Almost 70% of Nova Scotia is owned privately. With so much land in private hands, the role of individual landowners in protecting our natural areas is extremely important. Protected Areas Branch supports private land conservation in many ways, such as:

• purchasing lands to assist with conservation and health benefits.
• conducting studies of selected sites and sharing inventory information with private landowners and other interested parties;
• working in the development of legislation and programs to facilitate private land protection;
• providing information and assistance to landowners and land conservation organizations;
• working directly with landowners to protect their significant natural areas through designation under the Wilderness Areas Protection Act or the Special Places Protection Act;
• working with the Nature Conservancy of Canada in various programs;
• working in partnership with the Nova Scotia Nature Trust on a variety of conservation projects aimed at securing ecologically significant areas on private land.

Several provincial statutes enable private land protection. They include the following:

• Beaches Act
• Conservation Easements Act
• Conservation Property Tax Exemption Act
• Provincial Parks Act
• Special Places Protection Act
• Trails Act
• Wilderness Areas Protection Act