Province purchasing land in buffer zones

The province is now offering to buy land near buffer zones, watercourses or wetlands.

The provincial government will buy land from owners at fair market price to support conservation, tree planting and/or reforestation activities through the Buffer Zone Acquisition Program.

“We want to work side-by-side with landowners to establish sustainable solutions to protect our waterways. Increasing protected areas and reforestation will help us deal with climate change and it will help us reach our net zero goals.”

- Environment, Energy and Climate Action Minister Steven Myers

Land that is eligible for purchase must include a riparian buffer zone of Island water features. Land must be near a mapped watercourse, wetland, coastal barrier beach pond or estuary. Acquisitions can include entire properties or a subdivided portion which contains the riparian buffer zone. 

Land acquired through this program will be managed by the Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action and included in the PEI Protected and Conserved Area Network. The land management may include active restoration and sustainable forest management. 

The Buffer Zone Acquisition Program is one of many provincial programs aimed at planting more trees, preserving more public land and protecting watersheds. 

Media contact:
Katie MacDonald
Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action
902-314-3996
katiemacdonald@gov.pe.ca