Rideau Waterway Land Trust Nature Reserves Within the Proposed Southern Rail Corridor and Their Significance April 3, 2026 Executive Summary: This report is intended to provide ecological context for Alto High-Speed Rail Project route selection between Peterborough and Ottawa, and in particular concerns about the potential southern corridor. The Rideau Waterway Land Trust (RWLT) stewards 17 nature reserves within this proposed corridor—lands that form part of a connected network of wetlands, forests, and shoreline ecosystems within the UNESCO-designated Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve. These lands have been purchased over decades with generous donations from landowners and community members, sometimes through the federal Ecological Gifts Program. They support numerous species at risk and critical headwater systems, and offer many benefits to the surrounding communities. This report outlines the ecological significance of these properties, highlights potential risks from rail development, and provides data to inform environmental assessment and route planning. While recognizing the climate benefits of rail, RWLT urges that the southern route be avoided or significantly re-routed to minimize ecological impacts. We offer to collaborate by sharing data collected through our stewardship program to support evidence-based decision-making. Introduction The Rideau Waterway Land Trust (RWLT) appreciates the opportunity to provide input on the proposed Alto High-Speed Rail Project connecting Toronto, Ottawa, and Québec City. The project represents an important step toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions and shifting transportation away from higher-emission modes such as highways and short-haul flights, aligning with Canada’s climate commitments. Over many years, RWLT and many conservation partners have worked to build and protect a diverse, connected natural landscape stretching from Algonquin Provincial Park to the Adirondack Mountains. Any route chosen must respect this ecological network. Continued consultation and careful route planning will be essential to ensure that nationally important conservation investments are not inadvertently compromised. For RWLT, the central question is not whether rail infrastructure has a role to play, but where and how it can advance without compromising irreplaceable natural systems. Who We Are and What We Do: As a member of the Ontario Land Trust Alliance, Rideau Waterway Land Trust (RWLT) is part of a network of charitable land trusts dedicated to conserving important lands through permanent protection, stewardship, and conservation agreements with private landowners. For more than 30 years, RWLT has worked with the community to protect environmentally sensitive lands throughout the Ottawa to Kingston corridor. Most of the properties we steward were generously donated by landowners or purchased with the support of community donors. In many cases, these lands were protected under the federal Ecological Gifts Program, with a commitment that they would be conserved in perpetuity. Several of these protected areas also serve as community-access nature reserves, providing opportunities for people to experience and connect with nature, supporting land-based education for students and youth, and enriching the wellbeing and natural heritage of the communities that surround them. Of RWLT’s 25 protected properties, 17 fall within Alto’s proposed southern corridor, as identified in the attached map (page 10). The Importance of RWLT’s Lands: These 17 protected properties—together with other conserved areas stewarded by community organizations, land trusts, and conservation authorities—form a highly connected network of wetlands, forests, and shoreline ecosystems along the Rideau Waterway within the Frontenac Arch Biosphere. As part of this UNESCO-designated biosphere reserve, the landscape supports a significant concentration of species at risk while also protecting natural headwaters, maintaining ecological connectivity, and providing important flood retention functions. If this route proceeds, both ecological and social impacts could be significant. Lands that communities invested in, in good faith, to preserve forever may face ecosystem degradation or even expropriation. This concern is heightened by the dense cluster of conserved properties in the Rideau Lakes area, which forms a natural concentration of sensitive lakes, wetlands, and protected habitats—conditions generally unsuitable for high-speed rail development. What We Are Providing: In this letter we have provided details on the ecological significance and sensitive features of the 17 properties, and have outlined concerns that we have with potential impacts of high speed rail to these properties and the species at risk that call them home. It is RWLT’s intent to provide data on environmental constraints and protected features in order to inform Alto’s environmental assessments and route selection process. We hope that Alto will choose an alignment that avoids harm to critical habitat, and demonstrates innovation in mitigating impacts to wildlife and preserving ecological integrity. Ecological Significance RWLT Properties Within the Southern Corridor: RWLT has identified the following 17 properties within the proposed southern corridor, all of which support species at risk and/or significant ecological features: * Brenda Carter Nature Reserve (Ecological Gifts Program) * Carter-Phillips Nature Reserve (Ecological Gifts Program) * Covington Cottage Nature Reserve (Ecological Gifts Program) * Edwards Nature Reserve (Ecological Gifts Program) * Island 296 Nature Reserve * Island 32 Nature Reserve * Islands in the Bog Nature Reserve * Jack’s Island Nature Reserve * James H. Fullard Nature Reserve * Kate’s Island Nature Reserve * Ken Yen Island * Lealand Nature Reserve * MacDonald’s Wetland Nature Reserve * Mosquito Lake Islands Nature Reserve * Rock Dunder Nature Reserve * Warren Nature Reserve * Whitefish Nature Reserve (Ecological Gifts Program) Across these properties, RWLT has documented: * Numerous federally and provincially listed species at risk, including reptiles, birds, bats, pollinators, and rare plants * Provincially Significant Wetlands (PSWs), Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSIs), Significant Wildlife Habitat (SWH), and Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) * Critical habitats supporting breeding, nesting, hibernation, and migration functions Rideau Waterway Context: The southern corridor closely follows the Rideau waterway, a 202-km interconnected system of lakes and wetlands. These headwater systems: * Regulate water quality by filtering or trapping sediments and contaminants * Provide flood buffering by absorbing excess water * Protect against shoreline erosion * Sequester carbon to combat climate change * Provide critical habitat for fish, herptiles, birds, insects and plant species Approximately 