Happy Valley Forest grows by 72 acres

Happy Valley Forest is 72 acres larger today thanks to a donation from a private landowner.

Dr. Henry Barnett's gift helped grow the King forest to more than 200 acres.

"Species need a large area of undisturbed forest to survive," Dr. Barnett said, while his wooden walking stick sat against the podium.

The preservation of this forest began when 20 acres of the Mary Tasker property was donated to Nature Conservancy Canada and it has snowballed into more than 200 acres of protected land. The Happy Valley Forest is considered a special area that could achieve old-growth status in the next 50 years.

Representatives of Environment Canada, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, York Region, Oak Ridges Moraine Foundation, the federal government and the Nature Conservancy of Canada gathered at the entrance of Happy Valley Forest at the end of the 7th Concession Tuesday to celebrate the partnerships that have been formed, resulting in the preservation of the Oak Ridges Moraine's most mature, diverse and extensive upland hardwood forest complexes.

The forest is home to more than 200 species of plants, 110 birds, 21 mammals and 19 reptile and amphibian species.

Two years ago, Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited the forest to announce a $225-million investment through the Natural Areas Conservation Program to help non-profit organizations secure ecologically sensitive lands to preserve diverse ecosystems, wildlife and habitat.

As of last March, 336 properties have been acquired and the habitats for 74 at-risk species have been protected.

Newmarket-Aurora MP Lois Brown spoke on behalf of Environment Minister Jim Prentice.

"Eight kids in my family tramped these hills in our childhood," she said as a woodpecker tapped loudly in the trees above. "The great outdoors is where we live, where we work and where we play, but most importantly, it is how we forge our identity as Canadians."

As development continues to boom in York Region, only through these programs can forests be protected and preserved, said Dr. Ron Tasker, whose property begins where Dr. Barnett's ends.

"Just look at it - it's a beautiful thing," he said. "We want the younger generation to be able to experience what we have."

For more information, visit www.natureconservancy.ca/ontario

York region - Happy Valley Forest grows by 72 acres.

Gates to swing open

BLACKSTOCK -- After years of striving to keep the public out, Kawartha Conservation officials will swing open the gates to the north Durham's newest conservation area, East Cross Forest.

A special ceremony will be held on Thursday, June 25, to mark the long-awaited opening of the Durham East Cross Forest Conservation Area, located in the southeast corner of Scugog, just north of Clarington.

The opening "marks a significant environmental accomplishment," say Kawartha Conservation officials in a press release touting the agency's efforts to secure and rehabilitate the 1,134-acre parcel of land.

East Cross Forest had been closed to the public for a couple of years as Kawartha Conservation officials worked to turn the swath of land into a conservation area.

The official opening will run from 2 to 4 p.m., with a gate-unlocking ceremony, speeches and remarks, a guided hike, reception and refreshments.

Expected to be on hand are Scugog Mayor Marilyn Pearce, Jim McMillen, Scugog's regional councillor and also chairman of Kawartha Conservation, and Kim Gavine, executive director of the Oak Ridges Moraine Foundation.

Members of the public interested in attending are asked to contact Cindy Haney at chaney@kawarthaconservation.com or call 705-328-2271, ext. 210.

The Durham East Cross Forest Conservation Area entrance is on Devitts Road, east of the Cartwright East Quarter Line and west of the Scugog-Manvers Townline.

newsdurhamregion.com | Gates to swing open to Scugog's East Cross Forest Conservation Area.

Effects of climate change in forest examined

A climate study on changes to the insects, trees and birds in the Ganaraska Forest is underway with a quarter-million dollar project from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.

Graduate student Ben Walters is moving to Campbellcroft from Port Hope to be closer to the three-year project in the northern reaches of the Municipality of Port Hope. It involves another Trent graduate, nine technicians and research assistants and two Trent professors working with study leader and biology professor, Dr. Erica Nol.

The findings here will be transferable to other areas along the Oak Ridges Moraine in Southern Ontario the county-owned Northumberland Forest, Nol said as rain soaked the Ganaraska Forest behind her. Some of the information will be pertinent to managing forests, she noted.

Northumberland County is in the midst of creating a new master plan for its own which is a plantation forest on either side of County Road 45 north of Baltimore.

The university-based study began with cores of snow being taken this past winter with an auger-like device to determine the amount which fell and remained, as well as when rain came instead of snow, running off the lands without being absorbed. During the past 20 years less snow has fallen and the study is to determine if this has impacted the forest trees, the insects that inhabit them and the birds that feed on the insect, she explained.

"The hypothesis is that the fewer insects, the fewer birds," she said simplifying one of the study's themes.

The study will look at the changes in precipitation on sandy soils, gravelly ones and loam used primarily for agricultural purposes.

The team is searching for these within the Ganaraska Forest north of County Road 9 and in nearby private forest lands.

An expensive probe will be used to check soil moisture at 90 sites this summer and this work will be overseen by hydrologist, Dr. James Buttle of Trent's geography department working with Dr. Shawun Watmough, a soil expert, world-recognized in the effects of acid rain on soil, Nol said.

Another hypothesis being tested is where there has been a depletion of accessible calcium for bird eggs because metals falling as acid bond with the calcium in the ground making it inaccessible to the birds.

