SPEAKERS AND PRESENTATIONS

Keynote Speaker: Gary Pritchard – CEO, President, Senior Ecologist & Engagement Specialist, 4 Directions

Are current forestry practices eroding the Rights of Nations?

[ez-toggle title="Read more"]We all recognize the importance of protecting the Rights of Nations, but many landowners still have questions about what Indigenous Rights, Aboriginal Rights, and Treaty Rights truly are—and how they relate to everyday land management decisions. Understanding these rights is especially important for woodlot owners, as the history, agreements, and legal frameworks connected to the land continue to shape how it can be used today. Gaining clarity on these concepts helps ensure that stewardship practices align with both legal obligations and respectful relationships with Indigenous Nations. This seminar will legally unpack each of these rights and explain how they apply beyond the duty to consult and Crown responsibility. Participants will explore what meaningful engagement looks like, where settler accountability comes into play, and how woodlot owners can contribute to nation-building actions in practical, informed ways. By the end, attendees will have a clearer understanding of their responsibilities and opportunities as land stewards within a shared landscape.[/ez-toggle]

[ez-toggle title="Keynote Speaker: Gary Pritchard"]Gary Pritchard is the CEO, President, Senior Ecologist, and Engagement Specialist at 4 Directions, an Indigenous-owned land conservation consulting firm guided by respect, reciprocity, and responsibility to the land. A proud member of Curve Lake First Nation, Gary brings over 25 years of experience working with Indigenous communities, governments, and environmental organizations across North America. For Gary, the land is our first teacher. Each project begins by listening to the water, the soil, and the stories that have shaped generations. Through this approach, Gary and the 4 Directions team bridge Indigenous knowledge and western science to create solutions that are culturally grounded and ecologically sound. Having collaborated with over 300 First Nations communities, Gary is recognized as a trusted connector between Indigenous peoples and western institutions. His expertise spans Indigenous community planning, traditional knowledge and land-use studies, capacity building, and environmental mediation. He serves as an Indigenous Knowledge Holder with the Ontario Biodiversity Council and Council Lead with the OAIA, while also contributing to Water First, the Indigenous Water Partnership, COSEWIC, OSAP, and ICCE. His work with the Assembly of First Nations Indigenous Circle of Environmental Experts advances national dialogues on land, water, and climate, uniting tradition with innovation. As a technical advisor and professor, Gary mentors emerging Indigenous and environmental leaders. Guided by the land and grounded in community, he continues to champion a shared, sustainable future for all. [/ez-toggle]

[ez-toggle title="Read more"]Stewardship doesn’t end at the edge of your trees. It extends into the future, shaping how the land will support the next generation. This session with Rick Wismer looks at how early planning can protect both your vision and your finances when the time comes to pass on your woodlot or woodland-related business. Starting early opens more paths. You can respond as life changes, take advantage of valuable tax tools, and avoid being backed into rushed decisions that drain time, energy, and money. Rick will share a real case from the Peterborough area, where careful review of past activity and smart next steps helped a family qualify for the Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption — leading to meaningful tax savings and a transition plan aligned with their goals. Know where you stand. Decide where you want to go. Seek guidance when it helps. That first step feels big, yet once it’s taken, the rest of the path starts to take shape.[/ez-toggle]

[ez-toggle title="Speaker: Rick Wismer"] Rick Wismer, P.Ag, CAFA, CPA, CA, LPA, is a Partner in MNP’s St. Catharines office and Leader of the MNP Agriculture Food and Beverage team both Nationally for Ontario. Rick delivers a broad range of services to businesses primarily in the agriculture food and beverage industries, such as wineries, craft breweries, cideries and distilleries, greenhouses and viticulture and horticulture operations. For 35 years, Rick has owned and continues to operate commercial farm operations specializing in viticulture, cash crops, fruit, farm management services and sustainable woodlot operation. This has given him real-life understanding of the challenges his clients face and the opportunities that can help them thrive. As a result, Rick is able to devise creative solutions to difficult problems. In addition, Rick has clients in other industries. His clients benefit from his knowledge and assistance in areas such as strategic and succession planning, financial turnarounds, as well as from traditional accounting and audit services. Rick is a Chartered Professional accountant (CPA), qualifying as a Chartered Accountant (CA) and a Professional Agrologist (P.Ag.). He obtained a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture degree, from the University of Guelph, where he majored in business and economics and graduated on the Dean’s Honour Roll. Rick is also a member of the Canadian Association of Farm Advisors (CAFA) and a Licensed Public Accountant (LPA).[/ez-toggle]

