Who Are The Land Between_A Response to The Corridor Project

The Land Between is a special region in Ontario; it is a final pure wildlife zone in the southern half of the province. The name also belongs to a charity that has worked to characterize, celebrate, and conserve the region. The Land Between charity is a truly grassroots and collaborative non government organization, that works closely with many local community groups and individual landowners who have important knowledge when it comes to land, wildlife and history. In fact, one of our cornerstone projects is our Knowledge Circles; here we hold open forums, where we invite the public, especially those with valued experiences of the land and resources, to share insights and also concerns. This Indigenous traditional models are used to find effective solutions. In fact, we have held these circles to grapple with complex issues such as the eastern wolf and western coyote, and to hear concerns from local harvesters and other grassroots community organizations. The charity works to recover declining species, and we also care for our heritage and traditions. Currently, we are focused on monitoring and assessing the health of keystone wildlife, such as lake trout and sport fish, songbirds, loons, beavers, bears and moose.

The way we govern the charity is also very grounded: Our council is 50% Indigenous, but also members are from very different backgrounds representing both left and right perspectives, and a wealth of lived experience. Councillors include hunters, anglers, business owners, builders, and also land-developers. Our meetings are run using Traditional Talking Circles where decisions are made by consensus. In kind, our COO and founder, Leora Berman, has dedicated her life to preserving the integrity of our fish and wildlife including by donating earning potential. Full details of our financial management, staff remuneration, partnerships, and also strategic programs are listed on our website: Check out our operations and council here: www.thelandbetween.ca/how-we-operate

For the work we do and the integrity with which we operate, the Land Between and our COO, have won awards from MPs and also the Canadian Wildlife Federation.  We are so proud to have been recognized by these touchstones in our country.

In recent media The Land Between charity and our management have been mistakenly associated with a project that was spurred on by the Haliburton Highlands Land Trust and their partners at Ontario Nature; a project entitled The Highlands Corridor. While land securement for long term protection is certainly one of the many valuable approaches in the world of conservation, The Land Between charity is not a conservancy.

Furthermore, despite our proximity to local groups we have not been partners with the Haliburton Highlands Land Trust for many years. Our last joint effort was to monitor turtles, and assess areas for eco-passages. In fact, the last project we worked on together was in 2012 to choose a pilot site for an eco-passage. Our charity simply provided site reconnaissance, but we weren’t even involved in designing the Land Trust’s turtle eco-passage on Gelert Road.  We have not been involved in any partnerships with the Land Trust or their consultants since that time. We focused on growing the Turtle Guardians program and working directly with road departments, kids and community members to help these amazing animals.

Similarly, we had partnered with Ontario Nature to create a mobile app to help kids and families report turtles. Our partnership ended in 2018 when we completed the application, albeit while Ontario Nature seemingly did not recall the depth of our agreements together.

Wildlife is a chief reason that people gravitate to and celebrate The Land Between region, and wildlife and nature are truly the backbones of our economies, not only because of enjoyment or sports, but wildlife are sources of important services, from food sources, to pollination, removing pollutants, pest and disease control, and to seed dispersal. Wildlife corridors are definitely integral to the health of wildlife populations. There are many approaches to helping wildlife and maintaining corridors. Our focus is on building relationships, gathering data on wildlife, and on providing advise, expertise, education, experiences, and support for community members, both young and old. We work hand in hand with landowners and local leaders to collectively manage lands for balanced benefits.

This charity takes a people-approach to conservation, honouring the long held traditions of our communities in working with and relating to the land and animals.

Thank you,

The Land Between COO and Council