Credit Isobel Ralston
Map provides approximate location.
MapleCross Nature Reserve – Hillcrest
Northumberland, ON
Oak Ridges Moraine Land Trust – 2024
40 hectares
Property Description
The 40-hectare property supports the Ontario Kirtland’s Warbler Restoration Initiative, a collaborative effort to restore pine-oak savannas on the Oak Ridges Moraine and across Ontario. These efforts aim to create vital habitat for the globally rare Kirtland’s Warbler and other at-risk species. Located less than 250 meters east of the MapleCross Featherstone Nature Reserve in Port Hope, Northumberland County, the property presents an excellent opportunity for large-scale ecological restoration due to its location, size, land use, and ideal soil types.
Identified as a priority by the Oak Ridges Moraine Land Trust’s Natural Heritage Mapping Program, this site scored a very high rating. It encompasses early successional forest, grassland remnants, wetlands, and marginal agricultural land, with soils well-suited for supporting the targeted restoration which will enhance habitats for various species at risk, including the Bobolink, Eastern Hog-nosed Snake, Eastern Meadowlark, Eastern Whip-poor-will, Grasshopper Sparrow, Monarch, Golden-winged Warbler, Snapping Turtle, and Midland Painted Turtle. The property also hosts a population of Prairie Smoke, an indicator of remnant grassland ecosystems.
Other ecological highlights at this site include wet thickets, a cold-water stream, a significant groundwater recharge area, a highly vulnerable aquifer and it is part of the Garden Hill Pitted Outwash Earth Science Area of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI).
Content and property pictures courtesy of Oak Ridges Moraine Land Trust.
