Haliburton Highlands Land Trust
Protecting the land we love for future generations
The Bancroft Minden Forest Company has written a letter of support for HHLT’s advocacy of Conservation Reserve status for the Milburn Kendrick area of interest.
There has been significant public discussion—and in some cases, misinformation—regarding the Milburn Kendrick Conservation Reserve (MKCR) proposal. BMFC has compiled a list of key facts about the MKCR proposal and seeks to address misconceptions circulating on social media.
The letter can be viewed here.
If you are interested in HHLT’s advocacy for creating a Conservation Reserve in the Milburn-Kendrick area of interest, be sure to listen to CanoeFM’s Elizabeth Oakley interviewing Sheila Ziman, a founding member of the Haliburton Highlands Land Trust and a member of the board of directors. You can access the interview here.
The Haliburton Highlands Land Trust is clearing up the rumors and inaccurate information contained in a recent post on social media about the proposed Milburn-Kendrick Conservation Reserve in Haliburton County. The post, shared by more than 1,000 Facebook users, spread false information, saying hunting and other leisure activities would not be permitted on the Reserve once it was established.
Not so, says Sheila Ziman, volunteer founding member and director of the Haliburton Highlands Land Trust. She says the designation they are seeking does not prohibit hunting and allows ATV use on already existing trails. The proposed Milburn-Kendrick Conservation Reserve represents only 8 per cent of the larger 100-thousand-hectare Highlands Corridor and is home to significant flora and fauna. Establishing the Reserve will take years to finalize, she said, and the public will be invited to share their thoughts throughout it.
A County of Haliburton public meeting is planned for March 26 to discuss the Milburn-Kendrick site. For more information on the meeting, click here.
Conservation Excellence Certification Program Announces First Certified Land Trusts
The Centre for Land Conservation (CLC) today announced the first Canadian land trusts to achieve Conservation Excellence Certification, marking a significant milestone in the evolution of Canada’s land conservation sector.
The six certified organizations represent conservation leadership from coast to coast
“This certification represents a watershed moment for land conservation in Canada.” said Lara Ellis, Executive Director of the Centre for Land Conservation. “These six organizations have demonstrated exceptional commitment to conservation excellence. Their certification signals to donors, partners, and communities that they operate at the highest levels of professional practice and conservation impact.”
Protected natural areas are essential to the quality of life of Canadians, providing wildlife habitat and places for recreation, connecting people with nature in their communities, conserving vital biodiversity, and serving as natural carbon sinks that help mitigate climate change impacts.
The Conservation Excellence Certification Program, supported by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), philanthropic foundations, and individual donors, promotes conservation excellence through third-party evaluation of conservation impact, governance, and organizational sustainability against nationally adopted standards and practices. Certified organizations are authorized to use the Conservation Excellence Certification Trustmark and will be listed in a public registry on the CLC website.
Additional land trusts are currently undergoing assessment, and the program aims to enroll up to 40 land trusts across Canada by March 2026. This program has been made possible due to financial contributions from Environment Climate Change Canada, the McLean Foundation, Power Corporation of Canada, the Echo Foundation and the Michael Young Family Foundation.
Contact: Lara Ellis, Centre for Land Conservation, lara.ellis@centreforlandconservation.org 416-303-7492
As part of its initiative to update its governance, the Haliburton Highlands Land Trust has published its Code of Ethics and Guiding Principles. You can view these documents here.
If you have feedback, please contact our board chair at chair@haliburtonlandtrust.ca
Re: a collaborative approach to conservation and trail use on Crown Land.
After meeting with key members of the Haliburton Highlands Land Trust (HHLT) early this week, an alliance of four of Ontario’s largest motorized recreational trail use organizations is now preparing to work collaboratively on plans that will protect access to trails within a proposed 100,000-hectare “corridor” linking three provincial parks and a vast network of trail systems throughout the Haliburton/ Kawartha region.
Commenting on the outcome of the February 10 meeting, Joel Castonguay, President of the 6,000-member Ontario Federation of Trail Riders (OFTR) said, “We certainly had some initial concerns when we went into the meeting, but, after a really good exchange, it’s clear we’ve got a tremendous opportunity to protect and grow our access to Ontario’s trails and the great outdoors.”
