MapleCross Coastline Reserve

Property Description

Located at Ostrander Point on the south coast of Prince Edward County lays the MapleCross Coastline Reserve. This 55 hectare property features wild, undeveloped shoreline, coastal wetland, forest, alvar and grassland. The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) acquired this property for the benefit of nature in 2019.

Part of the Prince Edward County South Shore Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA), the MapleCross Coastline Reserve — and the south coast generally — provides vital staging and stopover habitat for a wide variety of migratory birds. Its open habitats could also be critical for grassland birds in the future. The property contains 16 hectares  of rare coastal wetland — part of the Provincially Significant South Bay Coastal Wetland that connects to Lake Ontario to the west. The surrounding area also provides habitat for a variety of bat species, such as the at-risk little brown myotis, big brown bat, hoary bat and the migratory silver-haired bat and eastern red bat.

The MapleCross Coastline Reserve is located amongst a chain of protected areas along the south shore of Prince Edward County, including the 324-hectare Ostrander Point Crown Land block; Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area; the 198-hectare Miller Family Nature Reserve, owned and stewarded by the Hastings-Prince Edward Land Trust (HPELT); and NCC’s 31-hectare Hudgin-Rose property.

“MapleCross has recently collaborated with NCC to help protect an environmentally sensitive island in Lake Huron. We are extremely pleased to continue our support towards acquiring and preserving other ecologically significant properties on The Great Lakes. We hope to inspire individuals and communities to invest in nature and join us in partnership with NCC towards retaining the unique and important biodiversity of Lake Ontario.” Drs. Isobel Ralston and Jan Oudenes (MapleCross).

Content and property pictures courtesy of The Nature Conservancy of Canada.