We are thrilled to announce that through the efforts of an amazing community who came together and fought for the protection of our environment, Protect Opinicon has won the Ontario Land Tribunal appeal and stopped the expansion of the Skycroft campground! You can read Protect Opinicon’s press release and the complete OLT decision below.

Join this special session with Protect Opinicon’s attorney David Donnelly to discuss the Ontario Land Tribunal’s decision to reject the Skycroft appeal and to answer any questions the community may have about what this means going forward. Mr. Donnelly will also discuss the possible challenges we may face in the future and suggest some strategies to combat them

April 29, 4:00 p.m.

Explore why the area around Lake Opinicon is so special, and read about what Protect Opinicon fought against here.

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PRESS RELEASE

April 13, 2026

** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE **

Ontario Land Tribunal Decision Protects Lake Opinicon

Frontenac Arch Biosphere Spared Major Campground Expansion

South Frontenac, ON — In a decisive ruling, the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) has stopped the proposed expansion of Skycroft Campground on Opinicon Lake, protecting the Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve and reaffirming the importance of environmental oversight in land use planning.

The OLT dismissed an appeal filed by the campground owner against a unanimous decision by the Township of South Frontenac to refuse its application to nearly triple its total number of sites, adding 118 large trailer campsites and 30 rental cabins.

The Frontenac Arch Biosphere (FAB) has been identified by UNESCO as the most biodiverse region in Canada, with more than 2,000 identified species, including more than 25 species at risk. It forms the core of the Frontenac Arch, a vital ecological lynchpin and migration corridor connecting Algonquin Park to the Adirondack Mountains.

The FAB includes a network of protected lands, including research sites associated with the Queen’s University Biological Research Station, which has operated on Opinicon Lake since the 1940s. The Township’s opposition to the expansion was supported by Queen’s University and Protect Opinicon, a community group consisting of several hundred residents and environmentalists. The organization was established to promote the preservation of the natural heritage of Opinicon Lake and the surrounding area.

“This decision affirms that growth must be rooted in comprehensive environmental analysis and respect for the natural and cultural landscapes that define this region,” said Reade Davis, an Environmental Anthropologist and Director of Protect Opinicon. “This part of the Frontenac Arch has immense ecological significance and needs to be safeguarded for future generations.”

Research has shown that the site proposed for development contains critical habitat for several species at risk, including the Cerulean Warbler and Gray Ratsnake, both of which have been studied for many years on and around the subject property. According to Dr. Paul Martin, one of Protect Opinicon’s expert witnesses, 1% of Canada’s Cerulean Warbler population (433-543 breeding pairs) were estimated to reside on the campground property based on a 2010 survey. The proposed development would have reduced the forest canopy to only 60% of its current level and cleared the understory, impacting both species. The OLT ruled that the proposed expansion proposal failed to satisfy essential environmental protection standards and had not produced a properly scoped Environmental Impact Study (EIS) that assessed the impact on the entire property, rather than just the section proposed for construction. It furthermore, failed to adequately consider waterfront impacts that would be caused by the increased population on the site. The OLT ruled that Skycroft had not successfully demonstrated that the proposed expansion could prevent negative impacts to local natural heritage features and ecological functions.

“This decision is an important confirmation that residents and local government have a crucial role to play in protecting the environment,” said David Donnelly, one of Canada’s leading environmental lawyers and counsel for Protect Opinicon “Protecting one of the crown jewels in the Frontenac Arch is an excellent step toward sustaining a natural corridor between Ontario’s Greenbelt, Algonquin Park, and the Adirondacks.”

The OLT’s ruling offers clarity for future planning decisions in South Frontenac and elsewhere in Ontario and reinforces that development applications impacting sensitive environments must be held to strict standards. For residents of Opinicon Lake and the broader region, the decision reaffirms the importance of defending the ecological integrity of the Frontenac Arch and underscores the need to build more sustainable futures.

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Media Contacts:

Kathryn Hendrick, hendrickkathryn@gmail.com, (416) 277-6281

David Donnelly, (416) 722-0220

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ONTARIO LAND TRIBUNAL DECISION – CASE NO. OLT-23-001153, Skycroft Campground (2011) Ltd v. South Frontenac (Township)