Sitting amongst the cattails on the Beaver River, it’s as if the outside world doesn’t exist. In the wetland, you can hear countless birds singing and watch waterfowl meandering, while the water’s gentle motion lulls you into a state of calm. That’s why this magical place is so precious to Aubrey Baillie, Jim Belford, Marshal Stearns and John Lind, members of the Yacking Duck Club (YACKERS), who recently donated their 297 acres (120.19 hectares) in the Lake Simcoe watershed to Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) to be conserved in perpetuity.
Their fathers, the original Yackers, purchased the property in Scugog township near Uxbridge in the 1950s to escape the city and hunt together with friends in the marsh. The group formed a legal entity in the 1960s to administer the members’ shares and enjoyed the site for many years.
“It’s an amazing place that my father and his friends loved, where they could hunt and just relax,” says Baillie. “It was where they wanted to be–their refuge.”
Planning for the future
As the years passed, the Yackers got older, making hunting a challenging undertaking. As well, their children and grandchildren had made it clear that hunting wasn’t a tradition they wanted to continue. Members passed away and soon the club’s legacy was in question. Their love for this special place and desire to conserve it remained vitally important to them.
That’s when the idea to donate the land to DUC was born. The land donation inquiry by the club was a pleasant and welcome surprise for DUC. While complex, when completed it was the resolution the club had long hoped for.
Alexis Hand, DUC land securement lead, DUC felt privileged to work through the land transfer with Baillie and his fellow members.
“DUC was approached in 2021 by a group of passionate people who truly care about wetlands,” says Hand. “We rarely get this kind of opportunity at this scale and we’re proud to carry on the club’s conservation efforts. We are grateful for their thoughtfulness and determination to protect critical habitats for waterfowl and other wildlife long into the future.”
A significant Ontario wetland conserved
Surrounded by agricultural lands, the Beaver River property is a Provincially Significant Wetland within the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence biome and situated within one of DUC’s priority habitat areas for breeding waterfowl. It supports some of the highest waterfowl pair densities in the province (12-25 pairs per mi²) and provides quality habitat for breeding, molting and staging dabbling ducks with the most common species being mallard, black duck, blue-winged teal, and wood duck. Habitats for rare and endangered species such as the Virginia rail, least bittern, pied-billed grebe, common gallinule and marsh wren are provided at the Beaver River site as well.
The Yackers understand and appreciate the true meaning behind this land donation. They are very happy to have DUC looking after this wonderful piece of Ontario wetlands.
““Ducks Unlimited Canada was the right choice,” says Baillie. “We knew they would look after the property and love it the way we did for so many years. To sit in the marsh and hear the birds singing all around you is the best way we knew to rid ourselves of the stress of city living. The donation is a fitting chapter to the legacy to the members of our group who loved this place with all their hearts.”
To date, DUC has successfully conserved more than 1 million acres of wetlands and adjacent habitat such as grassland, forest, or other upland habitats, across Ontario. Wetlands are hardworking ecosystems that deliver cleaner water, capture carbon and nutrients, and preserve and increase habitats for waterfowl and other wildlife including endangered species. Together, these habitats contribute to a healthy, functioning landscapes for wildlife and communities.
DUC is grateful to the Yackers for donating the Beaver River property so that the critical waterfowl habitats on Beaver River in Trent River watershed will remain protected for years to come.
