Landowners

Landowner Relations

For more information contact

Sam Rutherford

Landowners Relations Director

 

The Bruce Trail is a remarkable footpath along the unique and precious Niagara Escarpment. It is explored by thousands of visitors every year who seek a connection with nature in southern Ontario.

However, many people don't realize that the Bruce Trail is not permanently secure and that roughly one-third of the Bruce Trail corridor is still vulnerable to development.

The BTC is working to fill in the gaps, to secure a home for the Bruce Trail and preserve a ribbon of wilderness along the Niagara Escarpment through the acquisition of land and the creation of BTC-managed protected natural areas.

In Niagara, the Bruce Trail passes through about 130 properties, a few of which are public landowners, such as governments, institutions, or conservation bodies. However, most of the 130 properties are private landowners, accounting for close to 40% of the Trail. Over 30 are local businesses and about 80 are residences. 

Landowners

Maintaining good relations with our landowners is very important to the Niagara Club. We are highly dependent upon the goodwill of our private landowners for passage of the Trail through their land!
 
Participating landowners can also benefit in the following ways:
  • Complimentary BTC membership
  • Complimentary BTC wall calendars featuring original works of Ontario artists
  • Landowner Appreciation events
  • Support from the Conservancy’s voluntary Landowner Stewardship Program, with direct access to ecological and land stewardship expertise, guidance, and assistance, at no cost.

 

Hikers

Hikers can express their gratitude and honour the generosity of landowners by passing through their lands respectfully. Please follow proper trail etiquette such as staying on the trail and leaving no trace behind. Landowners allow hikers on their property, with the understanding that hikers follow the rules. If rules are broken, we could lose passage through their land.
 
BTC members can also give back to landowners by joining work parties to remove invasive species or plant native species on landowners’ properties. Join a pull-party today.

 

The Bruce Trail Conservancy is a charitable organization committed to establishing a conservation corridor containing a public footpath along the Niagara Escarpment, in order to protect its natural ecosystems and to promote environmentally responsible public access to this UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve.  Money raised by the conservancy and its clubs goes toward purchasing land for the trail and to maintaining the trail for future generations.