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The 2022 designation of Big Glace Bay Lake as a national wildlife area is a key step in a decades-long effort to help piping plovers recover and thrive. It also protects crucial fall migration habitat for many species of waterfowl.
From the beach at the Big Glace Bay Lake National Wildlife Area, it’s hard not to wonder at what the area has become.
The beach, a long finger of sand and cobble, juts a kilometre and a half out from the shore, leaving a narrow opening where the sea passes through; on one side of the finger is the Atlantic Ocean, and on the other, a stretch of salt marsh, mudflats and an estuary — the “lake” — where salt and fresh water mix, pulsing with the rhythm of the tides.
Until the late 20th century, the area hosted several industrial plants, but over time, those developments have disappeared. Now, Big Glace Bay Lake is one of the country’s newest national wildlife areas: 394 hectares of habitat supporting migratory birds and species at risk.
“If you spend the time [exploring] the area, you will see more than you envision most times,” says Jeff McNeil, president of the Port Morien Wildlife Association, which has been instrumental in advocating for the area’s protection. “To see it go from heavy industry to the flourishing area that it’s turned into, it’s huge.”
The area’s importance for wildlife has long been recognized. It’s a type of ecosystem known as a barrier-beach pond, where a larger body of water influences a smaller one. At Big Glace Bay Lake, the Atlantic Ocean mixes with the lake, creating a brackish pond that’s protected from the open ocean. In this sheltered water, beds of eelgrass — a marine plant that supports a range of animals — form, while the presence of salt water helps keep the pond from freezing. These characteristics help make the area an important stopover point for migrating waterfowl like Canada geese and American black ducks, while several at-risk species nest along the beach.
For these reasons — and in recognition that the area’s migratory birds were disproportionately vulnerable to hunting — the federal government first designated the lake a migratory bird sanctuary in 1939.
But the area has also supported heavy industry. A coal-fired power plant once sat at the western end of the estuary: the Seaboard power plant opened in 1930 to supply power to industrial Cape Breton and closed in the 1980s. A short distance down the shoreline, the Glace Bay heavy water plant was built in the 1960s to produce heavy water for use in nuclear reactors; it, too, closed in the 1980s.
When the federal government completed a cleanup of the site in 2012, the local municipality initially eyed it for commercial and residential development — but the Port Morien Wildlife Association advocated for a different outcome. Members had seen just how quickly the ecosystem restored itself when the industrial infrastructure was removed. “It’s become a very flourishing area with … an ecosystem there that would surprise most,” says McNeil.
He points to the abundant birdlife on both land and sea, the fish in the waters and the white-tailed deer in the forest surrounding the estuary — the abundance of life can make visiting this national wildlife area feel like being in a wildlife documentary, he says.
It’s the nature of barrier-beach pond ecosystems to be in constant flux, explains Karel Allard, protected areas coordinator with the Canadian Wildlife Service, a branch of Environment and Climate Change Canada. In the case of Big Glace Bay Lake, the dynamic nature of the beach and estuary allow it to support a rich array of life. “Many of these waterbird species stage there during migration and find reliable and abundant prey at this place. But without that dynamic beach and dune system, that estuary would not be as protected and would likely not host the wildlife that it hosts.”
While that landscape already had protection as a migratory bird sanctuary, its 2022 designation as a national wildlife area moves its focus beyond migratory birds to protect all manner of wildlife and wildlife habitat (the national wildlife area encompasses the original Big Glace Bay Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary plus an additional 14 hectares).
The updated designation isn’t meant to exclude people, Allard says. Instead, it is designed to allow visitors to connect with the living world, while also ensuring the area is managed for nature first. “It is entirely possible to enjoy that beach in harmony with nature.”
One of the area’s most notable natural attractions is its population of piping plovers, a migratory shorebird that nests on coastal beaches in Eastern Canada from April through August. Piping plovers rely on a specific habitat, building their nests directly on the beach. That makes them vulnerable to people, pets and vehicles, as well as to beachside development, erosion and storms. Indeed, the species is listed as endangered federally, as well as in every Atlantic province and Quebec.
Sue Abbott, associate director of Atlantic programs for Birds Canada, says plovers thrive on vegetation-free beaches with a consistent supply of new sand and cobble to camouflage nests and chicks. “We want to see natural processes to keep these beach ecosystems constantly changing. Sometimes there’s going to be a lot of great habitat for plovers, and sometimes there might not be, but the fact is, beaches need to change over time in order for them to be healthy over the long term.”
Abbott says Nova Scotia’s population of piping plovers has been doing well in recent years, exceeding the provincial goal of 60 breeding pairs, though the Atlantic region as a whole is falling below the long-term recovery goal of 310 breeding pairs.
Historically, piping plovers have consistently nested at Big Glace Bay Lake, where the constantly shifting beach offers just the right kind of dynamic habitat. “Becoming a federally protected area is incredibly important and needed for piping plovers and for other species,” Abbott says, adding that federally protected beaches and dunes are rare in Canada.
Abbott is heartened that, after years of outreach, local residents and visitors are now much more aware of the impact their behaviour has on plover habitat and the importance of stewardship.
The work of the Port Morien Wildlife Association has helped to grow that awareness. Over the years, members have installed nest boxes, done bird counts and monitored detrimental human activities such as the setting of beach fires, letting dogs run loose and driving onto the beach. All these activities disturb at-risk species like piping plovers.
Acting on the concerns of their scientists and local groups, the federal government recently installed barriers to prevent vehicles from accessing the beach. It also put up signs to inform the public about nesting birds.
Each measure is one more in a series of important steps to protect this sensitive ecosystem. People who previously didn’t realize the effects of their actions are now much more aware, says McNeil. And while the new infrastructure has compelled people to change some of their habits, most have been willing to make room for nature. “The [people] that love the place and enjoy it make do with the provisions that are there.”
It’s a shift that continues the process of restoration that has been underway at Big Glace Bay Lake for decades — clearing some space and letting the rich and evolving ecosystem thrive and provide.
This story was created in partnership with Environment and Climate Change Canada.
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