Prairie Wetland Habitat.
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Cottage properties, woodlots, ranches, farms and many other types of privately owned land contain terrestrial and aquatic habitat that is home to many different plants and animals. While the land is in their hands, owners can protect natural habitat by limiting certain activities and practices. But what happens if they pass away or decide to sell their property?
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Since 1995, Environment Canada’s Ecological Gifts Program has enabled individual and corporate landowners to protect their cherished piece of nature in perpetuity by donating ecologically sensitive land, to an environmental charity or government body. "Ecogift" donations can be the entire property or a partial interest (i.e. conservation easements, covenants or servitudes). Recipients manage the land according to mutually agreed upon conservation goals and objectives.
In addition to peace of mind, donors receive significant income tax benefits—including a donation receipt for the full value of their ecogift that may be applied against 100 per cent of their annual income for up to six years. Also, only 25 per cent of the capital gain on their land is taxed, instead of the usual 50 per cent.
To receive these benefits, the ecological sensitivity, recipient and fair market value of the donation must be certified by Environment Canada or a designated authority. Generally speaking, ecologically sensitive lands are areas or sites that currently, or could in the future, significantly contribute to the conservation of Canada’s biodiversity and environmental heritage.
To date, over 230 ecogifts valued at over thirty million dollars have been donated across Canada, protecting nearly 20 000 hectares of wildlife habitat. More than one-third of these ecogifts contain areas designated as being of national or provincial significance, and many are home to some of Canada’s species at risk.
Great Blue Heron. Photo: Tony Beck
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Ecogifts are as varied as the Canadian landscape—ranging from wetlands and boreal forests to prairie grasslands and rocky cliffs. For example, the 383-hectare Hoasic Creek Hardwoods near Morrisburg, Ontario, includes a provincially significant wetland and one of the largest nesting areas of Great Blue Herons in the southeastern region of the province. Cape Enrage Marsh, near Fundy National Park in New Brunswick, is only one-tenth the size, but is a key habitat for seabirds and home to the regionally rare Adder's Tongue Fern.
An increasing number of conservation-minded Canadians take part in the Ecological Gifts Program each year. Each donation, no matter how small, makes a substantial contribution to the creation of a network of protected areas that reach across virtually every habitat and region in Canada. For more information, visit Environment Canada’s Ecological Gifts Web site.
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Fast Facts
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Over 80 per cent of ecogift donors are individuals and families, while the remainder are corporations.
About 60 per cent of all ecogifts are conservation easements, covenants and servitudes. These partial interests are agreements between the landowner and the recipient that generally include restrictions on land use and incorporate a right of access for monitoring and enforcing compliance.
Alberta’s ecogifts total the largest area; Ontario has the highest number of ecogifts; and British Columbia’s ecogifts have the highest average value per hectare.
Habitat loss and degradation are primary causes of a decline in biodiversity both across Canada and around the world. In Canada, close to a dozen species are already extinct, and nearly another dozen—including the Black-Footed Ferret and Greater Prairie-Chicken—are no longer found here in the wild.
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Related Sites
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Ecological Gifts
Ecological Gifts Program in Ontario
Habitat and Stewardship
Canadian Wildlife Service
Species at Risk
Biodiversity
Biodiversity Convention Office
North American Waterfowl Management Plan
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