Community News

OLD MAN'S CREEK RESERVE HAS GROWN

90 FEET OF FRONTAGE ON OLD MAN'S CREEK ADDED

The Magnetawan Watershed Land Trust and American Friends of Canadian Conservation announced a new acquisition that expands Old Man's Creek Reserve and increases protection of the namesake waterway and Ahmic Lake.

The recently donated 3.5 hectare (8.6 acre) parcel, known as Lot 2, will add to the ecological and historic value of Old Man's Creek Reserve. Lot 2 adds 90 feet of frontage on Old Man's Creek to the Reserve and is close to the headwaters of Ahmic Lake.

It includes natural corridors for wildlife movement and serves as a buffer between nearby residential homes and the Reserve. The forest cover on Lot 2 is primarily comprised of sugar maple, American beech, and yellow birch. Along Old Man's Creek eastern hemlock dominates. A section of the upland portion of Lot 2 was logged approximately 23 years ago, but the riparian corridor was left intact.

The surrounding forest and wetland habitat is rich in biodiversity and is home to multiple at-risk species.

This is the second time the two organizations have partnered to conserve land

and water. In July 2012, they partnered to complete the donation of 97 hectares (240 acres) of mixed upland and lowland forests surrounding Old Man's Creek, which now forms the heart of The Old Man's Creek Reserve. That tract was one of the first in Ontario to be transferred from American Friends of Canadian Conservation to a Canadian partner organization and the first property entrusted to Magnetawan Watershed Land Trust for permanent protection as a natural area.

American Friends of Canadian Conservation is a U.S. charity created to work with Canadian organizations in the landscapes where U.S. taxpayers own ecologically significant properties. This is referred to as "cross-border conservation."

U.S. taxpayers (who could be Canadian or any other nationality) can donate land or a conservation easement. The gift is tax deductible in the U.S., which can make conservation financially feasible. Cross-border conservation facilitates the protection of lands that might otherwise be sold and developed, and can repatriate ownership to Canada.

The Trust thanked Ted Rouse for his continued generosity and willingness to see this land protected in perpetuity.

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2023-03-23T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-03-23T07:00:00.0000000Z

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