Nature Conservancy of Canada buys land near Kingston, Ont.

A large section of the Frontenac Arch Biosphere near Kingston, Ont., will now be protected after being purchased by the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

The land is 185 acres of forest and wetland habitat north of Kingston.

The area will be left undeveloped for the benefit of nature and adds to NCC’s nature reserve in the Loughborough Wilderness Block.

NCC now owns and protects 1,636 hectares in this area, which is situated in the heart of the Frontenac Arch Natural Area.

“The latest 75-hectare addition in the Loughborough Wilderness connects with several other conservation properties, creating a large block of protected land. The Frontenac Arch is a place of extraordinary beauty and biodiversity; caring for it today will help ensure its protection for the future,” said Rob McRae, program director for Eastern Ontario, Nature Conservancy of Canada, in a statement Thursday.

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The Frontenac Arch is a strip of rocky outcrops, wetlands and forests that connects the northern forests of Algonquin with the Adirondack Mountains of New York State. It forms a critical habitat linkage between the hardwood and mixed forests of Ontario with the Appalachian Mountain chain of eastern North America.

The NCC says it serves as a vital corridor that allows wildlife to move over long distances, rather than being cut off in isolated pockets.

“The Frontenac Arch is an important land bridge linking the habitats of the Algonquin and Adirondack Park regions. First Nations call the Frontenac Arch the ‘backbone of the mother’ — Mother Nature’s spinal column,” said Mark Gerretsen, Kingston and the Islands MPP.