Elgin and Middlesex Counties boast some of the finest agricultural land in Ontario.  Consequently, forest cover is less than 15% with much of it isolated in farm woodlots or along the watercourses of the Thames River, Catfish and Kettle Creeks and Ausable River watersheds. The Chapter stretches from the north shore of Lake Erie with its numerous ravines, through rolling glacial moraines and into the broad Thames River valley and then into the glacial moraines near Lake Huron. This area is in the Carolinian zone and the northern limit of tree species such as Tulip-tree, Sycamore, Black Walnut and Sassafras which is depicted in the Chapter logo.

Chapter History

Two woodlot associations, Elgin and Middlesex, both founded in 1995, amalgamated in 2002 to form the Elgin-Middlesex Woodlot Owners Association and joined the OWA in 2006. In 2023 the membership voted to change the name of the chapter to the Elgin-Middlesex Woodland Association. The new name is more inclusive and reflective of our members’ shared interest in the conservation and restoration of natural heritage woodlands and associated ecosystems such as meadow, pond and wetlands.