Three more Georgian Bay properties protected by GBLT

Georgian Bay Land Trust has announced that it is protecting three more properties on eastern Georgian Bay: Ellie’s Lookout, Manitou; Portage Preserve, Cognashene; and Saunderson Islands, Wah Wah Taysee.

Ellie’s Island was donated posthumously to the Land Trust by Eleanor and Howard Edmunds. GBLT says it is “a beautiful 0.5 acre island in the Manitou community, near the mouth of Twelve Mile Bay. It is situated in an island chain that provides habitat for a number of at-risk species, including the Five-lined Skink, Northern Map Turtle, and Eastern Foxsnake. Bald Eagles and Monarch Butterflies have been documented visiting the island, and it is likely that other migratory species use this habitat as a nesting or stopover site.”

Portage Preserve, which comes to the Land Trust through anonymous donors, “protects 2.76 acres of forest, rock, and shoreline habitat on Cognashene’s Portage Island. On our visits to the property so far, we have seen four species at risk: Bald Eagle, Northern Map Turtle, Monarch Butterfly, and Eastern Foxsnake. It is likely that more will be observed on future visits. The northern part of the Portage Preserve shoreline is designated as Type 1 Fish Habitat, so protecting this property will contribute to the long-term abundance of Georgian Bay’s fish populations. Portage Island is home to a number of cottages, as well as a piece of federally protected land and the Georgian Bay Land Trust’s Thomson Portage Reserve.”

The Sanderson Islands Easement “consists of two coastal islands in the Wah Wah Taysee community, totalling 3.27 acres. The larger island has a healthy mixed forest habitat running the length of the island, while the smaller island is mostly rock with a few trees.These are classic Georgian Bay islands, and are home to many of the species that our coast is known for. Massasauga Rattlesnake, Eastern Foxsnake, Five-lined Skink, Monarch Butterfly, and Northern Map Turtle have all been documented on the property.Although these islands are developable, landowners William and Meredith Saunderson would like them to remain in their natural state forever, and therefore decided to enter into a Conservation Easement Agreement with the Land Trust.”