| Friends of the Beaver ValleyNewsletter, Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022 Dear Friends, I would like to again thank you all for your support in this ongoing work to push for a more environmentally sustainable vision for the municipally owned Talisman Lands. The number of letters and calls to councillors is staggering and the number of conversations that are going on in the community is so heartening as we continue to plan for the next steps. Three ways to participate in our ongoing efforts to protect the Talisman Lands: – Attend the VIRTUAL LAUNCH of The Escarpment Corridor Alliance, a new partner and supporter, on Tuesday, March 1, 7 – 8 pm. I would highly recommend registering for this event. You can read more about the Alliance here. Its mandate is: “to fight to PROTECT the Niagara Escarpment’s celebrated landscapes, globally unique natural features & forests. And in doing so, form natural corridors from Beaver Valley to Castle Glen, from Devil’s Glen through Blue Mountain to Georgian Peaks.Stop short sighted developmentConserve our natural heritage for future generationsCreate interconnected trails and recreational spaces.” – Send a message regarding the Talisman Lands to the Niagara Escarpment Commission by signing our petition. We have it on good authority that the NEC does take notice of what the community is thinking. The petition calls on the NEC “to uphold and protect these lands’ true value as irreplaceable natural and cultural public assets.” Please share widely. – The municipally-convened Economic Development Advisory Group is going to hold a meeting in March or April and is welcoming public input on what economic development in Grey Highlands should look like. Representatives of FOBV and EBC will be presenting a vision which includes best land use and creative collaboration. Have your say by either writing EDAG or asking to present at the public meeting. The more voices the better. Contact ecdev@greyhighlands.ca If you wish to present, send your request asap to reserve a spot. Finally, here’s a Nature Nugget that speaks to the importance of the top piece of land that is a part of the sale to Westway. It is composed of karst topography. The Karst at Talisman by Linda Reader – Economic Development and Marketing Consultant, Flesherton, ON One of the most important functions of Karst topography, like that found at the top of the Talisman property, is described as ‘nature’s plumbing’1 . Those living and farming at the base of the escarpment in the Beaver Valley depend on the Talisman Karst system and others for their water. Composed of limestone and capped by a particularly erosion resistant limestone called dolomite, this Karst system gathers surface water from rain and snow delivering it via underground caves to the bottom of the valley “more efficiently than surface routes.”2 It is hard to see the limestone bedrock in the valley except at outcroppings like Old Baldy because the area has been glaciated and covered in thick rolling deposits of glacial till. But as strong as limestone is, it has an Achilles heel. The mild acid composed of rainwater and dissolved carbon dioxide filters through the glacial deposits and literally eats holes in the stone. Surface water seeps through the surface and open crevices into the caves below. Right now cows graze at the top of Talisman unaware of the fragile subterranean structure beneath their feet. One can only wonder what will happen to this sensitive ecosystem that produces part of the natural groundwater supply of the Valley if development occurs on the upper Talisman lands. 1 The Geology and Landforms of Grey and Bruce Counties – The Bruce Grey Geology Committee. Owen Sound Field Naturalists. 2004. P.40 2 Ibid People make conservation happen! Best wishes, Jeanette on behalf of FOBV |