World Migratory Bird Day at Fort St. Joseph was another extremely successful day! 121 eager birders showed up on May 9th at Fort St. Joseph National Historic Site to experience the wonders of spring bird migration. This was the 4th annual partnership between Parks Canada and the Central Algoma Land Trust to host this event in celebration of World Migratory Bird Day.

The team at the Central Algoma Land Trust has grown to seven for the next four months! We’d like to introduce you to Kaitlyn, Maggie, and Johnna who be working alongside Carter, Corinne, Jennifer, and Jazmin to advance conservation across the Central Algoma region.

It’s pretty incredible to think that a Whooping Crane hatched in a facility in Wisconsin and raised by people in crane suits ended up right here in our local fields. While it was extremely exciting for those of us lucky enough to see her, it’s also a good reminder that the work we do to keep our local habitats healthy actually matters.

In celebration of World Migratory Bird Day this year, Central Algoma Land Trust is proud to partner with Parks Canada to provide special access to Fort St. Joseph National Historic Site so that birders can experience the wonders of spring bird migration. The site will be open from 6:00am until 2:00pm on Saturday May 9, 2026. 

In the Central Algoma region, familiar species like garter snakes, painted turtles, and northern leopard frogs are commonly spotted. But something interesting is happening, we are starting to hear about more observations of some of the less popular herptiles of our region. The question is whether this reflects species expanding their ranges northward due to a warming climate, or simply an increase in interest and reporting of the natural world.

On March 26th, Central Algoma Land Trust member Jane Smith photographed two meadowlarks just down the road from her house in Tarbutt Township. They turned out to be Western Meadowlarks, a different species than the Eastern Meadowlarks that are commonly found in the area every summer.

We are thrilled to announce that six of our protected areas are now officially included in the Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database. This national database tracks the progress toward Canada's ambitious goal of protecting 30% of our land and water by 2030.

The Central Algoma Land Trust recently presented this year's Pam Bent Conservation Award to Kadyn Barkowsky! This annual award goes to a Sault College student in a School of Natural Environment program who demonstrates good leadership skills, good academic achievement, is a global thinker and demonstrates a passion above and beyond the program expectations.

Two Tree River, a small waterway on St. Joseph Island in the Lake Huron watershed near Sault Ste. Marie, has been identified as a Key Biodiversity Area (KBA), thanks to the presence of a unique aquatic acrobat. The area joins a national network of sites that are critical to the persistence of Canada’s most exceptional biodiversity.

Think of these rare birds as environmental ambassadors. When a rare Eurasian Wigeon or a Vermilion Flycatcher touches down locally, it is often because they have found a high quality habitat to use as a refuelling station. While they may be here by accident, their presence highlights the importance of our conservation work.

Yesterday, Trent Massey and I were out for a drive searching for whatever interesting wildlife we could find. As we were working our way back home, a beautiful immature Golden Eagle flew over the road ahead of us just west of Desbarats. I managed to snap only a couple of photos out the window before it was out of sight to the north.

We are excited to announce that Corinne Wilkerson has been promoted to Conservation Manager! Since joining our team in 2021, Corinne has overseen the stewardship of our protected areas, developed numerous successful wildlife monitoring programs, led a variety of youth education activities, and managed our contract field staff.