Brothers honour late father with land donation for Newfoundland's newest nature reserve

A new nature reserve in western Newfoundland includes a donation from two men in memory of their father.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada is adding a 79-hectare nature reserve to its list of protected areas in western Newfoundland thanks to a donation from two brothers.

The Barachois Brook Nature Reserve borders Barachois Pond Provincial Park and surrounds just over two kilometres of Barachois Brook, an Atlantic salmon river.

Ralph and Fred Carter donated a portion of the land to the Nature Conservancy of Canada in memory of their father, Fred Carter Sr. The remainder was purchased by the conservancy with funding from the federal government.

"I think Dad would have been very proud to know that his land is going to be here forever and preserved by the Nature Conservancy of Canada," said Ralph Carter.

"My brother and I are very happy to be part of this whole event today and donate the land for everybody to use for all time. It's a beautiful thing."

The riverside property was originally given to Fred Carter Sr. as a christening gift in 1929. His sons said he spent many happy years there fishing on the river and spending time at a nearby cabin. Years later, he passed down his love for the outdoors to them during family vacations from Montreal.

"When I started coming to Newfoundland I would join him on his journeys into the woods to trap hares and fish the salmon. I helped him build a cabin in the late '70s, and that became the focal point," said Fred Carter Jr.

"We spent a lot of time down here when I was growing up."

The land features a mix of black spruce, white spruce, balsam fir forest and a variety of wetlands. It also provides a habitat for a variety of wild animals, including snowshoe hare, ruffed grouse and the threatened American marten.

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