Kensington Conservancy on a mission to protect Algoma's natural beauty

The Kensington Conservancy is continuing its mission to preserve the natural beauty of parts of the Algoma District.

The Conservancy is a not-for-profit land trust that acquires certain lands to ensure those properties are permanently protected from harmful development and resource harvesting.

The group — responsible for caring for 15 properties in the St. Joseph Channel area of the St. Marys River — launched in the 1990s and began its conservation activities in earnest upon receiving its registered Canadian charity status in 2006.

The group operates from the Kensington Conservation Centre in Desbarats.

“Most of our properties are donated to us. If a landowner wants to ensure their property is protected forever, what they can do is donate it to us, we become the landowners and we protect it,” explained Carter Dorscht, Kensington Conservancy executive director, in an interview with SooToday.

“We also have purchased a few properties as well. As a small not-for-profit organization money’s often tight and we don’t always have the resources to purchase land but we do have donors and sometimes we have been able to purchase property.”

One of the latest donated properties is Bowen Island, formerly owned by Americans Alden and Connie Meyer.

“They’ve owned Bowen Island since the 1990s and they wanted to ensure that it stays undeveloped in perpetuity,” Dorscht said.

Bowen Island is a 15-acre island with 1.28 km (4,200 ft.) of shoreline. The area is significant for breeding several different species of birds including the Bald Eagle and Osprey.

The Meyers donated Bowen Island, situated 48 kilometres southeast of Sault Ste. Marie, to the American Friends of Canadian Conservation (AFCC) in the fall of 2023.

The AFCC is a U.S. not-for-profit that works with Canadian charities, governments and First Nations to protect Canada’s natural and cultural heritage. 

That organization now owns the title to Bowen Island while the Conservancy cares for it.

“It was proactive,” said Dorscht of the donation of Bowen Island.

“There was no immediate threat to it but it’s close to Pine Island which is already a developed island, broken up into lots, and there was concern islands like Bowen Island would be next. Alden and Connie just wanted to ensure that nothing happened to it. By turning it into a nature preserve it ensures it’s going to stay the way it is.”

“As an organization we’re definitely not against development. We understand that people need houses to live in but we want to make sure that development is in places that have the least amount of impact on biodiversity as possible,” Dorscht said.

Funding for the Conservancy’s activities comes from the Ontario Land Trust Alliance and Government of Ontario through the Greenlands Conservation Partnership as well as donations from individuals and groups.

The Conservancy has also recently acquired Turtle Rock Preserve, a 7.8-acre property along Quebec Bay within the St. Joseph Channel that has been identified as part of the Great Lakes Heritage Coast.

Turtle Rock Preserve will be accessible to the public by boat for bird watching and other nature activities, also good as a spot to take a break or have a picnic while paddling in the area. The Preserve also has many species of birds as well as otters, rabbits and deer.

“We visit our properties on a regular basis,” Dorscht said.

“We walk through the properties to make sure nothing is taking place that is detrimental to the ecological condition of the property. We do allow access to most of our properties but we need to ensure people are using them in respectful ways, like not cutting down trees or leaving garbage. We don’t typically have that issue but we do keep an eye on our properties.”

The Kensington Conservancy is staffed by Dorscht, Corinne Wilkerson — a key employee who serves as land stewardship coordinator — and a part time office manager.

Summer students started this week to bring the number of employees to six.

The Kensington Conservancy also has a board of directors.

“As many people are aware the entire planet is facing a biodiversity crisis. There’s a significant percentage of Canada's biodiversity that’s been lost since the 1970s through development all across Canada. It’s become more and more important to protect wildlife and plant habitat. We’re ensuring that these properties that have ecological value to them are protected forever,” Dorscht said. 

The Kensington Conservancy was honoured with a Business/Organization Award from Clean North in April for its work to protect Bowen Island.

“It was definitely exciting to be recognized for our efforts. This is a job I love doing, especially when we acquire a property, from initial conversations to deals being closed and a brand new nature preserve being born. That’s my favourite part of my job and being recognized for it feels pretty good.”

Dorscht, who has been with the Conservancy since 2016, received a Citizen Award from Clean North for his work with the Conservancy.

“I do a lot of other things not related to work, mostly around community science programs within the district. It’s definitely an honour.”