Heron Hike Trail

With the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway and a hydro-electric power dam at Cornwall in the 1950s, water levels on Lake St. Francis no longer fluctuated enough to create ideal conditions for either farming or diverse waterfowl habitat. The Charlottenburgh Marsh was renowned as one of the most signifigant wildlife habitats in Ontario. For this reason, the Raisin Region Conservation Authority set out to preserve this rich, natural heritage by acquiring marshland as it became available.

The outcome was the creation of the Cooper Marsh Conservation Area. In the mid 1940's, W.T. Cooper and his uncle J.J. Cooper, purchased land that included a portion of the area presently known as Cooper Marsh Conservation Area. In the late 70's there had been a noticable increase in waterfront property development which began to encroach upon Charlottenburgh Marsh and surrounding area. Therefore, with the support of W.T. Cooper, the RRCA worked hard to secure unprotected wetlands and since 1980, the RRCA has acquired 75-80% of this wetland.

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