Limerick Forest Old Growth 
Stew Ha mill 
Chair, LFAC Ecology Subcommittee 
Limerick Forest is a 5788-hectare county forest in Eastern Ontario. It was managed 
by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR) as an agreement forest from 
its creation in 1940 until 2000. Then, under provincial restructuring, management 
responsibilities were returned to the owner, the United Counties of Leeds and 
Grenville. To assist the county government with its new management duties, a 
citizens’ advisory committee was created under the guidance of the Grenville 
(County) Land Stewardship Council. The Limerick Forest Advisory Committee 
(LFAC) now plays the role of coordinator, with a budget from the county. Leeds/ 
Grenville has hired a forest manager and a forest technician to work under the 
direction of LFAC. 
In 2003, the LFAC Ecology Subcommittee initiated a project to identify potential 
old growth stands in Limerick Forest for designation as protected areas. Over 500 
hectares of native forest over the age of 70 years were selected for field check, 
inventory, and evaluation. These areas include Black Ash ( Fraxinus nigra ) swamp, 
both upland and lowland Eastern White Cedar ( Thuja occidentalis), upland Sugar 
Maple ( Acer saccharum), Soft Maple (Acer rubrum and/or Acer saccharinum) 
wetland, and both deciduous and mixed upland and lowland forests. Some of these 
stands are within ANSI (Area of Natural and Scientific Interest) and/or provincially 
significant wetland boundaries. 
Three summers of field work produced documentation on some of the most 
beautiful, most healthy, and most diverse stands in Limerick Forest. The identified 
potential old growth blocks are geographically located randomly in forest tracts 
scattered across the united counties. By chance, most human population centres 
have at least one in the vicinity. These stands could become centres of biodiversity, 
of tourism and recreation interest, and of research and education activity throughout 
the forest. Also by chance, all of the different native forest ecosites are present on 
the potential old growth list, thus ensuring that naturally-growing examples of all 
forest types are represented. 
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