So What's So Special About Alvar?
In 1996, the Couchiching Conservancy began a project to identify the location and extent of rare habitats called alvars. In an area northwest of Lindsay and east of Orillia, a flat limestone landscape called the Carden Plain provides the structure for these rare habitats. Alvars occur only on limestone bedrock with little or no soil, where spring flooding and summer drought create harsh conditions. Many of the wildflowers, native grasses and invertebrate species found on alvars normally occur in the western provinces, and many are rare.
Alvars are globally imperilled communities, occurring only in the south of Sweden and scattered around the Great Lakes Basin. Carden Township's alvars are thought to be among the richest in the province, with a great diversity of alvar species.
Since almost all of this area is privately owned, the Carden Alvar Project first sought permission from landowners to conduct biological surveys on their properties. After the alvar areas were mapped and the vegetation communities and plant species were identified, we shared this information with the landowners. We also encouraged individuals to take steps to ensure long term protection of these unique areas.
Since the field work was finished in 1997, three land protection projects have been completed, several landowners have demonstrated strong support of alvar protection, and the local community is well aware of the significance of the habitats in their community.
Windmill Ranch Project Now Underway
In 2004, a coalition of conservation groups agreed to take on another extraordinary challenge – the purchase of the 1600-acre Windmill Ranch, a major property in the heart of the Carden alvar. Windmill Ranch shares many of the same ecological qualities as the adjacent Cameron Ranch which was protected previously - extensive areas of grassland and shrubland alvar, nesting Loggerhead Shrikes, and a great variety of uncommon breeding birds. It also has over four kilometres of frontage on Wylie Road – a “birders’ highway” where you can see dozens of Eastern Bluebirds, eight kinds of sparrows, and a great bonanza of grassland and wetland species.
We are very fortunate that the Windmill Ranch owners, Art and Noreen Hawtin, turned down offers by the quarries in favour of conservation. But this opportunity depends totally on funding being available by the end of 2005 to close the deal. The Couchiching Conservancy has promised to raise $110,000 locally. We are off to a great start, with over $95,000 already in hand. But we need your help to complete our commitment.
This project is being led by the Nature Conservancy of Canada, and also involves Ontario Parks, Ontario Field Ornithologists, Toronto Ornithological Club, and the Carden Field Naturalists. Together, we are creating a solid core of protected lands in the heart of the Carden alvar – lands that the quarries will never be able to touch. If you can help, please contact us at (705)326-1620, or at nature@couchconservancy.ca.
Cameron Ranch is Now Secure
Cameron Ranch is at the centre of the Carden alvar - a rich mosaic of natural grasslands, shrublands, wetlands, and alvar communities, with vibrant populations of songbirds and other wildlife. For years we watched and waited, hoping to have the opportunity to make sure this property would never become a mega-quarry. Finally, in February 2002 we received word that the owner of Cameron Ranch had accepted an offer from the Nature Conservancy of Canada, with a closing date the next April. The permanent protection of "Ontario's own Serengeti" - a 3000 acre expanse of high quality alvar habitat - depended on our ability to raise 1.6 million dollars.
After an amazing effort by many people, enough funds were raised to allow the project to succeed, and on April 30, 2003, ownership of Cameron Ranch transferred to Ontario Parks, with a five-year lease to NCC for its management. Fundraising continues at the national level to complete this project. We continue to be involved as local stewards of the property, in assembling information that will be useful in developing a management plan.
We have worked in co-operation with the Nature Conservancy of Canada on this project along with the assistance of the Ontario Field Ornithologists, the Toronto Ornithological Club, and local naturalists clubs including the Orillia Naturalists Club, Carden Field Naturalists, and the Kawartha Field Naturalists. The Provincial government, under its Ontario Parks program, has made a large financial commitment.
The Couchiching Conservancy raised over $200,000 locally as our part of the campaign to acquire Cameron Ranch. We are delighted that this outstanding property is now protected. Groups or researchers who wish to visit the interior of the Ranch can contact us about arrangements for access.
Cameron Ranch Home to Endangered Species
Twenty years ago, there were over thirty pairs of Eastern Loggerhead Shrikes on the Carden Plain. In 1998, that healthy population had plummeted to a single pair, one of only about eighteen known pairs in the province. Shrikes have recovered somewhat in the intervening time to nine pairs in 2001. Although there seems to be more than enough good nesting habitat, the birds are not occupying all of the territory available. No one is sure exactly why these birds are declining, but there are concerns about loss of both breeding and winter habitat, and mortality from collisions with cars.
Loggerhead Shrikes require a specialized habitat with scattered hawthorn shrubs and short grass, which harbours their main prey of large insects. This predatory bird, only about the size of a Robin, has weak songbird feet, and it cannot push through thick grass after its prey. As a result, shrikes have typically nested in areas where cattle grazing keeps the grass short. Loggerhead Shrikes are also a classic example of an "area-sensitive species", meaning that they need large areas of open terrain before they are comfortable enough to nest.
