Boughton Island (Prince Edward Island)

Because Boughton Island has been uninhabited for more than 60 years, wildlife has thrived here without development or human interference. It houses more than 49 species of birds, including osprey, great blue heron, common tern, bald eagles, merlins, gulls, swallows, loons, mergansers, scoters, and piping plovers. Red fox, shrew and beaver also live here. Boughton Island provides diverse habitats including white sand beaches, a spruce forest, a saltwater marsh, and several freshwater ponds.^[3]

Boughton Island had been mostly privately owned. Plans for a large subdivision had been approved. With the threat of development looming, in 2007, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) purchased just over half of the island. The NCC then transferred ownership of Boughton Island to the Government of Prince Edward Island. The Province now manages the entire island under the Natural Areas Protection Act but the NCC helps to protect it so it may continue to be the largest undisturbed island in Prince Edward Island.^[4]

46°11′30″N 62°24′55″W / 46.19167°N 62.41528°W / 46.19167; -62.41528