Kawartha Land Trust protects site with rare trees
Owners didn’t want land with esker to be turned into a gravel pit
Kawartha Land Trust has another piece of rural land under its protection.
KLT has signed an agreement to protect Pine Ridge, a 44-acre property west of Pigeon River near Omemee. The land sits along the Hogsback Esker, also called the Omemee Esker. KLT describes it as a critical pathway along a north-south wildlife corridor through an area that will see development growth in the years ahead.
The esker, a ridge of stratified sand and gravel, is 16 to 19 kilometres long. Owners Bob and Mary Hartley, who’ve owned the land for 37 years, wanted it protected from future use as a gravel pit.
“This property is beautiful and has all kinds of unique features,” Bob Hartley said in a press release issued by Kawartha Land Trust. “I enjoy it every day when I walk it with my dog and when I jog through it three times a week.”
The Hartleys will continue to own the land, turning its conservation over to the KLT.
In addition to the esker, the property has some trees estimated to be 215 years old.
Pine Ridge also features musclewood trees, rarely seen this far north. It’s believed that the landscape has created an unusual microclimate allowing the trees to thrive, KLT states.
The land also includes a small manmade pond, an abandoned pasture and a home with a barn. The property has, in the past, been used as a hobby cattle farm and a maple syrup business.
Pine Ridge will not be open to the public. However, KLT operates other publicly accessible lands with trails in Peterborough and the Kawarthas.
Once known as the Kawartha Heritage Conservancy, the non-profit organization acquires or otherwise protects land in order to keep it in a natural state, often partnering with landowners who want to see natural spaces protected from development. In a press release, Kawartha Land Trust reports that donations and community support have allowed it to protect more land beyond its average of one new addition per year.
In all, the organization has 15 properties covering more than 3,399 acres of undeveloped land, with more expected to be announced.