Fredericton citizens rally to protect the 80-metre wetland buffer in the UNB Woodlot

A short film by Fergus Breen and Mike Erb

Jamie Ross
NB Beacon

As cars whiz by on Route 101 to New Maryland, Mark D'Arcy and about sixty other people with Friends of the UNB Woodlot stand of the side of the road and appeal to drivers for supportive horn honks.

Some are holding shovels and hammers, and others signs that read "killing beaver? UNBelievable", "80 m" and "UNB needs climate change."

On this day, D'Arcy and the Friends of the UNB Woodlot are fencing off an 80 meter buffer around the Corbett Brook Marsh on the University of New Brunswick's 3, 800 acre woodlot of forested wetlands.

D'Arcy says the UNB Board of Governors promised in 2004 that no development would occur within an 80 meter radius of any wetland on the property, and any development that would sprout up there would a sustainable.

But recent plans to build a Costco and gas bar near the marsh are contrary to that promise.

"The proposed plan for Costco, it's within 30 meters of Corbett Brook Marsh," said D'Arcy. "And then there's development plan for the gas bar directly over top of ground water."

The woodlot has gone through a transformation in recent years, and is now home to restaurants and big box stores like Home Depot and Dollarama.

The continual development includes the aforementioned Costco and gas bar, which are expected to set up shop there in 2011.

Representatives for UNB wouldn't comment on said 80 meter buffer, but Barbara Nicholson, Capital Planning & Property Development for the school, has publicly stated that documents outlining the buffer do exist and that the buffer was agreed upon at a board of governors meeting in the past.

She went on to say that since then, the plans for the Costco development and gas bar have already been ratified and there's nothing the school can do about it.

Andrea Allison, a social work student at St. Thomas University, said she hopes the government will step in and protect the area from environmentally harmful development, such as the gas bar.

"We're pretty sure the public doesn't know about this," she said. "Students, alumni that pay money to the school don't know this. I've learned that environmentally sensitive areas aren't just to protect the animals and creatures that live in it, it's also to protect us and our water, and that area, where the gas bar is being built is on top of ground water, which is in our water system."

She said she believes developing the land is financially motivated, and is being done with disregard for the future harm it may cause.

D'Arcy said he's considered taking legal recourse to halt any further environmentally harmful development at the woodlot.

He wants moratorium which would stop development dead in its tracks-- and a comprehensive review of the environmental impact a gas bar and another big box store would have on the area.

"We've just started," he said. "We've only begun. Once I latch into an issue, I'm not going to give it up, and we're getting more and more support every year."

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• woodlot

[Hoodinosaurus]

@Cocopot63 Who said I wasn't educated on the issue? All I said was that I was excited for Costco to open!!! Get bent!!!

[trekat71]

@dynomax666 honnestly i dont care about the local stuff I still go to the market I just want costco and with the prices in gas I wont have to travel to Moncton or Saint John, at least I am saving the enviroment in one way and in my pocket

[dynomax666]

@trekat71 And the biggest thing is there is people all over that will support it.

Buying local is gone, like it or not. I could do without the costco

[SquAlDS]

FUCK WETLANDS I WANT TO GO SHOPPING!

[Cocopot63]

All the fuss that we have made has led UNB to at least honour an 80 metre buffer for the development across from the proposed rink. I am sure that would not have happened if we had not made all the fuss in the Fall of 2009. We just need to send UNB the message that the public is watching, and that UNB should do better than the development that they have done so far. UNB has environmental management experts who submitted green proposals that UNB could have used as a showcase, but UNB ignored them

[trekat71]

@Cocopot63 I think UNB cares in some degree but at the end of the day its about one thing and one thing only and that is the money. Costco is a done deal gas bar and all and that can not be changed. Maybe you can worry about the other future development in that area.

[Cocopot63]

@trekat71 People started speaking up as soon as the trees fell. UNB did not do adequate public consultation, so no-one knew what was going to happen until the trees had fallen. When something bad starts, it can always end. it is never too late to turn the ship around if one truly cares. UNB needs to be MADE to care about more than short-sighted economic goals. Just because you need money that does not give you the right to do the wrong thing. Especially if you are a publicly funded institution.

[trekat71]

@Cocopot63 FYI, I am not an Igorama, I am very well-educated , too late if you would have started this before Home depot started in 2006 you would have had a chance, Just sayin

[Cocopot63]

I hope that you realize that the issue has NOTHING to do with Costco, but it has everything to do with the fact that nature cannot be the afterthought that it has been due to Climate Change, and the fact that wetlands need to be protected for our own future. Costco chose a location that it should not have. Don't be an ignorama. Get educated about the issue.

[Hoodinosaurus]

Oh god I can't wait for Costco to open!!!! :D <3