The Nature Conservancy of Canada says two sites are being set aside for conservation in Cape Breton near Little Narrows.
It says the sites total 251 hectares and feature old Acadian forest with sugar maple and yellow birch that make up the native forest of the Maritimes.
It says black bear and bobcat are supported by the area’s forest, and an endangered bird species in Nova Scotia, the rusty blackbird, has been observed nearby.
Money to buy the sites came from the federal and provincial governments, local donors and supporters, John Bourinot and the Bourinot family as well as the Nova Scotia Crown Share Land Legacy Trust and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.