Rare tree gets protected home
Conservation agencies are partnering to create a new conservation area near Windsor, Ont., aimed at protecting a rare tree species.
On Thursday, the Nature Conservancy of Canada and the Essex Region Conservation Authority added Mitchell and Botsford Woods to its protected natural areas.
The Mitchell Woods acquisition was meant to help preserve the threatened Kentucky coffee tree, said Richard Wyma, ERCA's general manager.
"It has, what we believe is anyways, the only naturally occurring stand of coffee trees in Canada," Wyma said.
"In the case of the Botsford property because there is a restoration opportunity there. We'll look at restoring the agricultural portion of those lands to increase the natural area cover in that region."
Both wooded areas are within the River Canard watershed next to the Detroit River between Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair. The 31 hectares of land, representing the longest stretch of continuous woodland in Essex County, are located near Fox Glen Golf Course in Amherstburg and McGregor.
ERCA officials gave a tour of the area, pointing out the potential for other rare plants and animals.
"In Essex there tend to be quite a lot of rare species," said Wendy Cridland, southwestern Ontario program manager for the Nature Conservancy of Canada.
The land was secured in part with funding from Environment Canada's Natural Areas Conservation Program. It will take about two years to convert the lands back to their natural state, officials said.
