Liscomb Game Sanctuary facts for kids
The Liscomb Game Sanctuary is a special protected area in Nova Scotia, Canada. It's a place where nature is kept safe and animals can live freely. This sanctuary stretches across parts of the Halifax Regional Municipality and Guysborough County. A road called Nova Scotia Route 374 goes right through it. Inside the sanctuary, you'll find two nature reserves and parts of two wilderness areas, making it a really important spot for wildlife.
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Protecting Liscomb's Wildlife
The Liscomb Game Sanctuary was created in 1928 to protect animals. It's managed by the Department of Natural Resources of the Government of Nova Scotia. When it first started, hunting and trapping were not allowed here.
Sanctuary Size and Rules
The sanctuary has changed a bit over the years. Today, it covers a huge area of about 43,244 hectares (that's about 167 square miles!). Since 1996, there has been a very short hunting season. Only special old-style guns called muzzle-loaders are allowed during this time.
Parts of the sanctuary also overlap with other protected areas. For example, the Alder Ground and Boggy Lake wilderness areas share some land with the sanctuary. This means about 844 hectares are protected in two different ways! However, about a quarter of the sanctuary land is owned by private companies, mostly those involved in making paper.
What Kind of Land is in the Sanctuary?
The Liscomb Game Sanctuary has many different types of land. Here's a quick look at how the land is used:
| Land Type | Area (hectares) |
|---|---|
| Forest | 36,027 |
| Bogs and wetlands | 3,372 |
| Lakes and ponds | 2,361 |
| Barrens | 852 |
| Roads, etc. | 275 |
Animals of Liscomb
This sanctuary is home to many animals. You can find white-tailed deer here. It's also a very important place for the mainland Nova Scotia moose, which is an endangered species. Long ago, caribou also lived here, but they are no longer found in this area.
Some groups are worried about how cutting down trees might affect the animals. They think that clear-cutting (cutting all trees in an area) could harm wildlife. However, the Forest Products Association of Nova Scotia says that any areas with trees all the same age are probably from old wildfires, not from logging.
Ancient Rocks and Gold
Some parts of the Liscomb Game Sanctuary are important for their geology. They are part of the Quartzite Barrens of Nova Scotia. This area was known for having a lot of gold in the past. In 2018, people were still exploring the area to see if more gold could be found.
Abraham Lake Nature Reserve
Inside the larger game sanctuary, you'll find the Abraham Lake Nature Reserve. This is a special nature reserve owned by the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC). It covers about 256 hectares (about 1 square mile).
Old Trees and Hiking Trails
The Abraham Lake Nature Reserve is famous for its old-growth red spruce trees. Some of these trees are over 200 years old and stand as tall as 30 meters (about 100 feet)! Finding trees this old is very rare in Nova Scotia now. The land was given to the NCC in 1995. It is surrounded by forests used by industries. There is a 4.5 km hiking trail in the reserve for visitors to enjoy.
Rush Lake Nature Reserve
Another special place within the game sanctuary is the 307-hectare Rush Lake Nature Reserve. This reserve has one of the last remaining stands of mature Acadian forest within the sanctuary.
Forest and Moose Habitat
The trees you can find here include red spruce, sugar maple, yellow birch, and American beech. This forest is a vital home for moose, which are an endangered species on the mainland of Nova Scotia.
