Post by Dan on Apr 24, 2008 0:16:13 GMT -5
SARA - Species At Risk Act. How about the Green Belt Legislation? They sound like good things for the environment but are they? How about the Niagara Escarpment Commission? Its purpose is to protect the escarpment but do you know who sits on its boards and what they do for a living. Same goes for the Niagara Parks Commission
I don't like to beat a dead horse but I'll give you an example of how we environmentally concerned people can actually do more harm then good.
Brigitte Bonner a Fort Erie environmental activist held a protest over some land that was being razed for development. The land had been sitting there growing trees and providing habitat until it was time to develop it. The time came and concerned people joined a march to protest the timing of the razing as it was nesting season for the birds. Added to that protest was a man in a deer costume holding a sign that read "where will I live now?".
Fast forward to Christmas Eve. A razing machine is leveling a large tract of land that is home to or on a migratory route for a wide variety of birds. Deer and coyotes can be observed there daily and rabbits are abundant due to the thick cover of brush and thickets.
I inquired about the reasoning behind the razing as this was a considerable amount of money spent on a property that can't yet be developed due to lack of infrastructure. The answer I received was expected. "We can't risk letting it grow too much and have a public backlash and a guy in a deer costume when it comes time to develop it". So in short this display of environmental concern caused acres of land that could have provided temporary habitat to be reduced to a grassy field.
If one wants to be reasonable, they must learn how to negotiate because development will happen with or without your approval. Standing up for the Old Growth stand of Oaks across the street was a worthy cause but the land behind the deer costume was only a temporary home because the developer let it grow until it was needed. Before you sign any petition, join any group or write any letter of support, research and think it out first. Your name stays on those documents and is related to that cause whether you rethink your position or not.
The Species At Risk Act is making allot of enemies in the farming community. As the effects of DDT's and other mistakes of our past wear off, endangered species are making a comeback. For some reason the SARA has ultimate powers over private landownership without having to compensate landowners when their properties are rendered useless for the purpose they've been used for generations.
Due to the threat of losing prime farm land and the value that gets passed on to future generations and all without any promise of compensation, farmers are now clearing land that may be used by endangered species as they make a comeback.
Another example is the new wetland designations in Fort Erie. The MNR used questionable technology to determine what is wetland and what isn't. They designated sand traps but they don't have the funding to follow up on complaints by conducting proper follow up ground evaluations. Now private landowners near or in these areas are legally clearing the brush to prevent water from being trapped from the sun.
The OMNR's intention was a good one and was necessary as development will be moving into these areas before long but by not doing it properly not only have they created a panic that is causing habitat loss now, but they have created a backlash that threatens to take down every designation based on bad science and wetlands that were properly designated before the reevaluations are now at risk of falling victim with the new designations.
In todays news in the Niagara Falls review the headline reads "Misguided effort called Greenbelt causes another Niagara casualty" A perfect example of how the well intentioned Green Belt is negatively effecting healthy societies. Farmers are also running into restrictions they've never had to deal with before and many small farming businesses are being plowed under.
We need as much food locally as possible! Getting our food shipped from thousands of miles away will not help the environment! Invasive species come with imported fruit not to mention the the fuel that gets burned shipping it here. Now what happens if one political maneuver interrupts the flow of goods? We will indeed miss our farmers.
So before you tell that farmer he can't log that bush as he has done every 10-15 years for generations, just because a bird thats been gone for decades has returned to his canopy, think. Does he have the right to level that entire woodlot and plant corn to to compensate for the loss of income that forest has been providing him for generations? Would losing the entire lot and 100's of species that live there be worth it to try and save one endangered bird?
How about should that farmer be bought out in order to save that bird and the associated habitat or should we continue with a heavy hand and see where things land?
If people get sick of environmentalism, the things we work to protect could be lost forever. Acting responsibly, negotiating change and giving due consideration to all sides of a decision is as important to us as it is to developers and our natural heritage. Lose the heavy handed "nature trumps all" attitude at all costs or lose everything.
So why did the Niagara Escarpment Commission rule to shut down Mackie's Mountain Archery despite his 100's of trees planted and an echo friendly business? If he is forced by the authority to return to an agricultural business, all those trees on the escarpment may be replaced by corn. The aggregate companies and developers who were appointed to the NEC will have effectively destroyed what they were put there to protect.
