​​​Blueprint for Beaver River 

The Beaver River Conservation Area is a 500 hectare conservation area situated along the Beaver River, in the Townships of Brock and Scugog, in the Regional Municipality of Durham with a property in the City of Kawartha Lakes. 

This year we completed the Beaver River Wetland Conservation​ Area Management Plan. The 2020 – 2024 Management Plan, including recommendations from citizens, establishes both shortand long-term goals and develops strategies to achieve the goals. It also projects required staff time and funding to plan and complete the necessary work and will act as a guide in applying for funding opportunities. 

Goal highlights include: a wetland lookout point adjacent to the trail; a parking lot with accessible parking spaces; a washroom; and accessible launch points in the river for canoes.​

​New Signs for Safer Trails 

Keeping motorized vehicles off our trails on the Beaver River Wetland Trail system from spring to fall continues to be a challenge. Recently we worked with The Heart of Ontario Snowmobile Club to remove damaged access gates at road/trail crossings and replace them with safety signage. 

We installed safety signs that collapse on impact and then pop back up afterwards, as an alternative to the damaged barriers. A total of 44 signs are now installed from spring to fall to discourage motorized vehicle use on our trails.​

Trees, Trails and Traffic 

The restoration of Durham Forest continues. This year we focused on two different sections of the forest, thinning out approximately 36 hectares. Selective thinning encourages natural regeneration of maple, oak, beech and white pine species, which were the species originally here before being clear cut in the 1920s and 30s. The trees we harvest are sold, with the money received going back to the forest through our regeneration programs. 

Through a strong on-the-ground partnership with Durham Mountain Biking Association, we replaced 1,721 metres of eroded or prone-to-erosion trails, with 2,016 metres of sustainable recreational trail. The new segments are multi-use and improve access to other trails, and are designed and built to withstand higher traffic. We also undertook a number of improvements to the parking lot, including widening a section to increase capacity as well as some improvements to enhance sightlines and safety.​

Felling and Fixing 

LSRCA actively manages its multi-use recreational trails to ensure they are safe and enjoyable for everyone. Part of management involves removing trees which are dead, dying or pose a risk to the trail system. This year, a total of 535 trees were removed, 320 (60 percent) of which were ash, affected by the Emerald Ash Borer. 

On the positive side, we planted 44,197 trees and shrubs through our full-service planting program, 5,882 through community events and distributed a further 9,550 seedlings through our doit- yourself (DIY) seedling sale.​

​Scanlon Arboretum Upgrades 

This year we completed maintenance at the Scanlon Creek Arboretum. The property now features a new trail that connects to the established Chickadee Trail loop, one of several trails at Scanlon, and it showcases a pollinator garden. The Arboretum now boasts 133 trees of 42 different species. To help visitors boost their tree knowledge, there’s at least one tree of each species marked with its common and scientific name as well as a fun fact about that species.​