Conservancy helps purchase bird habitat

Birds that live in Maine all summer need a place in the south to escape the cold, snowy winter. Imagine, however, if their favored wintering area on the Caribbean coast was suddenly turned into a condominium development.

To ensure this doesn’t happen, The Nature Conservancy’s Maine chapter has contributed $325,000 toward the purchase of property on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula that provides wintering habitat to 80 species of migratory birds that are native to Maine, including ospreys and terns.

With the group’s assistance, a Mexican conservation organization bought a 64-acre tract called Pez Maya for $1.8 million. The purchase links the existing 1.6 million-acre Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, a haven for migratory birds from Maine, with the sea.

The property is 15 miles south of coastal development that stretches from the resort city of Cancun to the Mayan ruins at Tulum. Development in the area is projected to quadruple in the next five years.

“Unfortunately, this area is facing unprecedented development pressure. This purchase will allow us to establish a barrier between the bioreserve and hotel development that is barreling down the coast south from Cancun at a rapid pace,” said Anna Marie Thron, a member of the Conservancy’s Maine board who has visited the property.

The area, made up of mangrove swamps, coastal shrubs and sand dunes, is a breeding ground for least terns, osprey, belted kingfishers, American crocodiles, manatees and loggerhead turtles. It also is home to one of the world’s most pristine coral formations and is renowned for its population of sport fish such as tarpon and bonefish.

Tom Abello, a spokesman for the Conservancy, said Friday the group’s efforts to raise $50 million as part of its “Maine Forever” campaign included fund raising for the Pez Maya project. As part of the larger campaign, $325,000 was raised for the Mexican land purchase.

The Conservancy’s New Jersey chapter donated $250,000.

“To fulfill our mission of conserving the plants and animals on Earth today, we need to protect the lands and waters they need to survive,” said Kent Wommack, Maine Conservancy executive director. “To do that, each of us must look beyond our back yards to address the health of plants and animals globally.”