Conservation Authority buys about 18 hectares of land in Pelham

Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority has finalized the purchase of 18 hectares of land in Pelham from the same individuals that sold property for the Lathrop Nature Preserve to the authority in 2011.

“It is a very successful acquisition,” Eric Baldin, manager of land planning, said during the Feb. 16 NPCA board meeting.

He said NPCA had been negotiating with the owner for about a year. The landowner, said staff, reached out in late June 2022 and “expressed interest in selling a portion of their escarpment property.”

Baldin said this family has been “very committed to our cause.”

NPCA had purchased just more than 20 hectares of the Lathrop parcel of land in 2011 from the same Pelham family.

The latest property at 130 Luffman Dr., off Orchard Hill Road near Effingham Street, is a mix of natural features, agricultural land and residential improvements. NPCA was focused on about 18 hectares of land while the landowner will retain eight hectares that includes a residence and other properties.

The area is within the Niagara Escarpment Plan area and is part of the Effingham Forest Life Science area of natural and scientific interest.

Staff said it provides cold-water fish habitat and has one tree species at risk, the American chestnut, on the north part of the land.

Informal trails exist, and staff are suggesting they could be expanded to connect to existing trails adjacent to authority properties.

Staff said there are “no immediate plans” to open the property to the public. Future uses will be decided through a management plan process.

The authority tapped into the 2023 Niagara Region land acquisition fund of $234,000 and the federal Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Canada.

The authority manages 41 conservation areas, accounting for 2,946 hectares of land throughout the local watershed.

It has what has been described as an “aggressive” goal to secure 20 new properties totalling about 400 hectares by 2032.