Learn About the Old Growth Forest
Stay Up to Date
Wild Journal Article:
A Rapid Method to Assess, Map, and Develop Standards for Old-Growth: Catchacoma Hemlock Forest
The 2nd issue of 2026 volume of the Wild Journal includes an article written by Peter Quinby and Ania Marcos of Ancient Forest Exploration & Research and School of Environmental Studies at University of Victoria.
All eastern hemlock-dominated forests in Ontario could be gone by 2075 given current trends, which demands rapid assessment to locate these endangered ecosystems. To date, however, neither the Canadian or Ontario governments have developed field assessment protocols or minimum standards for identifying old-growth forests that provide density and biomass estimates for the primary features of these forests. This study focused on the Catchacoma Forest, Canada’s largest eastern hemlock forest and represents a first step towards establishing minimum standards for old-growth eastern hemlock forests in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Forest region. Rectangular plots were systematically placed along evenly spaced east-west transects at a 2% sampling intensity for the 181 ha study area and assessed for MTs and cut stumps. By a factor of 15X, the method developed was more efficient for covering larger areas compared to randomly placed and intensively sampled plots typically used for long-term ecological studies. …
Municipality of Trent Lakes renews with support for protecting Catchacoma Forest.
In May of 2026 the Major and Council of Trent Lakes wrote to the Ministry of the Environment, Ministry of Natural Resources, MPP Dave Smith and the Bancroft-Minden Forest Company urging their endorsement of protection for the Catchacoma Forest. This important letter spells out the steps already taken and values to be preserved in the 662ha Forest. Trent Lakes acknowledges the importance of the area to Curve Lake First Nation and the greater Treaty 20 area.
Curve Lake First Nation Chief and Council Renew Support for Catchacoma Forest Protection
In April 2026, newly elected Chief of Curve Lake First Nation, Laurie Hockaday, issued a letter to the Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks, in support of regulating Catchacoma Forest as a protected area. Consultation with Curve Lake is stressed as basic to the ultimate necessity of ceasing all logging within the forest.
The letter was also sent to the Ministry of Natural Resources, MPP Dave Smith and the Bancroft Minden Forest Company. The Catchacoma Forest Stewardship Committee is grateful for this support from the Nation and looks forward to nurturing partnership with Curve Lake to share and grow ecological and cultural knowledge of their traditional and treaty territory.
Catchacoma Forest used as case study in paper: Policies and Strategies to protect Old-Growth
The 2nd issue of 2026 volume of the Canadian Planning and Policy Journal includes a paper by Peter Quinby and Ania Marcos of Ancient Forest Exploration & Research and Katie Krelove of the Wilderness Committee. The policy levers and strategies employed between 2019 and 2024 to protect the Catchacoma Old-Growth Forest in Ontario focused on three mechanisms:
Applying Forest Stewardship Council Standards
Participating as a stakeholder in forest management planning through the Crown Forest Sustainability Act
Pursuing a Crown Land Use Amendment
The efforts of the CFSC and our partners led to a logging moratorium however the forest remains unprotected.
Catchacoma Forest Trail Enhancement Project
With generous funding from the Rotary Club of Peterborough and the Peterborough Foundation we are embarking on a project to enhance hiking trails in Catchacoma Forest. This will include marking trails, clearing debris, and creating maps and signage with engaging information to highlight old growth features and values.
We hope that these enhanced opportunities for low-impact recreation and health benefits will increase local appreciation for the forest and spur support for protection for Catchacoma Forest.
Conserving Catchacoma Documentary
What does it take to protect a rare Old Growth forest in Ontario?
In 2021, filmmaker Mitch Bowmile came with us to the Catchacoma Forest to tell the story of our efforts to get protection in a short documentary. "Conserving Catchacoma" was featured in the 2022 ReFrame Film Festival in Peterborough, Ontario and is available on youtube.
Media Coverage
The CFSC’s efforts to stop logging and get protected status for the ancient Catchacoma Forest have garnered local media attention, both for and against:
Defending Our Wilderness, Catchacoma Cottagers’ Association newsletter (Summer 2026 - page 3)
Walking for water and forest protection, Peterborough Weekly (June 6, 2026 - page 5)
Sacred Ceremony Held in Catchacoma Old-Growth Forest, Peterborough Examiner (2025)
MECP Minister rejects protection for Catchacoma forest, Peterborough Examiner (2022)
Peterborough letter: Protect Ontario turtles where they live, Peterborough Examiner (2022)
Connecting with the environment and community at the 2022 ReFrame Film Festival, kawarthaNOW.com (2022)
Peterborough letter: Piccini could prove himself via Catchacoma Forest, Peterborough Examiner (2021)
Fundraiser underway for documentary film about efforts to protect old-growth trees in Peterborough County’s Catchacoma Forest, kawarthaNOW.com (2021)
Time is Running Out for Catchacoma, Peterborough Examiner (2021)
We Need to Protect Rare Ecosystems: A Response to 'Support Loggers', National Post (2021)
Opinion: Support loggers, don't vandalize them. They're environmental heroes, National Post (2021)
Catchacoma Forest Logger Deserves Conservationists’ Respect, Peterborough Examiner (2020)
A Catastrophe at the Catchacoma Forest, Peterborough Examiner (2020)
Guardians of Peterborough County’s Hemlock Forest, Peterborough Examiner (2020)
Green Giants, Ontario Nature (2020)
Exploring the Forest, Deep in the Land Between, Peterborough Examiner (2020)
The Catchacoma Forest and Climate Change, mykawartha.com (2020)
Catchacoma Forest Isn't Endangered Old Growth, Peterborough Examiner (2020)
Where Trees have Stood for Centuries in Peterborough and the Kawarthas, Peterborough Examiner (2020)
“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of a difference you want to make.”
Catchacoma Forest Stewardship Committee Newsletters
To stay up to date, check out the Committee’s newsletters at the links below.
