Beaver Trail land aquired by LSRCA

The Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority has received a gift on behalf of the residents of the lake's watershed — more land for the Beaver River Trail Conservation Area.

In separate purchases, the LSRCA has acquired three new parcels of land from local landowners to enlarge the conservation area and protect the land for future generations.

"With the help of our partners and seed money from the estate of Katharine Symons, we have closed deals for another 56 hectares of ecologically sensitive land within the Beaver River wetlands," said Virginia Hackson, chair of the LSRCA.

"These lands bring our total of protected environmentally vulnerable and valuable land in the Beaver River Trail to more than 282 hectares."

Kevin Kennedy, the conservation authority's land securement officer, discussed the intentions for the land.

"We plan to keep this land in its current natural state," he said.

"Both to preserve it for its natural beauty and for its ecological function. Wetlands form a natural water storage system that controls flooding and filters the water, improving its quality.

"Of course, for most us it is its natural beauty and the recreational opportunities that make this area valuable and so interesting."

The area extends along the bed of the old CN Railway track from Blackwater to Sunderland. The trail also extends from Sunderland to Cannington in Durham Region.

"The section from Sunderland to Cannington makes a wonderful 13 kilometre hike or walk because it is relatively flat and offers amazing views of the Beaver River wetlands and sightings of all the inhabitants that you'd expect," said Kennedy.

The securement of land in the Beaver River area was made possible by a bequest from the estate of Symons (administered by the Nature Conservancy of Canada). Further financial assistance came from the conservation authority's partnerships with Ducks Unlimited Canada, Ontario Heritage Trust, the Regional Municipality of Durham, the Lake Simcoe Conservation Foundation, and the Greenlands Program — an Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources-Nature Conservancy of Canada initiative.