Fred Carter Jr. believes the donation of a piece of property he and his brother Ralph inherited from their father Fred Sr. to the Nature Conservancy of Canada is a great legacy.
“We’re excited to do it. My dad would have wanted it this way,” he said of the donation in memory of their father.
The property, which is 195 acres (79 hectares) borders one of Newfoundland and Labrador’s most popular provincial parks – Barachois Pond Provincial Park – and includes 2.3 kilometers of river frontage on Barachois Brook.
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Carter said the interesting part is that his father received the property as a christening gift from his godfather Ralph Neville.
He said his dad loved the property to the fullest, as a game hunter and rabbit trapper but even more so as a master salmon angler.
Carter said he and his brother comes and visits the area every two or three years and has enjoyed the property too, but unfortunately a lot of the people he grew up with are no longer around. He still visits some of his dad’s friends but they are getting up in age and unfortunately a real good friend of his dad, Dick Banfield, died about three years ago.
His dad built a cabin on the side of Barachois Brook next to a pool named in his honour and Carter has many fond memories of time spent there, especially taking photos since he was 14 years of age. He’s now 54 years old and Ralph is 63 years of age.
When he was younger, Carter would spend two to three months every summer in Newfoundland and his strongest connection was always to the land.
He and Ralph, without hesitation, made the decision to donate the land when the idea was presented to them.
“We certainly don’t mind people using it and the Nature Conservancy of Canada will preserve it in the way that my dad used it. We didn’t think twice, it’s a good legacy for my dad,” Carter said from his home in Toronto.
Fred Carter Sr. died on Nov. 28, 1992 and was buried at the Anglican Cemetery in St. George’s.
In addition to being a scheduled salmon river, Barachois Brook and the surrounding area provide habitat for fox, snowshoe hare, pine marten, black bear, and more than 100 species of birds.
The Nature Conservancy of Canada is actively fundraising to secure the final $28,000 needed to complete the Barachois Brook conservation project. It will be matched by Environment and Climate Change Canada under the Natural Areas Conservation Program.
Carter said he hopes the conservancy is successful in raising those funds so they can maintain the property forever.
Megan Lafferty, NCC’s Acting Newfoundland and Labrador Program Director, said this is a beautiful piece of property and this conservation project will protect habitat for many wildlife species.
Donations in support of this conservation project can be made by calling the Nature Conservancy of Canada in St John’s at 1-709-753-5540.
Other Nature Conservancy of Canada Western Newfoundland properties:
Sandy Point Nature Reserve
The Grasses Nature Reserve
The Grand Codroy Estuary Nature Reserve
Source: Nature Conservancy of Canada