Here's a little test for you now. Do you support the residence fighting the development of the Ridgeway Shores Golf Coarse which is scheduled to be turned into another sea of subdivision. Did you check out all the facts, read the statements or consider the alternative fates for the property before you signed that petition. Your name is trapped on there so I hope you gave it proper consideration.
Dan Andrews
I don't like to beat a dead horse but I'll give you an example of how we environmentally concerned people can actually do more harm then good.
Brigitte Bonner a Fort Erie environmental activist held a protest over some land that was being razed for development. The land had been sitting there growing trees and providing habitat until it was time to develop it. The time came and concerned people joined a march to protest the timing of the razing as it was nesting season for the birds. Added to that protest was a man in a deer costume holding a sign that read "where will I live now?".
Fast forward to Christmas Eve. A razing machine is leveling a large tract of land that is home to or on a migratory route for a wide variety of birds. Deer and coyotes can be observed there daily and rabbits are abundant due to the thick cover of brush and thickets.
I inquired about the reasoning behind the razing as this was a considerable amount of money spent on a property that can't yet be developed due to lack of infrastructure. The answer I received was expected. "We can't risk letting it grow too much and have a public backlash and a guy in a deer costume when it comes time to develop it". So in short this display of environmental concern caused acres of land that could have provided temporary habitat to be reduced to a grassy field.
If one wants to be reasonable, they must learn how to negotiate because development will happen with or without your approval. Standing up for the Old Growth stand of Oaks across the street was a worthy cause but the land behind the deer costume was only a temporary home because the developer let it grow until it was needed. Before you sign any petition, join any group or write any letter of support, research and think it out first. Your name stays on those documents and is related to that cause whether you rethink your position or not.
The Species At Risk Act is making allot of enemies in the farming community. As the effects of DDT's and other mistakes of our past wear off, endangered species are making a comeback. For some reason the SARA has ultimate powers over private landownership without having to compensate landowners when their properties are rendered useless for the purpose they've been used for generations.
Due to the threat of losing prime farm land and the value that gets passed on to future generations and all without any promise of compensation, farmers are now clearing land that may be used by endangered species as they make a comeback.
Another example is the new wetland designations in Fort Erie. The MNR used questionable technology to determine what is wetland and what isn't. They designated sand traps but they don't have the funding to follow up on complaints by conducting proper follow up ground evaluations. Now private landowners near or in these areas are legally clearing the brush to prevent water from being trapped from the sun.
The OMNR's intention was a good one and was necessary as development will be moving into these areas before long but by not doing it properly not only have they created a panic that is causing habitat loss now, but they have created a backlash that threatens to take down every designation based on bad science and wetlands that were properly designated before the reevaluations are now at risk of falling victim with the new designations.
In todays news in the Niagara Falls review the headline reads "Misguided effort called Greenbelt causes another Niagara casualty" A perfect example of how the well intentioned Green Belt is negatively effecting healthy societies. Farmers are also running into restrictions they've never had to deal with before and many small farming businesses are being plowed under.
We need as much food locally as possible! Getting our food shipped from thousands of miles away will not help the environment! Invasive species come with imported fruit not to mention the the fuel that gets burned shipping it here. Now what happens if one political maneuver interrupts the flow of goods? We will indeed miss our farmers.
So before you tell that farmer he can't log that bush as he has done every 10-15 years for generations, just because a bird thats been gone for decades has returned to his canopy, think. Does he have the right to level that entire woodlot and plant corn to to compensate for the loss of income that forest has been providing him for generations? Would losing the entire lot and 100's of species that live there be worth it to try and save one endangered bird?
How about should that farmer be bought out in order to save that bird and the associated habitat or should we continue with a heavy hand and see where things land?
If people get sick of environmentalism, the things we work to protect could be lost forever. Acting responsibly, negotiating change and giving due consideration to all sides of a decision is as important to us as it is to developers and our natural heritage. Lose the heavy handed "nature trumps all" attitude at all costs or lose everything.
So why did the Niagara Escarpment Commission rule to shut down Mackie's Mountain Archery despite his 100's of trees planted and an echo friendly business? If he is forced by the authority to return to an agricultural business, all those trees on the escarpment may be replaced by corn. The aggregate companies and developers who were appointed to the NEC will have effectively destroyed what they were put there to protect.
Here's a little test for you now. Do you support the residence fighting the development of the Ridgeway Shores Golf Coarse which is scheduled to be turned into another sea of subdivision. Did you check out all the facts, read the statements or consider the alternative fates for the property before you signed that petition. Your name is trapped on there so I hope you gave it proper consideration.
Dan Andrews