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Dear
OLTA Supporter,
DON'T FORGET
Our Annual Gathering this fall is being held in Ottawa in partnership
with CLTA from October
18-20. Registration for the Canadian Land Trust
Conference 2007 will be open in the next few weeks.
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Haliburton
Island Forever Wild
Haliburton Highland Land Trust - Norah's Island
Pictured
left is Stephen Foster, Director of HHLT presenting OLTA
Vice-Chair April Mathes, with a copy of Living Forest in appreciation
for her presentation at the recent HHLT AGM.
For generations
now, cottagers have been paddling and rowing and swimming the thousand
feet from the north shore of Kennisis Lake to picnic and camp on an
island that will be forever Norah's.
Now its natural
state is to be preserved forever by the Haliburton Highlands Land
Trust, thanks to the generosity of its owner, Bruce Carruthers, and of
Kennisis cottagers who embraced its special wildness.
To visitors, Haliburton County's landscape may appear to
be natural, but much of it has been modified by human activities. Less
than a fifth of the county's woodlands have never been logged and even
old growth is vulnerable to invasive plant species.
The island, which is not far from Algonquin Park, is a
rare unspoiled remnant of the county's natural heritage. Only 22 acres
and well away from the mainland, it escaped the attention of loggers,
and the water that surrounds it kept away exotic plants.
Formal transfer of title to the island took place on
March 23, the second anniversary of the incorporation of the Haliburton
Highland Land Trust.
(Portions of this article first appeared in Envirobook
2007, published by Environment Haliburton and the Haliburton Highlands
Stewardship Council.)
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OLTA Regional Workshops 2007
Many thanks to our inspiring workshop leaders!
Beth Kummling, Executive Director, The Bruce Trail
Association
Michelle Albanese of OrLand Consulting
10 Land
Trusts and 10 Conservation Authorities were represented at
our recent OLTA regional workshops 2007 series.
Watch for a
copy of all workshop presentations and handouts available on the
OLTA website by end of the summer.
Beth Kummling
shared her success story and lessons learned from her first foray into
a major land acquisiton campaign to purchase the Rush Cove property.
Michelle
Albanese delivered the afternoon workshop covering all aspects of a
well managed conservation easement management program.
THANK-YOU BETH
AND MICHELLE
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Ruthven Park - Thank-you
for hosting OLTA Regional Workshop held June 14
Betsy Martin,
Chair of the Lower Grand River Land Trust greets OLTA regional workshop
participants. Rather than restore particular buildings to a set
and particular time in the past, Ruthven has chosen to conserve
the alterations made by the Thompson family over time - leaving
70's wallpaper juxtaposed to the 1840's cantilevered staircase.
MANSION TOURS: Open for
tours daily (except
for non-holiday Mondays) until October 8th from
11:00 am to 4:00 pm. Tours are on the hour with
the last tour at 4:00 pm. Pre-booked group tours
can be arranged at other times. Ruthven Park Website
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Conservation Easement Project
OLTA, MNR and Environment Canada Working Together
Pictured at left
is Paul Peterson who is advising OLTA on the impact of recent
legislative changes; Julie Simard, Program Advisor, Land
Securement, Land Management Section, Ontario Ministry of Natural
Resources; and Andrea Kettle, Habitat Biologist,
Ecogifts, Canadian Wildlife Service, Ontario
Region, Environment Canada.
Although there are
substantive differences in the federal and provincial legislative
controls, by working together we hope the two levels of
government will develop similar, compatible criteria for decisions on
CE amendments and changes in land use. This will make our lives
easier !
Simpy put,
amendments or changes should not be approved if they will reduce the
protection of the natural resource features that were originally
targeted for protection.
In the past
conservation agreement drafters in Ontario have often focused on the
covenants or restrictions. Going forward, it may be prudent to devote a
similar amount of attention to articulating the specific purpose of the
agreement, the intent of the parties and the nature of the features
that are targeted for protection.
OLTA is actively working to ensure our members
understand and are ready to comply - watch for further information
on this subject as decisions are taken by levels of government in the
next few months.
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Watch for your
OLTA 2007-2008 membership renewal package in the next few weeks. And
enjoy these hazy, lazy days of summer.
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Kathy Allan
Ontario Land Trust Alliance
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