Haliburton Highlands Land Trust

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Huw Morgan

Todd Hall Elected as HHLT Chair

Todd Hall 2

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

Adrian Martin Joins the Land Trust Team

Toronto GTA Wedding Family Newborn Engagement Event Photographer

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.

April 22nd is Earth Day

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.

Happy Holidays from Haliburton Highlands Land Trust!

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Enjoy your holidays this year and don't forget to come for a walk in the forest at Barnum Creek Nature Reserve or Dahl Forest to work off those calories.

This year's holiday picture was taken in Barnum Creek by board member Huw Morgan.

We are looking forward to your support in 2024. Cheers!

Support Grows for the Highlands Corridor

The Haliburton Highlands Land Trust has seen the positive momentum of the Highlands Corridor conservation project grow in the past few months. Letters of support or passed resolutions have been submitted from a variety of stakeholders including the County of Haliburton, the Municipality of Trent Lakes, Kawartha Conservation and both Coalition of Haliburton Property Owners’ Association and North Kawartha Lakes Association.

Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters

Diverse groups like the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH) recognize the value of this project by stating in their endorsement letter that, “the OFAH feels strongly that the Highlands Corridor initiative is a true win-win for conservation and for the people of Ontario.”

Nature Conservancy of Canada

Most recently, the Nature Conservancy of Canada has endorsed the project and state that, “protecting this important wildlife corridor contributes to the health of our lakes.  Healthy lakes support a variety of wildlife habitats and contribute to the economic and social wellbeing of our community. We understand the importance of private landowner support for this initiative and commend the Land Trust’s Partners in Conservation program.”

Partners in Conservation Program

The number of Partners in Conservation (PIC) continues to grow with private landowners joining the PIC program taking advantage of the complimentary Managed Forest Tax Incentive Program (MFTIP) offered by the HHLT through a grant from the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Canada.  Other landowners have joined the PIC program, without the benefit of the MFTIP grant because their conservation interests are aligned with those of the HHLT and the Highlands Corridor. It appears that the concept of the Highlands Corridor as a nature-based solution to building climate change resilience, protecting lands and waters, and maintaining biodiversity is resonating with a wide range of individuals and groups!

HHLT to participate in Centre for Land Conservation Certification Pilot Program

The Haliburton Highlands Land Trust (HHLT) has agreed to participate in the Centre for Land Conservation’s (CLC) certification program.

HHLT recognizes the importance of having clear policies and robust process controls in place to manage what we do.  These controls range from our guiding principles to financial controls and to how we steward the lands entrusted to us.  We also recognize that our funders, donors, other stakeholders and members want assurance that we are a credible organization with rigorous processes in place.

For these reasons, we have agreed to participate in the CLC certification program.  In this program, the CLC will assess the degree of conformity of our internal controls to their Standards and Practices (S&Ps).  According to CLC, the S&Ps are intended to outline the "ethical and technical guidelines for the responsible operation of land trusts in Canada."  Conformity to the S&Ps is important for any organization holding conservation lands for the public interest.  The S&Ps include 12 standards and 91 recommended practices, ranging from ethics and compliance to board accountability, financial management to land securement and stewardship.

We are one of a select few land trusts from across Canada to participate in this pilot phase of the certification program.

The assessment process is intended to validate that our control processes meet or exceed those set forth by the CLC.  Determination of conformity will lead to certification, which will enhance credibility and build public, investor and government trust.

October Partners in Conservation Update

Rick Whitteker, Partners in Conservation Coordinator

Rick Whitteker, Haliburton Highlands Land Trust's Partners in Conservation (PIC) coordinator reports on his summer's activities and the status of the program:

"Through our Partners in Conservation (PIC) program the Haliburton Highlands Land Trust (HHLT) is also working closely with local landowners.  The PIC program targets landowners committed to landscape conservation with properties that strategically bridge gaps between fragmented Crown land within the Highlands Corridor. The HHLT assists landowners in developing management plans with objectives of enhancing environmental protection and wildlife habitat. The program also provides a property tax incentive for a 10-year term through enrollment in Ontario’s Managed Forest Tax Incentive Program.

