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The designation of Conservation Reserve permits many traditional land uses to continue, including non-consumptive recreational activities as well as hunting, trapping and angling while at the same time excluding timber harvesting, mining, hydroelectric power development and sale of Crown land.
The Crowe River Swamp Conservation Reserve is located about 30 kilometres south of Bancroft, and 13 kilometres east of Apsley, in Chandos Township, in the County of Peterborough. The Conservation Reserve consists entirely of Crown land, but is not one continuous area. It comprises three separate blocks: 1) Lot 22 Concession 3; 2) lot 30 concession 4 and the west half of the east half of lot 30 concession 3; and, 3) lots 31 and 32 concession 3. These three blocks are totally surrounded by private lands.
The Conservation Reserve is located entirely within Hills (1959) ecological Site District SE-11. Values include earth science, life science and recreational features, with an emphasis on life science representation values.
Earth science values are focused on features (bedrock and surficial) that represent the chronology of earth history in the province.
Considered a provincially significant wetland, no other deciduous swamp complex in this area is known to be of this size and relatively undisturbed state. Extensive White Elm, Silver Maple and Green Ash stands form on wet, normally flooded swamp and levee forests along the Crowe River, mixing with large White Cedar stands and areas of open bog further back from the river. The intent of this site is to allow the existing vegetation communities to evolve naturally.
A municipal road crosses the southwest corner of the Conservation Reserve. Otherwise, the three Crown land blocks of the Conservation Reserve, which are "landlocked" by private lands, are readily accessible only along the Crowe River by canoe and are relatively undisturbed with the Silver Maple -Green Ash swamp being the primary feature of the Conservation Reserve.
The Crowe River Swamp Conservation Reserve is known to be used for canoeing and fishing.
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