Efforts to protect our local landscapes are on-going. Here is what we are working on now:
Lake dalrymple alvar
SIZE: 430-acres (174-hectares)
LANDSCAPE: Carden Alvar
BUDGET: $1,643,700
PROTECTION TYPE: Purchase
DEADLINE: May 28, 2026
KEY FEATURES: On the shores of Lake Dalrymple in Ramara township, lies the only undeveloped stretch of lakeside alvar in our region. Lakeside alvar is the rarest of rare, providing habitat for a unique list of alvar plants, including seven plants ranked “extreme” alvar indicators, and five ranked as “high”. There are 21 confirmed and anticipated species at risk. The 1.9 kilometre shoreline is designated as a waterfowl staging area, and includes a healthy stand of wild rice, providing food for waterfowl, aquatic mammals, fish and invertebrates.
Last updated: June 1
what's next?
For the rest of 2026, we have the opportunity to protect:
- an additional 640-acres (between two properties);
- 299-acres, by increasing protection from an easement to Conservancy owned.
That would make 2026 our biggest year ever for land protection, with 1,369 acres protected (554-hectares).
We look forward to telling you more in the coming months.
impact: land protected
Blackwell Brady Clark
SIZE: 74-acres (30-hectares)
LANDSCAPE: Black River Wildlands
BUDGET: $142,000
PROTECTION TYPE: Purchase and partial donation
DEADLINE: October 1, 2025
KEY FEATURES: This property would be a significant step towards connecting the Matchedash and Black River Wildlands corridors, increasing the conservation value of the area. It is connected to the Severn River, which flows into the Trent Severn Canal and then into Lake Couchiching (Gwajienjawjiing, which means a place where a force merges or squeezes through.). It is also adjacent to the Thomas C. Agnew Nature Reserve (85-acres, protected 2011) and Fawcett Nature Reserve (93-acres, protected 1991).
Agnew and Fawcett have an existing bat monitoring program, with the highest diversity of bats found at any nature reserve to date including species at risk such as Little Brown, and Tri-Colored Bats. This would enable wildlife movement between the two corridors and link the Conservancy's eastern and western conservation strategies.
