What is the Muskoka Heritage Trust?

The MHT is a charitable land trust whose mandate is to protect ecologically, historically and culturally significant land in Muskoka. It accomplishes its goals in two ways – accepting donations of land to the Trust in the form of nature reserves or through conservation easement agreements with landowners who retain ownership and agree to restrict development on their land. More.

How many properties and how much acreage does the MHT protect?

The MHT protects a total of 24 properties comprised of 17 nature reserves and 7 conservation easements. In total, the Trust protects almost 1400 acres of land in Muskoka, which includes approximately 215 acres of wetland and over 24,000 feet of shoreline. More.

How does MHT protect land in Muskoka?

MHT can:

• accept donations of land or the funds to purchase land
• accept a bequest; or
• accept the donation of a conservation easement which permanently limits the type and scope of development that can take place on the land.

MHT abides by a Code of Standards and Practices and is a member of the Ontario Land Trust Alliance, Canadian Land Trust Alliance and the Land Trust Alliance. More.

What is a nature reserve?

Muskoka Heritage Trust refers to properties that have been donated to the Trust as Nature Reserves. The Trust is assisted in the protection of each Nature Reserve by a management committee made up of volunteers. The Trust tries to include a representative of the donor family as well as neighbours of the property on the management committee.

Each Nature Reserve is unique. Some are open to the public but many are too ecologically sensitive to allow public access.

What is a conservation easement?

A conservation easement is an agreement between the MHT and a landowner, with restrictions regarding land use and allows the MHT to inspect the property to ensure compliance. The agreement is registered on the title of the land and remains in effect forever, even if title is transferred.

A conservation easement with the Muskoka Heritage Trust is designed to protect a property’s conservation value by permanently placing terms and conditions on its use. For example, a conservation easement may not allow the property to be subdivided or may limit the number and location of structures. The donor continues to own the land and may sell it or bequeath it to heirs, but the conservation easement remains on title. The Muskoka Heritage Trust ensures that the restrictions put on the property are followed in the future, regardless of who owns the land.

Because of the restrictions placed on the use of the land, its fair market value is reduced. For example, much of the value of a large piece of property may be the fact that it can be subdivided. If that is no longer allowed by the terms of the conservation easement, that may significantly reduce the fair market value of the property. That reduction in the value of the land is the value of the conservation easement, which is the value of the donation for the charitable donation receipt issued by the Trust.

Why is it important to protect land in trust?

The preservation of natural areas and built heritage helps to maintain the character of Muskoka. The protection of ecologically significant land also protects:

• large natural areas, or an area that connects two natural areas and helps combat fragmentation of habitat, which threatens species, particularly those requiring large territories
• shoreline which also protects water quality
• wetlands which is habitat required by many species, including threatened species like the Blandings turtle
• areas of high biodiversity, helping mitigate the effects of climate change

More.

What happens after properties are acquired?

Unless there is a particular issue with a property (e.g. invasive species, trespassing, renaturalization), the land is left in its natural state. The Trust monitors each of its properties at least once a year. A management committee is established for each nature reserve property.

What is a management committee?

Each property management committee is composed of Trust volunteers, representatives of the donor family, neighbours of the property and/or interested members of the community. The committee oversees the management of a property for the Trust and reports to the Trust Board of Directors.

Are MHT properties accessible to the public?

Nature reserve properties are not public parks. They are considered wilderness areas. Their first priority is for the animals and plants that live there. Access is usually restricted in most of the nature reserves. If you have a question about access, you are encouraged to contact the Trust.

The Dyer Memorial Nature Reserve is open to the public, during daylight hours, from May 15 to October 15 of each year.

Who funds the Trust?

The Muskoka Heritage Foundation provides base funding for MHT staff support. The Trust has received funding in the past from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, Environment Canada’s EcoAction Program, the Ontario Land Trust Assistance Program (OLTAP) and the Canadian Land Trust Alliance (CLTA). The Trust is also supported by individual donors.

What is the Ecological Gifts (Ecogifts) Program?

Under the provision of the Income Tax Act (Canada), the Ecological Gifts Program (EGP) provides favourable income tax treatment to donors of ecologically sensitive lands (known as ecological gifts or ecogifts), including conservation easements.

What income tax benefit does a land donor receive?

Ecological gifts receive tax treatment that is superior to most other charitable gifts, including:

• eliminated taxable capital gain on the disposition of the property (38 (a 2) ITA)
• no income limit for calculating the tax credit/deduction (118.1(1) ITA)

Every case is different – potential donors are encouraged to seek professional advice.

For more information on potential tax benefits, see Potential Tax Benefits.

How can the public get involved?

• Volunteer your time to help with the management of one of our nature reserves.
• Volunteer to help our Technical Advisory Group (TAG), particularly if you have any expertise in natural sciences. TAG assists with the identifying animal and plant species on potential properties.
• Become a member of the Muskoka Heritage Foundation.
• Donate money to the Foundation, which financially supports the Trust.
• Donate land or money to the Trust.
• Leave a legacy – bequest the land you love to the Muskoka Heritage Trust.

More.