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A legacy gift in a will to protect 61 hectares of ecologically significant land is strengthening conservation efforts in the Rice Lake Plains and expanding the Hazel Bird Nature Reserve, says the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC.)
Following the announcement of the estate gift of land from James Massie, officials said the gift translates to a big conservation impact for Northumberland County.
“The Nature Conservancy of Canada is proud and honoured that Mr. Massie has entrusted this property to NCC and we’re thrilled about its direct connection to the Hazel Bird Nature Reserve,” said Mark Stabb, program director with Central Ontario East of the Nature Conservancy of Canada. “We are looking forward to restoring tallgrass ecosystems, such as oak savannah, on this fantastic property – a conservation outcome we know Mr. Massie wanted for his land.”
The gift of land means the permanent protection of a biologically-rich site and expansion of the bird nature reserve, which has become a community treasure, added conservation officials, in a recent release.
What’s more, the expansion protects a range of habitats and spans a four-kilometre cross-section of the Oak Ridges Moraine. The gifted property lies immediately south of the existing nature reserve and includes forest, sand barrens and provincially-significant wetlands, explained the NCC.
“It supports a diversity of native species and contains remnant tallgrass and oak savannah communities, (which) are rich with prairie plants, such as savannah grass, sand dropseed and New Jersey tea.”
The proximity to the bird nature reserve – a signature site for tallgrass prairie restoration – means its protection also helps sustain a large example of globally rare black oak savannah and woodland habitat, continued NCC.
“This project builds on conservation efforts in the Rice Lake Plains and Northumberland County, where NCC and local partners have been working to restore habitats for many years,” added conservation officials.
NCC staff said they first met Massie more than a decade ago, when the organization started habitat restoration efforts at nature reserve.
“After learning more about the work being done, Massie came to appreciate the ecological goals behind the project – in 2022, he informed NCC that he had included of a gift of land in his will.”
The property also holds personal significance: Massie knew Hazel Bird and remnants of her iconic bluebird box network remain on the land, added NCC staff.
“With this bequest, the reserve named in her honour continues to grow – both in size and in ecological importance – and creates a lasting legacy for generations to come.”
In the release, it states many private donors also supported this latest project. Further, the newly-expanded reserve is also being managed as a source of native tall-grass seed to support habitat restoration initiatives across the region, with additional support through the Greenbelt Foundation and Government of Canada through the federal habitat stewardship program for species at-risk.
This bequest reportedly brings the total area of conservation lands protected by NCC in the Rice Lake Plains and Northumberland to more than 1,200 hectares.
The Nature Conservancy of Canada is described as Canada’s largest environmental charity, which has been working with partners to conserve natural landscapes since 1962.
(Written by: Sarah Hyatt)
