The Canada South Land Trust's inaugural Community Gathering was held in the Council Chambers of the Essex Civic Centre on November 6, 2003. Thirty persons accepted the Canada South Land Trust's invitation to attend this gathering intended to introduce the Canada South Land Trust to the community.
CSLT President Betty Learmouth welcomed everyone, then introduced Canada South Land Trust directors, David Ainslie, Terry Anderson, Bill Balkwill, Tom Hurst and Patricia Rhoads. Former land trust director Faye Langmaid resigned from the board in February 2003 when Faye accepted a new position in the Municipality of Clarington which is east of Toronto. Betty described the newly established CSLT as a volunteer charitable organization devoted to the preservation of natural habitat in Essex County, the City of Windsor, Pelee Island and the Municipality of Chatham / Kent. Across Ontario there are thirty-three land trusts under the umbrella of the Ontario Land Trust Alliance. Land trusts will accept donations of ecologically sensitive lands and donations of conservation easements.
The Canada South Land Trust received its incorporation on February 11, 2002 with the assistance of lawyer Dana J. Young who attended several CSLT meetings and proofread documents before their submission. Charitable status was obtained effective January 1, 2003. In May 2003, the land trust was accepted by Environment Canada as an eligible registered charity to receive gifts of ecologically sensitive lands.
Individual certificates of appreciation was presented to Dana Young and to MP Susan Whelan for their assistance to the CSLT. In Susan's absence, her certificate was accepted by Andre Nicoletti, a staff member in Susan's office. The Essex County Stewardship Network assisted two land trust member to attend the Ontario Land Trust Alliance Gathering in the fall of 2001 and by financially assisting with this first Community Gathering. Tricia Radburn of the Essex County Stewardship Council accepted a certificate of appreciation.
The evening's first guest speaker was Graham Bryan, a staff member with Environment Canada's Ecological Gifts Program who explained the program. Graham had prepared a Power Point presentation that acknowledged "a new land trust for Canada's Deep South." Graham's introduction included mention of historical records left by La Salle who described what he saw around the Detroit River which could have included blazing stars and wonderful oak savannas.
Graham commented that we think of misty forests of old growth forests as the only or most imperiled landscapes but, in fact, it is natural habitat that is around us here in the deep south of Canada which is probably most imperiled. One third of the species at risk in Canada are found here in our special habitats such as our Carolinian forests. We have a rich heritage which is a "working landscape," most of which is in private ownership.
Graham stated that there are many people who want their land to be protected. These landowners may have bought the land as a financial opportunity but now want the land to be protected for their children. As an example, Graham cited the example of a visit made earlier in the day to a farmer in the Municipality of Chatham / Kent who has a beautiful woodlot with Tulip Trees for which he wishes to arrange protection through the Nature Conservancy of Canada. There has been a shift in attitude as shown by the example in the United States in the birth and exceptional growth of the land trust movement. There are now better acquisition options with an accompanying increase in conservation easement legislation.
A popular land acquisition option is the conservation easement which is a legally binding voluntary agreement registered on title. Conservation easement legislative is found under the Conservation Land Act, as amended in 1994. Conservation easements allow the donor to retain title, but with restrictions on land use which might include no logging, no aggregate extraction, no subdivisions, and restriction of land use such as no golf courses. Conservation easements are useful to protect natural habitat when it is not practical to donate land such as donors want to keep the land in their family.
The incentive for land owners to arrange a donation of a conservation easement (that is, an ecological gift) is found in Environment Canada's Ecological Gifts Program. The ecological gift must be certified as ecologically sensitive land. There are thirty criteria under which an ecological gift might qualify including a designation as an Environmentally Significant Area (ESA) or as a restoration site.
Graham explained that the donor of an ecogift may apply the value of their ecogift more fully against their income, and reduce the taxable amount of the related capital gains.
Donors of ecogifts can take comfort that Environment Canada has approved the fair market value of their ecogifts. Within the ecogift process, Environment Canada has three roles. The first is to certify that lands to be donated are ecologically sensitive; to determine the fair market value of the donation and to approve that recipients of ecologically sensitive lands are qualified.
Since 1995, over 325 ecogifts with a value of $68,000,000 have been donated. In Ontario, 130 gifts representing 5,200 hectares have been donated for a value of $20,000,000.
Graham then discussed the success of the ecogifts program within the Oak Ridges Moraine where landowners have donated 35 ecogifts representing 1,400 hectares of land. The donations have been mostly easements which have been carefully chosen to be strategic in landscape protection terms. The lands are high value lands, subject to development pressures. The ecogifts are literally pulling the mat out from under the developers.
Graham's presentation was followed by questions from the audience. What is the cost of a conservation easement? The cost of a conservation easement is estimated to be between $9,000 to $10,000. What occurs to the value of the land if a conservation easement is in place? The value of land encumbered by a conservation easement vs unemcumbered will drop in value. Who will pay the property taxes if a conservation easement is in place? Property taxes will continue to be paid by the landowner. What happens if a land trust falls apart? If a land trust ceases to exist, then the conservation easement will revert to the Ministry of Natural Resources or another designated charitable conservation organization. How are conservation easements enforced? A long term relationship with the landowner and subsequent owners needs to be established. When conservation easements are written, this must be done realistically. The conservation easement must clearly state rights and remedies that may be addressed within ninety days.
A certificate of appreciation was presented to Graham.
Essex County Field Naturalist's Club's President Phil Roberts then spoke about efforts to enhance the Prothonotary Warbler habitat at Holiday Beach Conservation Area. Phil showed a Power Point presentation that illustrated the removal of a road and underlying gravel in the Conservation Area with the subsequent improvement of a nearby parallel road. Excavation on the former road bed took place, creating a swale that filled with water. Nesting boxes appropriate for Prothonotary Warblers were installed which attracted a single male Prothonotary Warbler that sang for a month in search of a mate.
Although the single male in the newly created habitat was not a successful nester, three pairs of Prothonotary Warblers did successfully nest at Holiday Beach Conservation Area, raising 21 young. Two Prothonotary Warbler nestings were reported from Mans Marsh where Prothonotaries nested in natural cavities.
A certificate of appreciation was presented to Phil.
Following the presentations, everyone was invited to enjoy the refreshments, prepared by David Ainslie, Evelyn Kogel and Betty Learmouth. Photographs of the recipients of certificates of appreciation were obtained accompanied by Canada South Land Trust directors.
Thank you to everyone who attended and to the Canada South Land Trust directors who greeted everyone, to director David Ainslie who looked after name tag distribution and to director Tom Hurst who looked after memberships and membership promotion.
Publicity for the Community Gathering was provided by CBC Radio's Across Town's hostess Barbara Peacock who mentioned the event on November 6, 2003 in a conversation with Phil Roberts. Tom Adamson attended the Community Gathering and added the event to the CBC Radio morning news coverage on November 7, 2003. A press release sent to the Essex Free Press appeared earlier on that paper's front page.