Shoreline of Malcolm Bluff Shores Robert McCaw

• Home
  • Protect
    • Protect Wild Species and Wild Spaces
    • Habitat
      • Greenway Initiative
        • Grey-Bruce Greenway Initiative
        • Frontenac Arch Greenway
        • Green Energy Act
      • Nature Reserves
        • Protection Priorities
        • Ways to Conserve Land
        • A Gift of Land
        • Stewardship
        • Land Trusts
      • Trees in Trust
      • Wetlands Conference
    • Species
      • Reptiles at Risk
      • Ontario's Reptile and Amphibian Atlas
        • Reptiles and Amphibians of Ontario
        • Policies and Procedures
        • Survey Guidelines
        • Tips for Finding Ontario's Reptiles and Amphibians
        • Atlas FAQs
        • Threats to Reptiles and Amphibians in Ontario
        • Legal Protection for Ontario's Reptiles and Amphibians
        • Reptile and Amphibian Stewardship
      • Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas
    • Campaigns
      • Biodiversity
        • 20/20 Vision
        • Celebrate Biodiversity
        • Biodiversity Watch List
        • Biodiversity Hot Spots
        • Protect Malcolm Bluff Shores
      • Boreal Forest
        • A Globally Significant Ecosystem
        • What the Boreal Forest Does for Us
        • Threats to the Boreal Forest
        • First Nations Communities
      • Endangered Species
        • Woodland Caribou
        • Snapping Turtle
        • Redside Dace
        • Bobolink
        • Butler's Gartersnake
        • Stewardship Agreements
      • Mining Act
        • Ring of Fire
          • Urgent: Ring of Fire in the Far North
          • A Letter from our Boreal Office
      • Birds and Buildings
      • Moraine Can't Wait

Protect Malcolm Bluff Shores

Malcolm Bluff Shores is a glorious stretch of land and, with your support, it will remain so in perpetuity. 

The Story

Located some 40 kilometres north of Owen Sound, Malcolm Bluff Shores is one of the largest unprotected expanses of woodland on the Niagara Escarpment. The 423-hectare biodiversity hotspot includes four kilometres of Georgian Bay shoreline, wetlands, woodlands, uplands, escarpment and cliff face. The varied landscape is home to a rich diversity of rare and edge-sensitive species.  Ancient cedars cling to the cliff face that are hundreds, some possibly a thousand, years old.
A four-kilometre section of the Bruce Trail crosses along the top of the escarpment making it a great place to appreciate our natural heritage and connect with nature.  The views of the lower portion of the property, and of Georgian Bay, from this section of the Bruce Trail are truly stunning.  We encourage you to see it for yourself by visiting the property.

In 2009, Ontario Nature and the Bruce Trail Conservancy (BTC) agreed to partner on this magnificent project. In March 2010, Ontario Nature finalized the purchase of 233 hectares (575 acres) of the property. Last March, BTC acquired an additional 112 hectares (281 acres).

With these two acquisitions, more than 80 percent of the entire Malcolm Bluff Shores Nature Reserve is now protected. Ontario Nature is leading the fundraising campaign to buy the remaining 75 hectares (189 acres) by March 2012.

Ontario Nature and BTC will share the responsibility of stewarding the property. Planning is already underway to create new trails on the property so that the public can explore this extraordinary landscape without damaging sensitive flora and fauna.

Protect your share

Despite being situated within a UNESCO Word Biosphere Reserve, the Malcolm Bluff Shores property was threatened by logging and development. Extensive logging occurred on the property in recent years, and while a plan for cottage development along the shoreline was thwarted by the Niagara Escarpment Commission, development remains a real threat if 100 percent of this property is not protected.

You can help secure the final 20 percent of this gorgeous nature reserve by protecting your share of Malcolm Bluff Shores today.

For more information and to find out how you can get involved, visit protectyourshare.ca or contact Ontario Nature’s director of development, Kimberley MacKenzie, at 416-444-8419, ext. 236 or kimberleym@ontarionature.org.

Back to top