Lake Superior’s largest private island to be sold to Nature Conservancy of Canada

One of Canada’s most prominent conservation groups has reached a deal to buy the largest privately owned island in Lake Superior, a move that will protect it from development.

Batchawana Island, located 45 kilometres north of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., is set to be acquired by the Nature Conservancy of Canada for $7.2 million once the organization raises an outstanding $1.2 million for the purchase. “The impact of conserving Lake Superior’s largest privately owned island cannot be understated,” Kaitlin Richardson, the Nature Conservancy’s northern Ontario program director, wrote in a statement. “The communities of plants and animals that rely on Batchawana Island are unique and precious,” the statement reads. “I can’t wait for the day when we can say they get to stay that way forever.” Read more: Wreckage of ship that sank in 1891 discovered in Lake Superior The roughly 2,100-hectare island is home to several significant animal and tree species and has been owned by American investor Joe Acheson for the last 20 years.

Acheson owns several parcels of land in Ontario’s Algoma District and listed Batchawana Island for sale in February 2022, the Nature Conservancy said.

Rob Cormier, the president of Sault Ste. Marie natural resource surveying company R&B Cormier Inc. that has worked with the island’s American owner since 2012, said Acheson had for years intended to establish an exclusive sport fishing, hunting and Olympic training club funded by logging.