Bruce Trail Conservancy purchases Talisman property
A spokesman for the Bruce Trail Conservancy (BTC) says the purchase of the former Talisman Mountain Resort lands in the Beaver Valley is one of the group’s most ambitious undertakings to date.
Adam Brylowski, Director of Conservation and Trail, says the acquisition of over 120 acres of sensitive Niagara Escarpment land will permanently protect it from development pressures, allow extensive ecological restoration and ensure continued public access to greenspace.
Brylowski says this project will have generational impact.
“Eight hundred and eighty-five metres of the Bruce Trail passes through the Talisman lands, which are a vulnerable and ecologically important area,” he said. “We are planning an extensive ecological restoration project but the first step is to inventory what is there. By next fall, we should be ready to start detailed planning of the restoration and we expect to have boots on the ground sometime in 2027.”
The BTC plans to bring lands on the property back to peak ecological health. This includes large- scale reforestation and habitat remediation for the many threatened species noted in the area, including Bobolink, Eastern Meadowlark, Least Bittern, Louisiana Waterthrush, and more. The former ski slopes represent the only break in the forest canopy across a 10-kilometre stretch of the western Beaver Valley, making reforestation a key priority.
“We have an exciting opportunity to restore neglected and damaged habitats on this property,” according to Brylowski. “These will be some of the most ambitious restoration projects in our organization’s history, helping us fulfill our mission to preserve a ribbon of wilderness, for everyone, forever.”
Located near Kimberley, in the heart of the Beaver Valley, the former ski hill and resort have sat dormant for over a decade. Throughout this time, proposals for large-scale development of the property were met with significant community resistance, as residents and visitors voiced deep concerns about potential environmental impacts and the precedent such projects could set for other Niagara Escarpment lands. The lands purchased by the BTC include the Escarpment brow, the former ski slopes, and the resort buildings at the base of the hill. The future of the existing buildings has yet to be decided, and the Bruce Trail Conservancy is carefully evaluating potential options.
With the purchase of the Talisman lands, the BTC now has more than 16,000 acres under stewardship which represents 72 per cent of the land that the group ultimately hopes to protect.
To support the purchase, restoration and long-term stewardship of the Talisman lands, the Bruce Trail Conservancy will be launching a public fundraising campaign.
For more information visit brucetrail.org/talisman.
The ski hill at the former Talisman Mountain Resort will be reforested and restored by the Bruce Trail Conservancy. (CNW Group/Bruce Trail Conservancy)
Escarpment Corridor Alliance becomes land trust
The year 2025 has been a milestone year for the Escarpment Corridor Alliance (ECA), a registered charity devoted to the creation of a connected and permanently protected ecological corridor across the Niagara Escarpment of Southern Georgian Bay.
Executive director Jarvis Strong says Phase 1 of a geospatial mapping project illustrated just how much ecologically vulnerable land there is in the area.
“Our original intent was to do a multi-phase mapping project but after Phase 1, we made the decision to move from research to implementation and that meant becoming a land trust,” said Strong. “Existing bodies like the Bruce Trail Conservancy (BTC) and the Niagara Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy (EBC) have a very broad pan-escarpment focus and our gap analysis showed there was room for a South Georgian Bay focused land trust.”
Strong emphasizes that the ECA is committed to working collaboratively with existing land trusts in promoting the value of donating sensitive lands.
“If we’re talking to a land owner whose property is adjacent to the Bruce Trail, we will refer to them, or if the lands are adjacent to a biosphere project, we’ll involve them,” said Strong.
He says the ECA was instrumental in the acquisition of the Talisman lands by the BTC. (See story on page 3.)
“Talisman has been one of our focuses since our inception four years ago and we had a very warm relationship with owners Brian Ellis and Phil Cavano.”
The owners had proposed development of an 800-room hotel and Nordic spa at the site but were eventually convinced of the value of protecting the environmentally sensitive lands.
“We brought them together with the Bruce Trail Conservancy,” says Strong. “BTC has significant reserves so they were in a position to move quickly and secure a deal.”
Strong says in addition to bringing the principals together, the ECA contributed well over $100,000 worth of environmental assessments and was instrumental in rallying community support. Ultimately, he says, the goal is to see more land connected and protected by community led organizations and who gets credit for the deals is of lesser importance.
According to Strong, the ECA is continuing to work on acquiring two additional properties in the Talisman area from different owners.
The ECA has also completed its first solo acquisition – a 24-acre property in the Kolapore area known as Metcalfe North, which is set to become the first protected area under the stewardship of the organization.