Todd Hall, Chair of the Haliburton Land Trust, agreed, noting there is a lot of common ground between the land trust and the trail-use communities. “Our objectives of maintaining ecological integrity and protecting trail use both require the protection of our natural assets. We are committed to ensuring that these natural assets are protected and access to Crown land trails by ATVs, off road motorcycles and 4WD vehicles remains. HHLT’s decision to support the designation of ecologically sensitive lands as Conservation Reserves was deliberate. The designation provides enhanced protection of the natural landscape and its critical functions while recognizing and respecting other uses such as trail use. These activities are part of our rural landscape, they help generate economic activity, and they are a part of our everyday lives. HHLT commits to working collaboratively with the Alliance and other stakeholders,” he explained.
Kawartha ATV Association (KATVA) President Carolyn Richards also expressed optimism stating, that by working together with HHLT, the off-road community can build a sustainable model that can be used across the province to protect trail access as
Crown land designations change and conservation efforts evolve.
KATVA and the Haliburton ATV Association (HATVA) are among two of the largest ATV clubs in Ontario and have stewarded trails within the Haliburton Corridor for over 20 years.
“HATVA and KATVA look forward to working in partnership with the HHLT in offering to the motorized and non-motorized public one of the best trail systems in Ontario while also protecting our natural environment,” she added.
Peter Kendall, Executive Director of the Schad Foundation, was equally optimistic, noting that a partnership with the motorized trail-use community will bring a host of benefits. “The dedicated efforts of this community are responsible for many of the world
class trails we have in Ontario. We look forward to working with the motorized trail use community and leveraging their wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise to advocate for greater protection and expansion of Ontario’s trails”.
Going into the February 10 meeting, Peter Wood, President of the Ontario Federation of 4 Wheel Drive Recreationalists (OF4WD) questioned the need for reclassification of the General Use area crown land to a Conservation Reserve but was greatly encouraged by the desire for the Lands Trust to work with the trails and outdoor recreation community on a plan to protect our access to these important public lands. “This is a great and ground- breaking opportunity to work together with the conservation
community on what we hope will be a long-term, collaborative effort.”
OF4WD, the OFTR, Kawartha ATV and Haliburton ATV Association (HATVA) are all part of the province-wide Ontario Trails Protection Alliance (OTPA). All of the OTPA organizations support multi-use trail systems and have a long history of land
stewardship, safety education, investment in trail development and maintenance and codes of responsibility.
“It became apparent very quickly that the OTPA can — and should be — a prominent partner in our efforts,” concluded Luke Ridgway, Manager of the Ontario Conservation Accelerator program that is driving investment into a variety of conservation projects. “The environmental conservation and trail user communities are ultimately interested in the same thing: the long-term sustainability of our activities on the land within the forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife which brought us there in the first place,” he said.
Ontario’s largest Conservation Organization, the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH) also attended Monday’s meeting. “OFAH spokesperson Matt Robbins remarked that a collaborative approach to protecting and enhancing our natural
resources is not only necessary but critical to ensure our respective interests are represented and that conservation efforts are broadly supported.”
Following Monday’s meeting, HHLT and OTPA have agreed to share further information, including detailed trail mapping, trail user information and more, with further meetings planned to discuss protection of trail access and to set up a permanent input/ advisory role for the motorized trail use communities.
Contacts for more information:
For HHLT:
Todd Hall, HHLT Chair
705-457-3700
chair@haliburtonlandtrust.ca
OTPA:
Lisa Thomson, OTPA Chair
705-466-2747
Lisa.thompson@oftr.ca
The Haliburton Highlands Land Trust has been given an opportunity to purchase a large property within the Highlands Corridor. This undeveloped, 100-acre property (40 ha) in Highlands East contains forests, wetlands and 3.5km of natural river shoreline. It is rich in biodiversity and natural habitats and would be a great complement to our existing 5 properties.
The Haliburton Highlands Land Trust has set a goal to raise $75,000 by December 31 to purchase this new property and we need your help! We have set up two fundraising initiatives to meet our goal: an online auction and a fundraising campaign on CanadaHelps.
