HALIFAX - Nova Scotia's Environment Department says an island on St. Margarets Bay will be protected thanks to fundraising efforts of local residents and community groups.

The designation comes after the purchase of Troop Island.

The campaign was spearheaded by the St. Margarets Bay Stewardship Association and the Nova Scotia Nature Trust which worked to raise the $820,000 needed to purchase and care for the island.

The province contributed $150,000 to the five-week campaign that was also supported by the Halifax Regional Municipality and various individuals and businesses.

The 11 hectares of Troop Island goes toward the provincial government's goal of protecting at least 12 per cent of land in Nova Scotia by 2015.

To date about 480,000 hectares has been protected, a figure totalling just over nine per cent of provincial lands.

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