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Little Rock Farm enters Conservation Easement Agreement

July 4, 2013   ·   0 Comments

The Oak Ridges Moraine Land Trust (ORMLT), and The Ontario Farmland Trust (OFT) recently received a generous donation. The Hamilton Family of Adjala/Tosorontio Township donated a conservation easement to both the ORMLT and OFT.

The family is the proud owners of Little Rock Farm, consisting of 150 acres within the Nottawasaga River watershed. The land contains approximately 110 acres of prime farmland, and 40 acres of mixed forest.

The Hamilton family was represented by Helen Martinic, who explained the reasoning behind the family’s donation, “The family has owned the land since 1832, it’s become a part of their history. They absolutely love this property, and now it will be with them forever.”

Representatives from the Town of New Tecumseth, Simcoe County, Grey County, and the Liberal Party of Canada attended the donation ceremony. Simcoe-Grey MP Jim Wilson was also in attendance, and praised both organizations for their work, “It’s a historic day for everyone, especially the Oak Ridges Moraine Land Trust and Ontario Farmland Trust.”

The Rogers family was also involved in the process, providing donations and grants for both trusts. Martha Rogers expressed her excitement for the donation, “When our family was approached to help out with the land trusts, I jumped at the idea. This is an excellent thing that has been done, and it was exciting to be apart of.”

With the increased amount of development occurring throughout the area, Little Rock Farm won’t be exploited for housing or other uses.

A Conservative Easement is an agreement that prohibits future housing subdivisions, aggregate pits, and other uses that are opposite of farming. Within the easement, ownership remains with the owner and future owners must comply with conditions of the Conservation Easement. Both the Ontario Farmland Trust and Oak Ridges Moraine Land Trust have protected various farms throughout Ontario.

Since 1999, the ORMLT is responsible for conserving over 3,477 acres and planted approximately 9,000 trees. The OFT is the only organization which focuses on protecting and preserving Ontario farmlands, resulting in nine farms using farmland conservation easement agreements.

Mrs. Martinic was extremely thankful for the hard work of the trusts, and is extremely thrilled that Little Rock Farm is safe from development, “Myself and the Hamilton Family can rest easy now knowing that Little Rock Farm will continue forever, with both productive farm use and protection of natural features. The conservation easement is my thank you to the land, and my promise to the future.”

For more information, visit www.oakridgesmoraine.org and www.ontariofarmlandtrust.ca

By Michael Tomasone

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