The Haliburton Highlands Land Trust (HHLT) is closing the book on its 20th year in the County with some major news – it will soon be adding a seventh property to its portfolio of protected local nature reserves.
Sheila Ziman, a founding member of the group, said HHLT will close on a 200-acre property north of Minden in late January. The property is being purchased from County-based realtor Andy Campbell for just over $820,000. The money is part of a grant HHLT received from Parks Canada to support its work across the Highlands.
Ziman said the land is located along Plantation Road and serves as a buffer to the Highlands Corridor – a 100,000-hectare strip of unceded Crown, municipal and public land that connects Silent Lake, Kawartha Highlands and Queen Elizabeth II provincial parks. The Highlands Corridor intersects with both the Frontenac Arch and Algonquin to Adirondacks Collaborative – key natural pathways that allows wildlife to move throughout southern Ontario.
The Campbell lands, as they’re currently known, is a major wetland area, with roughly a quarter of the property swamp-like, Ziman said.
“We’re always interested in wetlands, especially around Minden, because they act as nature’s sponge. They suck up water and then release it slowly… which helps with flooding. Protecting wetlands is a win-win for the community and for nature,” Ziman told The Highlander Dec. 9.
It’s the land trust’s second addition this year, following the purchase of the 40-hectare Hadlington Reserve in Highlands East in February. While the Hadlington parcel is inaccessible to the public, with no trail system, Ziman said the new property will be different.
Currently, there’s an approximate one-kilometre walking trail at the site, though Ziman said HHLT wants to add more, seeing the reserve as similar to Barnum Creek and Dahl Forest – two of the land trust’s other properties, which are popular among hikers.
“One of the most important things to me and the entire HHLT is to get people out on the land… we want to enhance the trail system at this new property, we would like to try to get out onto the wetland in a sustainable way… to see if we can put in a boardwalk or a viewing platform,” Ziman said.
Plans in place for parking lot and trail system
“Wetlands are so important and we want to increase people’s appreciation and understanding of their value. So, we intend to put a nice system in there and create some good hiking for folks. It’s only a 10-to-15-minute drive from Minden,” she added.
It will be some time before hikers can be accommodated, Ziman admitted, likely a year at least. The work is time-consuming and expensive, she said. First, there needs to be a management plan conducted to determine what species frequent or reside there, a parking lot will need to be developed and then trails mapped out.
Ziman said HHLT is looking to raise $75,000 to complete the work.
“We’re setting up an endowment fund to try to live as much as possible off the interest of that. We’re already at $10,000 raised,” Ziman said. “We’ve had some wonderful support from big environmental foundations and it’s really important now for them to see that the community is behind what we do, that our efforts are supported.”
Ziman noted a similar effort with the Hadlington property brought in $85,000 in a few months.
Natural features
HHLT board chair Todd Hall said the property is a great addition to the land trust’s portfolio.
“The property stands out for its sheer diversity of terrain… 15 unique habitats can be found here, from open meadows, pine plantations, fens, swamps and a sugar maple forest,” Hall said. “Our preliminary research already shows the property protects six regionally-rare or at-risk species, including snapping turtles, Midland painted turtles and Black Ash trees.”
After conducting a preliminary inventory in September, HHLT found 256 species on the property. It also features a large meadow that has been regularly maintained by the previous owner.
“Grassland habitats like these are rare in Haliburton and are some of the most threatened in Ontario,” Hall said. “By continuing to maintain this meadow, HHLT can provide vital habitat for grassland birds like the Meadowlark and Bobolink, whose populations have declined by 67 per cent, on average, since the 1970s.”
Ziman visited the property over the summer and marveled at its potential. She sees it becoming a popular self-guided hiking destination once the trails system is complete.
The next step, she said, is to have biologists come in and do some testing through winter. There’s also the little detail of coming up with a name – Ziman said HHLT is hoping the public will assist with that.
“There will be a naming contest – our other properties are often named after some type of geographical or historical feature. Barnum Creek was named after the watercourse that flows through the property, Dahl Forest was named after the family who donated it to us,” Ziman said.
“There is a creek that flows through this property, but it’s unnamed. There’s a history of plantations and old farms there,” she added, noting the contest will launch early in the new year. Ziman said HHLT also wants to do a guided interpretive walk with the public, likely in late winter.
Now that the deal has been made public, Ziman said she’s excited to tell people about the new addition – and why she feels it’s so important.
“We don’t want to get to where southern Ontario is. They’ve lost so many wetlands and so much forest that now they’re scrambling trying to recreate them,” Ziman said. “It’s practically impossible to create a wetland once it’s gone. They’re often thousands of years old. They can’t just be replaced. That’s why it’s so vital that we protect what we have here before it gets lost.”
