The Nature Conservancy of Canada says the beach is home to endangered piping plovers, similar to the one pictured. (CBC)

The Nature Conservancy of Canada announced Monday that it has bought a stretch of beach along Nova Scotia's south shore to protect it from development.

The group bought the beach at the end of the Port Joli peninsula and the adjacent land from three families who have owned the property for the past 40 years.

Deborah Carver's parents bought the parcel of land with two other families.

"It's got to be one of the most beautiful stretches of beach in Nova Scotia if not anywhere," she said.

The land has been passed down to the children who say it needs to remain protected. They donated some of the land to The Nature Conservancy of Canada as part of the deal.

"It's still here for us. It's still here for everybody so I don't actually have that sense of loss about it... I'm tremendously pleased," said Carver.

Craig Smith, program manager with the conservancy, said keeping this land undeveloped will allow birds to use the area undisturbed.

"The parcel of land is a 171 acre ecological gem, essentially. The keystone ecological feature is a long, white, sandy beach buffered by a significantly developed dune system. The beach is home to endangered breeding piping plovers and a number of other migratory shore birds," Smith said.

With this new acquisition, Smith says the Nature Conservancy of Canada has protected more than 500 hectares in the Port Joli – Port L'Hebert region.