The PIC program has been very successful. With 20 PIC members representing over 1,800 hectares, the PIC program continues to grow, with 5 new members in the vital Highlands Corridor being added this summer. Many of these private properties create an important connectivity component to the Crown land within the corridor, as well as enhancing climate resilience and supporting all wildlife, including many species at risk.

During the August meeting with the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks the government officials commended on the comprehensiveness of the HHLT research, and the establishment of local and provincial support. The PIC program demonstrates strong local landowner commitment to conservation and stewardship and support of the Highlands Corridor project."

 

Bench Project Comes to a Successful Conclusion

Rotary Club Funded Bench
Rotary Club Funded Bench
Rotary Club Funded Bench
Rotary Club Funded Bench

In April of 2022, the Haliburton Rotary Club agreed to fund a proposal by the Haliburton Highlands Land Trust to build:

  • 2 stone benches at Barnum Creek Nature Reserve
  • 2 log benches at Barnum Creek Nature Reserve
  • 2 stone benches at Dahl Forest
  • 2 log benches at Dahl Forest

for a total cost of $6,800.

We're happy to report that the 8 benches are now completed and installed in locations that encourage hikers to sit for a while and contemplate the beauty of our properties.

HHLT Participates in Catchacoma Old Growth Forest Hike

On Saturday September 30, over thirty people gathered at the trailhead for the Fall Nature Hike at the Catchacoma Forest just off Highway 507 south of Gooderham in Peterborough County. With many making the drive from Haliburton, another sparkling fall day greeted the group keen to learn about this unique forest dominated by some very old, Eastern Hemlock.

The Catchacoma Forest is a 662 hectare stand of old growth north of Catchacoma Lake, just west of the Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park. From an ecological perspective, this forest is the largest documented old-growth hemlock stand in Canada. Very rare to find a stand this large in its natural (unlogged) state, this forest has tremendous carbon sequestering capabilities and is home to 13 species at risk.

The hike was led by Katie Krelove of the conservation advocacy group, Wilderness Committee. Katie opened the hike briefing with a sincere acknowledgement that the Catchacoma Forest is on unceded Crown land in the traditional territory of the Michi Saagiig First Nations. Haliburton Highlands Land Trust board member Sheila Ziman introduced herself, the Land Trust, and the Highlands Corridor project which includes the Catchecoma Forest.

Katie planned out some strategic stops to allow the group to experience the difference between a forest recently harvested (2019) and the intact old growth section of the Catchacoma Forest. Katie pointed out that as a shade tolerant tree, the forest cuts will result in a changed forest structure as hemlock will not do well under an open canopy.

Eventually the hike takes us into the unharvested section of forest, large trees dominate the landscape. The trail is crisp and soft, a result of decades of built-up conifer needles. Dominated by hemlock, the canopy is punctured by these magnificently tall, straight trees. Other species also grow amongst these giants including a smattering of White Pine, maples, and Yellow Birch. One huge Yellow Birch stood out; more sun loving than hemlock, this tree spread out its branches like an umbrella in the crowded canopy.

Katie took the time to explain some of the criteria that goes into assessing an old-growth forest. She explained that Eastern Hemlocks over 140 years are considered old growth. Sometimes the girth of the tree is not a good indicator, as shade tolerant trees can toil for decades in the understory until some disturbance opens the window to allow light to reach the forest floor.

But old growth forests aren’t just about old trees. Other criteria include the amount of downed woody debris and the state of decay of this material, the number of snags or dead standing trees, and the strata of the forest, meaning the number of vegetation layers including the ground layer, shrub layer, understory, and canopy. Another indicator of an old forest is the occurrence of natural pits and mounds on the forest floor the result of old trees toppling, leaving behind a pit with the root ball and trunk decomposing into vegetative mounds.

As the late afternoon light slanted through the trees, the majesty of this forest hit home. With a moratorium on logging soon to end, the future of the Catchacoma Forest remains uncertain. With the possibility of annexation into the existing Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park or the conservation reserve protection advocated by the Haliburton Highlands Land Trust Highlands Corridor initiative, the hope is the Catchacoma Forest will remain in its natural state for years to come.