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The Northumberland Land Trust has announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding for the future acquisition of more than 142 acres of land in the Cobourg area. The property is being donated by Lori Reynolds who bought the property with her late husband Don Paterson in 2001, and it will be called the Hillside Nature Reserve.
The Reynolds property has views of Rice Lake, and Farley Mowat (Canadian writer and environmentalist) once owned the entire property. The significant woodlands and the water features that exist on the property extend to all the adjacent properties to the north and east of the property. This provides good ecological connectivity and opportunity to expand the protected area in the future.
“One of NLT’s goals is to create wildlife corridors throughout Northumberland County,” said Amanda Newell, Executive Director of Northumberland Land Trust. “This property provides conservation connectivity between Rice Lake, the Northumberland County Forest, the Oak Ridges Moraine and Lake Ontario, so this donation becomes a critical component of our strategy.”
The interior forest provides significant wildlife habitat for various species at risk. Much of the woodlands on the south-east side is young and regenerating forest, where further in there is a diverse mix of deciduous, coniferous and mixed forests as well as a treed swamp and fen. Butternut and Black Ash have been documented on the property which are both provincially endangered species.
NLT will apply to the Ecological Gifts Program which could exempt the donation from capital gains. Donations of land have tax implications and require an appraisal, severance, surveys, legal documents and township approval. Due to the size of this land, donation process cost NLT approximately $40,000 not including ongoing stewardship costs. They are looking for further donations to help offset the expense.
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