33% of wetlands in the Rideau Valley have already been lost since European settlement. Remaining wetlands are therefore disproportionately important. Further fragmentation or hydrological disruption could have long-term ecological consequences affecting both wildlife and communities. Notably, the current proposal for the southern corridor passes through the Rideau Lakes area, which consists primarily of lakes and wetlands, with only narrow passages of land. This creates a natural choke point where rail development would be extremely challenging without substantial and potentially irreversible wetland loss. Loss of wetland size and function could have downstream effects on human settlements. Wetlands also provide important ecosystem services such as flood regulation and carbon sequestration. Regional Ecological Context: Both the northern and southern proposed routes traverse the Frontenac Arch, a 1.2-billion-year-old geological formation linking the Canadian Shield to the Adirondack Mountains. This region forms the backbone of the Algonquin-to-Adirondack (A2A) corridor, a continental-scale wildlife linkage connecting Algonquin Provincial Park to the northeastern United States. Recognized by the Frontenac Arch Biosphere Network as part of a UNESCO-designated biosphere, this landscape supports a balance between conservation and sustainable development. Its ecological function is critical: it enables wildlife movement, genetic exchange, and climate adaptation across jurisdictions. The Frontenac Arch supports an exceptional diversity of species and habitats, including: * The Frontenac Axis population of Gray Ratsnake (Threatened), dependent on intact forests and rocky outcrops for hibernation * Blanding’s Turtle (Endangered), requiring connected wetland complexes and highly vulnerable to road mortality * Western Chorus Frog (Threatened), a federally protected species sensitive to changes in hydrology, relying on shallow ephemeral wetlands * Maternity roost habitat for Eastern Small-footed Bat (Endangered), a species that roosts in rock crevices and outcrops * Significant breeding habitat for Cerulean Warbler, a species sensitive to disturbance * Rare plants such as American Ginseng and Pitch Pine, tied to the Arch’s unique geology * Wide-ranging species including moose, black bear, and the Eastern Wolf (Threatened), all reliant on landscape connectivity Fieldwork and Data-sharing Stewardship and active property management is a core part of our operations. We have a full-time biologist on staff, complemented by seasonal field work staff and a community of skilled and committed volunteers. RWLT is planning focused ecological surveys across all 17 properties in the southern corridor during the upcoming field season, including: * Targeted species-at-risk surveys, focusing on bat maternity roosts, reptile hibernacula, and endangered plants * Habitat mapping and condition assessments * Bioblitz-style surveys with knowledgeable supporters, field naturalists, and partner organizations * Partnerships with academic researchers and institutions for wildlife tracking studies RWLT is willing to share relevant findings with the Alto High-Speed Rail Project team to support informed planning. We are also willing to share detailed information about our conserved lands, including species-at-risk and habitat data, under appropriate sensitive-data protocols. RWLT welcomes the opportunity to facilitate site visits for Alto’s surveyors or environmental assessment teams seeking to better understand the ecological features and conservation values present on RWLT lands. With prior communication and appropriate arrangements for access, RWLT would be pleased to coordinate such visits. We respectfully request that Alto reciprocate by sharing ecological and species-at-risk data collected on lands adjacent to or overlapping RWLT properties as part of its environmental assessment process. Risks Associated with High-Speed Rail While rail is a lower-carbon transportation option, high-speed rail infrastructure presents significant ecological challenges, particularly in landscapes where connectivity is the defining ecological feature. * Habitat Fragmentation: Safety fencing creates continuous barriers, restricting wildlife movement unless mitigated with crossings aligned to natural wildlife movement corridors. This type of fragmentation is a significant threat to many species at risk. * Habitat Degradation: Deforestation, habitat loss, disruption of ecosystem processes, and invasive species spread through rail construction activities * Hydrological Impacts: Linear infrastructure can disrupt surface and groundwater flow, particularly in wetland-rich systems * Cumulative Effects: Fragmentation—more than outright habitat loss—is a leading driver of global biodiversity decline * Species-Specific Risk Examples: * Gray Ratsnakes can climb fencing, requiring specialized—and potentially costly—mitigation * Cerulean Warblers are sensitive to construction and operational noise during breeding (May–July), affecting reproductive success * Eastern Small-footed Bats roost in rocky habitat and have an extended active season, which can pose major challenges for scheduling rock-blasting works Conclusion Rail infrastructure can and should be part of Canada’s climate solution. However, this must not come at the expense of biodiversity within one of the most ecologically significant corridors in the country. Given the concentration of species at risk, the ecological sensitivity of the Rideau waterway, and the critical connectivity function of the Frontenac Arch, RWLT strongly urges that the southern route be avoided or substantially re-routed in favour of less ecologically damaging alternatives. The value of this landscape lies in its continuity. Once fragmented, it cannot be effectively restored. Should the southern route nonetheless proceed, RWLT is committed to being an active and constructive participant throughout the planning process. We seek to be meaningfully engaged in all stages of planning and implementation, including route selection refinement, impact assessment and avoidance, mitigation design, and compensation discussions including measures such as biodiversity off-sets. In that context, we emphasize the importance of rigorous environmental assessment, transparent consultation, incorporation of the best available ecological data (including RWLT’s ongoing fieldwork), and infrastructure design that prioritizes and maintains ecological connectivity. Where trade-offs are unavoidable, the long-term protection of wildlife, wetlands, ecological corridors, and the community values tied to these landscapes must remain paramount. For further information, including specific species-at-risk location data, or to discuss the contents of this document, please contact: John Grass Board Chair, Rideau Waterway Land Trust chair@rwlt.org Sara Warren-Roberts Executive Director, Rideau Waterway Land Trust swroberts@rwlt.org