[ez-toggle title="Speaker: Bruce Dick"]Bruce Dick is an advisor with MNP’s Family Office Services team. He holds an MBA from Edinburgh Business School and was formerly a co-owner of the UK’s largest timber harvesting company, which his family sold to Europe’s leading sawmill group. With his deep roots in forestry, Bruce owns two commercial forests in Scotland, an important component of his family’s succession strategy. At MNP, Bruce works with family businesses of all sizes, in all industries, as well as with non-family-owned businesses. He provides guidance on management and ownership succession, family communication, governance, preparing the next generation for leadership, and developing effective exit strategies.[/ez-toggle]

Panel: Land Succession, Conservation Agreements, and the Decision to Transfer Ownership

[ez-toggle title="Speaker: John Kintare"]John Kintare is the Executive Director of Kawartha Land Trust (KLT). Since joining KLT in 2019, John has overseen the rapid growth and expansion of the organization to protect more natural and working lands in the Kawarthas. During John's tenure, KLT has almost doubled its protected lands – which includes KLT’s first purchased property, Christie Bentham Wetland, and the acquisition of its largest property, the Hammer Family Nature Preserve. John has also championed several new organizational initiatives, including whole landscape management with private landowners through KLT’s growing Partners in Conservation program; increasing focus on the protection of working lands (farms and woodlots) in the Kawarthas as part of KLT’s mandate; securement of properties for community access and nature connection; and tackling the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss through the implementation of natural climate solutions. Under John’s leadership, KLT is now partnering with the Centre for Land Conservation to launch a Regional Conservation and Climate Partnership program in the Kawarthas, which will serve as a model for other regions across Canada.[/ez-toggle]

[ez-toggle title="Landowner: Ralph McKim"]I am a retired international development consultant who primarily worked on rural water projects in Africa and Asia. After my career, I purchased property on the Oak Ridges Moraine, where I established my residence and began 30 years of ecological restoration and trail-building. I started volunteering with the Kawartha Land Trust in 2003 and later entered into a Conservation Easement Agreement in 2011. In 2025, I completed the donation of 230 acres of land to the Kawartha Land Trust. I have since moved to Peterborough with my wife and am adjusting to life as an urban resident. I currently serve as a trustee of the Kawartha Land Trust.[/ez-toggle]

[ez-toggle title="Landowner: Mark Maitman"]Mark Maitman and his wife Dale Sutton have lived in the Bethany Hills for 25 years. As their property includes both a hardwood forest and wetland habitat they have always considered stewardship a high priority, maintaining a Managed Forest Plan since day one. Two years ago they decided to make the leap to arranging a Conservation Easement Agreement with the Kawartha Land Trust.[/ez-toggle]

[ez-toggle title="Read more"]Norm Lamothe will share the story behind Woodleigh’s Catching Carbon project, where underused forest biomass is converted through pyrolysis into high-value biochar and pyroligneous acid for agricultural use. His session looks at how innovation on private land can boost crop production while cutting carbon emissions. The conversation will also open a window into life on a multigenerational property, with Lamothe family members joining to talk about stewardship, legacy, and how decisions made today shape the land far into the future.[/ez-toggle]

[ez-toggle title="Speaker: Norm Lamothe"]Norm Lamothe is a 6th generation farmer in the rolling hills of Cavan, in Peterborough County. He manages a diverse 500-acre farm which includes a four-crop rotation of corn, soybeans, wheat and oats. Norm has a life-long interest in supporting soil health and biodiversity using soil amendments such as bio-solids, green manures as well as compost processed on the farm using municipal leaf and yard waste. Combining extensive soil sampling data, imagery and variable rate technologies, Norm is demonstrating the economic benefits of being ecologically sustainable in a modern cropping system.[/ez-toggle]

2026 SPONSORS

The 33rd Annual Woodlot Tour and Conference would not be possible without the generous support of the following organizations: