Partnering with Thousand Islands Watershed Land Trust
The Thousand Islands Watershed area is one of the smallest, most diverse forest regions in North America with the largest number of Species at Risk. Because of its natural beauty, it is also under great pressure for development. TIWLT seeks to preserve this natural beauty and the environmental health of the region through its goals of education and responsible stewardship.
LGSC is a proud partner of the Thousand Islands Watershed Land Trust and have supported and contributed to their work for many years.
LGSC is donating money towards the acquisition of a 200-acre Leeders Creek property which feeds into Charleston Lake. The TIWLT challenge includes an island channel and some 20 island acres sheltering a nursery for endangered fish and turtle species.
In the summer of 2019 LGSC volunteers helped construct fencing on a property on which TIWLT holds an easement. The fencing consisted of 18 panels between 2 rock cuts on rugged ground and will protect sensitive habitats from cattle incursions.
Like many of our projects, the forging of the Conservation Land Partnership fits under many of the LGSC themes.
Old Baldy - Old Baldy, the stoic face etched by nature on the side of the cliff is the premier icon of beautiful Charleston Lake, the guardian spirit of the lake. But he also guards the cliff-faced front of 130 acres of rich mixed forest and wetland.
Back in 2010, preliminary plan approval was given to create new cottage lots on the land above and behind Old Baldy. But two Charleston Lake families, Jackie & Ray Heffernan and Theodora & Michael McAdoo, committed to conserve these lands through the Nature Conservancy of Canada—if enough funds are raised.
Together let’s make this a forever for Charleston. The Nature Conservancy of Canada and the Frontenac Arch Natural Area partners are working to preserve Old Baldy—but we need your help.
ECOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE
Old Baldy is a 130 acres (52 hectares) property on Charleston Lake. Its impressive undeveloped shoreline is connected to nearby wetlands and is near Charleston Lake Provincial Park. It hosts a variety of at-risk species, such as Eastern musk turtles, Five-linked skinks (Ontario’s only lizard) and Cerulean warblers. The property is in the UNESCO Frontenac Arch Biosphere, part of a world-wide network of 628 Biosphere Reserves in 119 countries. It is the crossroads of the continent where five forest regions meet, creating a great richness of plant, insect and animal species—making it the most biodiverse region in Canada, and a place of incredible beauty.
Habitat Type: Hardwood & mixed forest, wetlands and lake shore Size: 130 acres (52 hectares)
Description: Spectacular high granite dome overlooking Charleston Lake with shear 100 foot cliffs. Atop the dome
is a rich hardwood forest and a series of wetlands including beaver ponds, streams, wooded swamps and vernal pools.
COLLABORATION IN ACTION
The Frontenac Arch Natural Area partners include a collaborative group interested in the protection of iconic landscape and valuable habitat. Our partners include the Thousands Islands Watershed Land Trust, Leeds-Grenville Stewardship Council, Charleston Lake Provincial Park, Friends of Charleston Lake Provincial Park, the Algonquin to Adirondacks Collaborative, Charleston Lake Association, The Nature Conservancy of Canada and the Frontenac Arch Biosphere.
Help protect Canada’s heritage today and make the long- term conservation of the Old Baldy property a reality.
Donors of $10,000 may wish to be recognized or put their gift in the name of a loved one who will be named on the property.
For more information please contact:
Thousand Islands Watershed Land Trust (TIWLT)
D & M Ross
marnie.don.ross@gmail.com
613-659-4590
Sheffied Purchase: This project started in 2007, when former LGSC Council member George Sheffield started talking to us about his concern for the long-term protection of the properties owned by George, his wife Nancy, and his four siblings Rob, Margaret, Julia and Frances. These were not just any properties: they comprised 607 acres of land with seven kilometers of waterfront shoreline on Red Horse, Charleston and Little Long Lake.
“The Sheffield lands feature high granite and marble ridges characteristic of the Frontenac Arch with rich, Appalachian influenced forests including stands of Pitch Pine. The property features many of the target species of the Frontenac Arch including Cerulean Warbler, Whip-poor-will, Eastern Musk Turtle, Five-lined Skink, and Eastern/Grey Ratsnake (NCC, 2011). "
The logical recipient of the lands was Charleston Lake Provincial Park, which had previously purchased the portage to Red Horse Lake from George’s father. Recognizing that this project was beyond the resources of LGSC and Ontario Parks, a partnership was formed to facilitate the negotiations and fundraising: this also included the Nature Conservancy Canada (NCC), the Thousand Islands Watershed Land Trust (TIWLT), Charleston Lake Association, the Friends of Charleston Lake Provincial Park, and the Frontenac Arch Biosphere. The deal was finally completed in March 2011.
The Gananoque River Campaign coordinated by the Thousand Islands Watershed Trust brought together the Gananoque River Waterways Association, the Algonquin to Adirondacks Conservation Association, the Leeds/Grenville Stewardship Council, and the Frontenac Arch Biosphere Network in a campaign that raised $168,000 in three months. These local funds enabled the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) and Ontario Nature to match federal government grants and other monies to purchase two properties on the Gananoque River.
"The Crank" consisting of 150 acres and 3.8 km of shoreline on both shores of the river, is a beautiful area where the river narrows through rock walls. The property includes exposed rock shorelines, marsh and wetland, bare rock ridges, and mature mixed upland and lowland deciduous forests. The Gananoque River is an important part of the Frontenac Arch Paddle Trail, a
historic trade route that connects the Rideau system with the St. Lawrence. It will be managed by the NCC which has agreed to provide a rest area on the site for paddlers.
The second property, known as the Summerfield Tract, is a 223 acre parcel located next to Ontario Nature’s Lost Bay Nature Reserve. Its addition will nearly double the size of the Reserve and will protect provincially significant wetlands along the shoreline at the bottom of Lost Bay on the Gananoque River. The property, containing extensive wetlands and species at risk habitat, will be owned and managed by Ontario Nature.
The Poole property: Leeds Grenville Stewardship Council also collaborated with the Charleston Lake Association, the Friends of Charleston Lake Provincial Park, and the Land Trust to purchase a 50-acre property from the Poole family with the intention of donating it to the Charleston Lake Provincial Park. The property, pristine with no roads, trails, or structures, will fill out the northeast corner of the Park’s property.
Old Baldy - Old Baldy, the stoic face etched by nature on the side of the cliff is the premier icon of beautiful Charleston Lake, the guardian spirit of the lake. But he also guards the cliff-faced front of 130 acres of rich mixed forest and wetland.
Back in 2010, preliminary plan approval was given to create new cottage lots on the land above and behind Old Baldy. But two Charleston Lake families, Jackie & Ray Heffernan and Theodora & Michael McAdoo, committed to conserve these lands through the Nature Conservancy of Canada—if enough funds are raised.
Together let’s make this a forever for Charleston. The Nature Conservancy of Canada and the Frontenac Arch Natural Area partners are working to preserve Old Baldy—but we need your help.
ECOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE
Old Baldy is a 130 acres (52 hectares) property on Charleston Lake. Its impressive undeveloped shoreline is connected to nearby wetlands and is near Charleston Lake Provincial Park. It hosts a variety of at-risk species, such as Eastern musk turtles, Five-linked skinks (Ontario’s only lizard) and Cerulean warblers. The property is in the UNESCO Frontenac Arch Biosphere, part of a world-wide network of 628 Biosphere Reserves in 119 countries. It is the crossroads of the continent where five forest regions meet, creating a great richness of plant, insect and animal species—making it the most biodiverse region in Canada, and a place of incredible beauty.
Habitat Type: Hardwood & mixed forest, wetlands and lake shore Size: 130 acres (52 hectares)
Description: Spectacular high granite dome overlooking Charleston Lake with shear 100 foot cliffs. Atop the dome
is a rich hardwood forest and a series of wetlands including beaver ponds, streams, wooded swamps and vernal pools.
COLLABORATION IN ACTION
The Frontenac Arch Natural Area partners include a collaborative group interested in the protection of iconic landscape and valuable habitat. Our partners include the Thousands Islands Watershed Land Trust, Leeds-Grenville Stewardship Council, Charleston Lake Provincial Park, Friends of Charleston Lake Provincial Park, the Algonquin to Adirondacks Collaborative, Charleston Lake Association, The Nature Conservancy of Canada and the Frontenac Arch Biosphere.
Help protect Canada’s heritage today and make the long- term conservation of the Old Baldy property a reality.
Donors of $10,000 may wish to be recognized or put their gift in the name of a loved one who will be named on the property.
For more information please contact:
Thousand Islands Watershed Land Trust (TIWLT)
D & M Ross
marnie.don.ross@gmail.com
613-659-4590
Sheffied Purchase: This project started in 2007, when former LGSC Council member George Sheffield started talking to us about his concern for the long-term protection of the properties owned by George, his wife Nancy, and his four siblings Rob, Margaret, Julia and Frances. These were not just any properties: they comprised 607 acres of land with seven kilometers of waterfront shoreline on Red Horse, Charleston and Little Long Lake.
“The Sheffield lands feature high granite and marble ridges characteristic of the Frontenac Arch with rich, Appalachian influenced forests including stands of Pitch Pine. The property features many of the target species of the Frontenac Arch including Cerulean Warbler, Whip-poor-will, Eastern Musk Turtle, Five-lined Skink, and Eastern/Grey Ratsnake (NCC, 2011). "
The logical recipient of the lands was Charleston Lake Provincial Park, which had previously purchased the portage to Red Horse Lake from George’s father. Recognizing that this project was beyond the resources of LGSC and Ontario Parks, a partnership was formed to facilitate the negotiations and fundraising: this also included the Nature Conservancy Canada (NCC), the Thousand Islands Watershed Land Trust (TIWLT), Charleston Lake Association, the Friends of Charleston Lake Provincial Park, and the Frontenac Arch Biosphere. The deal was finally completed in March 2011.
The Gananoque River Campaign coordinated by the Thousand Islands Watershed Trust brought together the Gananoque River Waterways Association, the Algonquin to Adirondacks Conservation Association, the Leeds/Grenville Stewardship Council, and the Frontenac Arch Biosphere Network in a campaign that raised $168,000 in three months. These local funds enabled the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) and Ontario Nature to match federal government grants and other monies to purchase two properties on the Gananoque River.
"The Crank" consisting of 150 acres and 3.8 km of shoreline on both shores of the river, is a beautiful area where the river narrows through rock walls. The property includes exposed rock shorelines, marsh and wetland, bare rock ridges, and mature mixed upland and lowland deciduous forests. The Gananoque River is an important part of the Frontenac Arch Paddle Trail, a
historic trade route that connects the Rideau system with the St. Lawrence. It will be managed by the NCC which has agreed to provide a rest area on the site for paddlers.
The second property, known as the Summerfield Tract, is a 223 acre parcel located next to Ontario Nature’s Lost Bay Nature Reserve. Its addition will nearly double the size of the Reserve and will protect provincially significant wetlands along the shoreline at the bottom of Lost Bay on the Gananoque River. The property, containing extensive wetlands and species at risk habitat, will be owned and managed by Ontario Nature.
The Poole property: Leeds Grenville Stewardship Council also collaborated with the Charleston Lake Association, the Friends of Charleston Lake Provincial Park, and the Land Trust to purchase a 50-acre property from the Poole family with the intention of donating it to the Charleston Lake Provincial Park. The property, pristine with no roads, trails, or structures, will fill out the northeast corner of the Park’s property.