Researchers find risk species in the Kluskap wilderness area after a day-long trek

A group of researchers found a number of at-risk species after days of trekking through about 3,000 acres around Kluskap Wilderness Area in Cape Breton.

Twenty-eight researchers participated in the venture, which focused on an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA).

They found an array of plant and animal species, including the little brown bat, the olive-sided flycatcher and a type of fungus called blue felt lichens.

Trish Nash works for the Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources, one of the organizations involved. The research was done in an effort to “gather as much information as possible about the area of ​​the Glooscap IPCA,” she said.

“We didn’t really know much about it.”

Part of the area the researchers covered was a provincial wilderness area, she said, “but not much data had been collected there either.”

The group left Monday, Nash said, “and were surprised to find several species that were endangered due to the lack of research that has been done in that particular part of Cape Breton in the past.”

The findings help reinforce that the area “is very important for biodiversity and continues to support many species that are in decline across Canada,” she said.

Participating organizations were: Parks Canada, the Province of Nova Scotia, Cape Breton University, Nova Scotia Nature Trust, Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Center, Clean Annapolis River Project, and the Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources.

One of the obstacles the group had to overcome was the damage caused by Post-Tropical Storm Fiona last fall, as many trees were blown down throughout the area, making the trek more challenging.

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