Both the Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority and the Ministry of Natural Resources are supporters of the study.

"Our ultimate objective is to construct a predictive model that will allow us to identify the most productive forest types and slope positions for long-term persistence of the avian community and forest sustainability," Nol states in a media release.

A major part of reaching those findings involves researchers looking into the bird population in the forest and what changes are taking place.

Coincidentally, during the visit to the Ganaraska Forest for the interview, a mocking bird was sighted. The black and white bird with its unusually long tail is normally not found this far north, Nol and Walters agreed.

"The forest cleans the water for Port Hope," Nol said of another aspect of the study. It will look how reduced snow cover affects this and involves evaluating stream flows southward from the forest to the municipality.

"It's (a) fairly complicated (study)" and findings will be published during the three years it is underway, culminating in a model that can be used in other Southern Ontario forests, she concluded.

The Ganaraska Forest is the single largest tract of forest cover in the settled area of southern Ontario and contains more avian biodiversity.

Effects of climate change in forest examined - Northumberland Today - Ontario, CA.

No new laws for moraine

After a two-year review, Ontario has rejected a call for new legislation to protect underground water supplies.

"I think it validates what we've been doing," Waterloo Regional Chair Ken Seiling said. "We're on the right path and we're doing the right things."

Local environmentalist David Wellhauser is disappointed with the province's conclusions.

"They incorrectly identified that the existing acts will protect the Waterloo moraine," he said. "They didn't look at any new information. They didn't look at any site-specific information. These are all major shortfalls of the report."

The Ministry of the Environment launched its review in 2007, after Wellhauser complained that local drinking water is not protected from planned urban growth.

The review generated three reports costing taxpayers $84,600 in consulting fees, plus undetermined ministry costs.

"We found that the current provincial policies that we have in place are adequate for the protection of the moraine," said Ann Marie Weselan, a bureaucrat who helps manage water policy for the province.

The province looked at the Waterloo, Paris and Galt moraines, which supply drinking water from beneath the ground. The review, just released, concludes that:

Water supplies are adequately protected by eight provincial laws and local government efforts.

There's no need for special legislation similar to legislation that protects the Oak Ridges moraine, north of Toronto.

Water quality is threatened in places by road salt and agricultural fertilizers, but strategies are in place to reduce impacts.

Reports are online under the water section of the Ministry of the Environment website.

The ministry says it will work with communities and other partners to develop new materials to help guide water policies.

TheRecord.com - Local - No new laws for moraine.

New forest centre

The new Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority (GRCA) Forest Centre is nearing the end of the first phase of construction.

In a few weeks, Peak Construction -- which also constructed the new Northumberland County headquarters -- will turn over the Cold Springs Camp Road building to the GRCA and its staff. While the essentials of the building are completed, there is still a lot to do before the official opening in September.

Completed under the watchful eye of its designer, architect Ted Wilson with Aecom (formerly Totten Sims Hubicki), the building has been built to withstand the rigours of the many thousands of students who will make overnight stays during the centre's many years of service.

Fundraising for the $4-million project is still about $500,000 shy. Additional funding is being sought to help mount public teaching displays.

The forest centre started out as a boys' correctional facility in the 1950s. Then it became a Junior Ranger camp. In 1976 it became an outdoor centre and in '78 an outdoor education centre. Over the years, thousands of schoolchildren have been introduced to the Ganaraska Forest and its magic.

The 19,000-square-foot expansion will allow for a 50% increase in the number of children visiting at any one time.

As well, due to a major financial boost from the Oak Ridges Moraine Foundation, there will be an information centre in the building open five days a week, operating alongside the Forest Centre facilities.

The information centre will explain to the public the characteristics of the eastern end of the moraine.

When the Forest Centre is not filled with schoolchildren, it will be open for corporate training sessions and other groups, including weddings. The great hall has facilities to serve meals to upwards of 200 people. It has basic sleeping facilities for 80 persons, with a division for male and female students.

GRCA chief administrative officer Linda Laliberte says it is hoped the seclusion and beauty of the forest environment and the impressive centre will establish the facility as a desirable destination and, consequently, as a good source of money that will help the conservation authority refocus some of the funds it relies on from the supporting municipalities to increased programming.

New forest centre design brings the outdoors inside - Northumberland Today - Ontario, CA.

York region - Family donates 2 parcels of land to ORM Trust

York Region’s Groombridge family has donated two 50-acre land parcels to The Oak Ridges Moraine Land Trust to protect the area from development.

The donation of the conservation easements, located north of the Oak Ridges Moraine in the Township of King, was made possible through a long-standing partnership agreement between the region and the trust to protect environmentally significant properties on, or near, the Oak Ridges Moraine from development in perpetuity.

The land was donated by the families of Doug Groombridge and Earl and Margaret Groombridge.

The properties contain a portion of the provincially significant Hall Lake/Kennifick wetland complex.

They contain a diverse, regenerating and mature mixed forest with sugar maple, white ash, American beech, red oak, American elm, paper birch, black cherry and ironwood mixed with white pine, eastern hemlock and white cedar trees.

York Region teams with the trust to protect 100 acres bordering Oak Ridges Moraine.

York region - Family donates 2 parcels of land to ORM Trust.

Dirt road

East of Claremount and north of 7th concession.