Estelle’s Reserve

Estelle’s Reserve is a 134-acre Conservation Agreement property located on the mainland shore of Blackstone Lake. Estelle’s is representative of landscapes inland from coastal Georgian Bay; it is less exposed and has better developed soil, and thus supports a different and more dense array of flora.

Estelle’s combination of vegetation communities provide habitat for documented at-risk species. The shoreline of the property is predominantly mixed conifer and deciduous forest with occasional acidic rock barren outcrops, the latter mostly right at the water’s edge.

The Reserve has two small swamps inland from the Blackstone shore, one a White Cedar Mineral Swamp, and the other Mixed containing both standing coniferous and deciduous trees. Swamps are a typical part of large, mainland watershed systems, different from the isolated wetland communities generally found around Georgian Bay’s islands. They provide excellent habitat for reptiles and amphibians.

Our initial visit and baseline study of Estelle’s Reserve found two Eastern Wood-Pewees (a small songbird of the flycatcher family), two Wood Thrush and an Eastern Milk snake making use of the property. These are all species at risk, and underscore the value of this habitat.

Setting aside Estelle’s Reserve with a Conservation Agreement protects diversity in this vulnerable local ecological sector, adds to existing protected areas and connects conservation corridors to west and south.