Otonabee Conservation now managing former gravel pit south of Peterborough

The gravel pit licence for the Otonabee Conservation-owned property was recently surrendered by the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry.

A former gravel pit south of Peterborough is now being managed for conservation.

In 1977, Peterborough-based Otonabee Conservation originally acquired the property near Crowley Line and Rosa Landing Road within Otonabee-South Monaghan Township. The goals of the acquisition were to help conserve a section of wetland shore along the Otonabee River and to develop a conservation area after the aggregate was depleted.

The property is about 14 kilometres south of Peterborough.

The conservation authority says aggregate extraction has been inactive in the licensed pit since the late 1990s. Recently, the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry surrendered the gravel pit licence for the property.

The ministry deemed that the property in its current state via naturally regeneration provides ecological value for the adjacent Otonabee Midriver Complex Provincially Significant Wetland and as species-at-risk habitat, in particular for nesting turtles.

“It was deemed that further rehabilitation work would not be necessary as most of the licensed area of the property has naturally regenerated over time,” Otonabee Conservation stated. “This has been an objective of many past Otonabee Conservation boards.”

Jessie James, manager of conservation lands at Otonabee Conservation, says plans will unfold in the coming months to open the site to visitors. Visit otonabeeconservation.com for updates.

“We look forward to protecting the natural habitats, diverse species, and surrounding sensitive ecological features of this property,” James said. “We will be managing this site for conservation purposes and recreational pursuits such as hiking and birdwatching.”