Gary Bell, Eastern Ontario Program Manager, Nature Conservancy of Canada
Our Projects– McMahon Bluff Nature Reserve
By far the most ambitious project ever undertaken by the Hastings Prince Edward Land Trust is the possible purchase of a 97 hectare (240 acre) site in Prince Edward County known as McMahon Bluff.
HPELT is working closely with a group of local and institutional partners on this rare opportunity to protect this very special landscape which contains at least 13 rare or endangered species (including 3 nationally endangered), and has been identified as an ideal site to re-establish bald eagles along the Eastern Lake Ontario shoreline.
McMahon Bluff is located on the shore of Prince Edward Bay at the mouth of the Black River in southern Prince Edward County . With almost 2 kilometers of shoreline, the site consists of a 30 metre bluff overlooking Lake Ontario .
Most of the site is forested with exceptionally old and high quality examples of rich deciduous forest, comparatively undisturbed by human activity.
Here are some of the key features of this unique site:
- Protects a very special Prince Edward County scenic vista
- Identified by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources as a Life Science Area of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI) because of its high quality forest cover with Carolinian characteristics on its lower level and alvar habitats (rare and threatened plant types) on its upper level
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Also identified by the Ministry of Natural Resources as an Earth Science ANSI because of its unique limestone landform“McMahon Bluff is a rare natural gem… it's a land form unique to Prince Edward County . Together with its associated flora and fauna, it must be preserved for future generations to appreciate.” Terry Sprague, author and prominent naturalist - Contains a provincially very rare and threatened bur oak-shagbark hickory woodland in a condition not far removed from what it would have been prior to European settlement
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Among the 293 species recorded to date, the Ontario Natural History Information Centre has confirmed the presence of one extremely rare plant species (last seen in Canada 50 years ago); two nationally endangered species; two provincially imperiled sedge species and five regionally rare plant species“The site is the best example of bur oak-shagbark hickory alvar woodland I have ever seen in Eastern Ontario .” Sean Blaney, Assistant Director & Senior Botanist, Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre - Sightings of the majestic bald eagle around McMahon Bluff are increasingly being reported. The Ministry of Natural Resources has identified McMahon Bluff as an ideal nesting site habitat for these birds
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Hastings Prince Edward Land Trust
Box 20042, Belleville, Ontario, Canada K8N 5V1
Fax: 613-962-3247
E-mail: info@hpelt.org