Campaign just short of funds
Conservation authority purchasing rare piece of land in cityThe Whig-Standard
Local News - Thursday, April 05, 2007 Updated @ 9:29:37 PM
By Jennifer Pritchett
Whig-Standard Staff Writer
Biologists have called it a rare piece of northern Ontario right here in the Kingston area.
The Bayview Wetland is a unique parcel of land along Taylor-Kidd Boulevard that contains nearly 400 plant species, including several types of orchids, that are normally found further north along the Canadian Shield and not on the shores of Lake Ontario.
And now, the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority is just $250,000 away from raising the
$1 million it needs to acquire the 280 hectares of environmentally sensitive greenland from the William J. Henderson estate.
“Because he owned most of the wetland, he was able to maintain some management of the property that protected the environmental attributes of it and that’s what we’re hoping to do,” said Steve Knechtel, general manager of the authority.
The sale of the land to the conservation authority is expected to close sometime this spring.
The money to buy it was raised through a fundraising campaign that was kicked off in early February by the Cataraqui Conservation Foundation.
Of the roughly $750,000 raised so far, $450,000 came from the Ontario Greenlands Program (Ministry of Natural Resources and the Nature Conservancy of Canada), $130,000 came from individuals and businesses in the Kingston area, $40,000 from Ducks Unlimited Canada and $150,000 from Loyalist Township.
Next fall, the conservation authority plans to complete a management plan to determine how the land will be used.
During that process, the conservation authority will consult with neighbours of the land in determining future management of the property.
Although the land will be public, Knetchel said, the conservation authority has to determine how best to provide recreational and environmental learning opportunities while protecting the area.
“It’s a balance between getting people out and providing facilities for that, but not disturbing and disrupting the environmental processes on the property,” he said.
The land is considered to be a provincially significant wetland and an area of natural and scientific interest.
The wetland is also connected to other nearby environmentally sensitive areas. Water flows out of the Bayview Wetland to the east into the Collins Creek system along Taylor-Kidd Boulevard and to the west into Parrotts Bay.
“The Bayview area is really a connecting piece between those two areas,” said Knechtel.
Queen’s University biology professor emeritus Dr. Adele Crowder said the land is incredibly diverse and should be preserved.
“It’s a small area and yet it’s got all these different types of vegetation jammed in,” she said. “And the other point to make is that it’s been very well preserved by being in private hands and the conservation authority will look after it and not let it get over used.”
The property is located in a shallow valley, which is mostly wooded, with grazing fields, cattail marshes and a small lake called Little Lost Lake at one end. The wooden area is comprised of about 20 species of trees, including pine, spruce and some deciduous trees, such as maple and ash.
The area contains 379 vascular plant species, 12 mammal species, 53 types of birds, 12 types of amphibians and 19 butterfly species.
Crowder, who’s co-written a book called The Plants of Kingston Region, said the area becomes quite unusual around the lake area because of a band of peat, or a floating mat, that’s attached to shore and also juts out into the lake. The mat goes up and down with the water levels of the lake.
“That’s the really interesting part of this because even though it’s right down by Lake Ontario, it’s got a combination of plants that you wouldn’t normally find until you get up to about Highway 7,” she said.
There are orchids and pitcher plants and several other varieties not usually found in this area.
“It’s very unusual to find them in this limestone area beside Lake Ontario,” she said. “I think they’re a remnant of a post-glacial stage or a much colder stage at some point. I think they’re been there for thousands of years and it’s never been fully drained and it hasn’t been interfered with.”
Though other area creeks have been drained, the Bayview area was too small to be used.
As a result, it’s been preserved over a long period of time, Crowder said.
“It hasn’t been dammed and mucked up so it’s stayed damp,” she said. “It’s been well-conserved in this way. The nearest analog of it would be north of Perth Road Village, which is a long way for plants. So they’ve probably been there for ages.”
Donations for the Bayview Wetland can be sent to the Cataraqui Conservation Foundation at P.O. Box 160, Glenburnie, ON, K0H 1S0. Tax receipts will be provided.
The conservation authority owns 4,000 hectares in Kingston, the townships of Leeds and the Thousand Islands, South Frontenac and Napanee. It buys the lands to preserve the natural habitat and to provide public access.
The authority’s most popular areas include Little Cataraqui Creek, Lemoine Point and Gould Lake.