Because this species is so close to the edge of extinction, it is very important that nesting sites are protected. Many historical sites no longer have breeding pairs, sometimes because too many trees and shrubs have invaded, or because of disturbance from nearby quarries. Cameron Ranch is well-known as a historic breeding site for Shrikes, and in 2002, it has at least one breeding pair on the nest. Cameron Ranch also has suitable habitat for Henslow's Sparrow, another endangered songbird in Ontario, but none have been seen recently.
These endangered species are just the tip of the iceberg, for grassland birds as a whole are the fastest-declining group of bird species across North America. Southern Ontario has been identified as a stronghold for such grassland specialties as Bobolinks, Eastern Meadowlarks, Upland Sandpipers and Grasshopper Sparrows. Cameron Ranch supports good populations of these species, along with shrubland specialists like Eastern Towhees, Brown Thrashers, Golden-winged Warblers and Clay-colored Sparrows. Preserving and managing the ranch's habitats will keep these species from dwindling to endangered status in the future.
Unusual Plants of the Cameron Alvar
Alvars provide harsh conditions for any form of plant life. This rare habitat is found on open, flat limestone bedrock with little or no soil. Alvar flora must tolerate spring flooding, summer drought and minimal amounts of soil. Some alvar plants are rarely found in other types of habitat, while others have some tolerance for deeper soils. Alvar plants do not compete well with common weeds and alvar habitats can be very damaged by disturbance and the introduction of weed seeds. 
Prairie Smoke (Geum triflorum)
Perhaps the best known of the Carden Alvar plants, Prairie Smoke raises its mauve seed heads in drifts of "feather dusters" across the ground in June. The soft downy plumes contain seeds adapted to dispersal by the wind. Also known as Long-Plumed Purple Avens, its drooping reddish flowers develop earlier in May in clumps of four or five stems. Although widespread across the Canadian Prairies, it has a very restricted range in Ontario.
Hairy Beard-tongue (Penstemon hirsutus)
This flower is hairy with tufted stamens giving rise to its fanciful name. The long slender lips of the flowers range through pink to pale violet, and the plant reaches 24 inches in Carden The Hairy Beard-tongue is best seen at its peak flowering time in June and July. The slightly toothed leaves are spear shaped and its purplish stems are densely hairy.
Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)
Wild Bergamot features a dense rounded cluster of lavender flowers at the top of a square stem from June to September. Its gray-green leaves are about 2.5 inches long and are spear shaped and coarsely toothed. The leaves of this showy and aromatic flower have often been used for medicinal purposes or to make a mint tea.
Significant Species on the Carden Alvar
Good examples of at least five types of alvar communities occur on Cameron Ranch and Windmill Ranch:
•Tufted hairgrass grassland alvar
•Poverty grass grassland alvar
•Little bluestem - northern dropseed grassland alvar
•Shrubby cinquefoil alvar pavement
•Common juniper - fragrant sumac alvar shrubland
Significant plant species:
A number of distinctive plant species are associated with these alvar sites, including species that are provincially or regionally rare, disjunct species, and species that are otherwise uncommon but that occur here in great abundance. These species include:
•Cooper’s milkvetch
•Northern dropseed
•Secund rush
•Hairy rock-cress
•Richardson sedge
•Indian paintbrush
•Prairie smoke
•Shrubby cinquefoil
•Early buttercup
•Fragrant sumac |
•Virginia saxifrage
•Small skullcap
•Balsam ragwort
•Prairie goldenrod
•False pennyroyal
•Hairy beardtongue
•Wild bergamot
•Dodge’s hawthorn
•Long-leaved bluets
•Death-camass |
Breeding birds:
The Carden alvar has been designated as an Important Bird Area of national significance, because of its importance as breeding habitat for the endangered Loggerhead Shrike and other grassland and shrubland birds. Grassland birds are declining in population at a faster rate than any other group of birds.
In 2004, Cameron Ranch hosted six breeding pairs of Loggerhead Shrikes, and Windmill Ranch had at least one breeding pair. This is a remarkable concentration, compared to the total eastern Canada population of 24 pairs. Other significant species with healthy populations on Cameron and Windmill
Ranch include:
•Upland sandpiper
•Grasshopper sparrow
•Clay-colored sparrow
•Vesper sparrow
•Horned lark
•Eastern bluebird
•Eastern towhee
•Golden-winged warbler
•Northern harrier
•Red-headed woodpecker
•Sedge wren
Other significant species:
Other species of significance which have been found on Cameron/Windmill Ranch include:
•Milk snake
•Eastern ribbon snake
•Blanding’s turtle
•Olympia marble (butterfly)
•Tawny crescent (“)
•Melanoplus mancus (locust)
•Striped camel cricket
•Triodopsis tridentata (mollusc)
•Philomycus cf. batchi (mollusc)
•Prairie meadow katydid
•Psora decipiens (lichen)
Additional significant species are likely to be identified as further field work is carried out, since many parts of these large sites have not yet been inventoried.
For more information about current Conservancy projects and activities, please contact us:
The Couchiching Conservancy
Box 704, 1485 Division Road West
Orillia, Ontario
L3V 6K7
Contact the Conservancy at:
(705) 326-1620
nature@couchconservancy.ca
