Protected

Important piece of County heritage preserved

On May 28, The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) and its partners announced the creation of a new 76-acre conserved area in Prince Edward County. The Hudgin-Rose property, which sits beside Ostrander Point and is surrounded by the Miller Family Nature Reserve, is now under the protection of the NCC, which has already begun the necessary steps of making a full inventory of the flora, fauna and wildlife on the property. The NCC has also been working in collaboration with the Hastings Prince Edward Land Trust (HPELT) to make this purchase a reality. Originally settled by the Moses Hudgin family, the property is home to a historic log home that dates back to 1865. The Rose family later cared for the land and the log home, and their stewardship led to the heritage designation for the home. Lily and Ben Rose had dreams of one day running a music camp on the property which unfortunately never came to fruition. When the couple knew they needed to sell the property, they really wanted to sell to conservationists if they could because of their strong ties to the nature and their love of the property. Luckily, the NCC and HPELT were able to get the money together to make the deal happen and secure the lands. The purchase was also made possible by funding from the government of Canada, through the Natural Areas Conservation Program. Those funds were then matched by Gosling Foundation, the Kingston Field Naturalists and the US Fish and Wildlife Service via the North American Wetlands Conservation Act. That is along with the many additional generous donations from the public.

The historic log home that dates back to 1865, on the Hudgin-Rose property, situated on the south shore of Prince Edward County. PHOTO: DAVID COULSON

The property also is a part of the Prince Edward County South Shore Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA). It provides a vital staging and stopover habitat for a variety of migratory birds. The area has also been known to provide habitat for a variety of bat species such as the big brown bat, hoary bat, migratory silver-haired bat, eastern red bat and the endangered little brown bat.

“The south shore peninsula of Prince Edward County has some of the most spectacular coastline and natural habitats that Lake Ontario has to offer. With the growing popularity of the area, it is critical that we act now to protect this special place before it is too late. NCC and HPELT are committed to working together to protect and care for the Hudgin- Rose property, and other lands in the area, to ensure that they will be here for our children and grandchildren,” says Mike Henderson, Nature Conservancy of Canada regional Vice-President for Ontario.

Mark Stabb, Program Director for the Central Ontario/East at the NCC, is pleased with the way people are coming together to protect this important habitat. Stabb is closely tied to the project and recently found out that a Blanding’s turtle has also been found on the property recently, which just adds to the importance of protecting the land as soon as possible. For the NCC, the first steps are to deal with any invasive species that may have made its way onto the property. Once the NCC and its partners acquire the land, it is then their responsibility, to properly manage that land in perpetuity, so a property management plan is the first thing that must be done. There are also plans to make concessions for the public to use the property—but in a limited way that will not harm or damage the natural environment.

“The primary goal for purchasing the land is protecting and caring for the habitat, but we do want to make sure people can experience them as well, so there will most likely be a limited number of trails you can use in the future where you can see the major features of the property. We don’t have those trails yet, but once we complete the property management plan, we will be able to figure out the best access routes,” says Stabb.

The NCC and HPELT also took the opportunity in celebrating this purchase to let the public know that they have another property that they are now fundraising for which is just on the other side of Ostrander Point Crown land block. The hard work on securing this land is now done, but more work is needed, and fundraising required, to protect the entirety of our precious South Shore.