Sauble Dunes North © Smera Sukumar
About
Right now, we have an amazing chance to expand our Sauble Dunes Nature Reserve by purchasing 66 acres of adjacent land. Previously slated for development, this land supports 24 species at risk and 41 rare species.
We need your help to permanently protect it!
Marsh feature inventory © Smera Sukumar
Globally Rare Habitat
The Great Lakes coastal dune habitats found along the Lake Huron shoreline are among the most rare and sensitive ecosystems in Canada. Forested dunes and wetlands offer many different microhabitats, making them extremely biodiverse ecosystems. The property is located inland from the eastern shore of Lake Huron and forms an important connecting corridor.
The landscape includes fen, marsh and swamp and is vital for migratory birds like the Canada warbler, as well as black bears and snapping turtles—all of which are under threat from expanding development along the Saugeen Bruce Peninsula.
Property inventory © Smera Sukumar
Protection
The property directly abuts Chief’s Point Wetland, a Provincially Significant Coastal Wetland complex, partially on Saugeen Ojibway First Nation reserve land. It is also a part of the Sauble Falls North Area of Natural and Scientific Interest. This is a rare opportunity to protect a portion of this important habitat.
By acquiring this 66-acre parcel, Ontario Nature would be expanding Sauble Dunes Nature Reserve to 192 acres, establishing critical landscape connectivity and strengthening the area’s resiliency to the threats posed by development and climate change.
Snapping turtle hatchlings © Joe Crowley
How You Can Help
Ontario Nature urgently needs your support to raise $400,000 for this project. Your gift today will help protect an extraordinary 66-acre property directly connected to our existing Sauble Dunes Nature Reserve. Together we can ensure that this globally rare landscape is never destroyed by development and that crucial connecting corridors will remain in the area, supporting the 60+ threatened species that live there.
Please give today to safeguard globally rare habitat and the unique wild species that live there! To learn more, contact Lisa Kamenar at 416-444-8419 ext. 233 or lisak@ontarionature.org.
We will acknowledge donors who give more than $1,000 for their generosity on a sign at the nature reserve.
If we surpass our fundraising target of $400,000, donations received may be invested in future land acquisition projects and stewardship of our nature reserves. Thank you!
Emerging balsam fir seedlings and moss © Marcus Maddalena
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