PROGRESS SO FAR
ONLINE AUCTION
We are holding an on-line auction from Sunday November 17, 2024 through to Sunday December 8, 2024. It's a great place to shop for holiday presents! Please check on all the fantastic items and bid often! You can register to bid on the welcome page. Please bid generously to help us raise money for our land acquisition project.
CANADA HELPS FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN
We have set up a fundraising campaign on Canada Helps that will run until we have met our target. Please forward this important opportunity on to your friends and family. Let’s work together to protect the lands and waters we all love!
The Haliburton Highlands Land Trust (HHLT) elected Todd Hall as Chair of the Board at its Annual General Meeting on June 13, 2024.
Todd comes to the HHLT after a career furthering sound environmental practices in organizations and governments across Canada and around the world. He has been the Director of Sustainable Development for OPG, President and Executive Director for the Auditing Association of Canada, and continues to serve as chair of the ISO subcommittee on Environmental Auditing and Related Practices and is a Director with the Centre for Land Conservation.
He serves on HHLT committees such as the Lands Committee, and Governance Committee.
Todd was a principle author of Climate Change Adaptation Strategies for the electrical sector in Canada, and for local governments. He has a passion for stewardship of our natural heritage, and a commitment to protect it for future generations.
Todd holds a Bachelor of Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo.
He has been a seasonal resident of the Haliburton highlands for over 35 years.
Todd succeeds Shelley Hunt, who has agreed to stay on as Vice-Chair and continue to contribute her knowledge and experience to HHLT's board.
For more information on Todd or the Haliburton Highlands Land Trust, please contact Christel Furniss at admin@haliburtonlandtrust.ca
The Haliburton Highlands Land Trust is pleased to announce that Adrian Martin is joining us for the summer as social media coordinator. You may have already noticed an uptick in the quality and frequency of our social media posts thanks to Adrian's efforts.
Once a Haliburton native (West Guilford to be exact), Adrian recently spent 13 years living the fast life in downtown Toronto. He climbed the corporate ladder, holding technical digital marketing roles in large media agencies, companies that planned and executed advertising campaigns for large brands. He led analytics, search engine marketing, and social media advertising campaigns for brands across a wide breadth of industries. From consumer packaged goods, to retailers, to electronics, finance, and automotive, he eventually rose to lead an entire department of digital specialists. Next trying his hand client-side at an e-commerce software company. He became disillusioned with the "growth at all costs" fervour of the tech world, as it increasingly came in conflict with his personal values.
Outdoors activities and nature especially have been central throughout his life. He has been privileged to experience much of Canada by trail, canoe, or by car. Highlights include hiking the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island, canoeing the Yukon River, and hiking Gros Morne. Back in Toronto, with hours spent in the car every weekend hiking sections of the Bruce Trail and frequent weekend trips back to Haliburton to visit family, it just wasn't making sense anymore. So, Adrian and his wife Kalyna decided to make the leap and move up to Haliburton in 2023.
Experiencing a layoff from the tech company, pushed Adrian to start his own consulting business, and now he is focusing on supporting local, sustainable, and socially conscious businesses. Since last summer he has been volunteering on the HHLT communications committee, working on new pages for the website, setting up back end analytics, and helping run the social media channels. He very much supports HHLT's mission to protect nature for future generations.
You can now find him in Ingoldsby or at the cottage on Little Fletcher near Dorset with Kalyna and their 10 week old baby girl Avery.
On April 22, 1970, environmental advocates from around the world gathered to celebrate the very first Earth Day. Over 50+ years later we will join with environmentalists from around the world to celebrate and set our minds to this year’s theme: Planet vs Plastics.
A donation to the Haliburton Highlands Land Trust would be the perfect way for you to celebrate earth day. HHLT is instrumental in protecting the land we love for future generations. Please click here to donate.
Kawartha411.ca has published an absolutely fabulous summary of Haliburton County history and specifically the Dahl family and Dahl Forest. The article was written by Glenn Walker with files from Rob’s father, Grenville Schrader.
Please click here to read the article.