,000
– people can make monetary gifts, donations and bequests to the Habitat Conservation Fund; sometimes land is acquired and sold for revenue to support the fund
– since 2000, the fund has awarded more than $4 million to wildlife and habitat conservation projects
Additional Resources:
Natural Resources and Renewables on X (formerly known as Twitter): https://twitter.com/NS_DNRR
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