Fredericton - On Monday, October 26 at noon about thirty people gathered at the Corbett Brook Marsh in the UNB Woodlot to participate in a taping-off event called “Taking a Stand for the UNB Woodlot Wetlands.” Friends of the UNB Woodlot members measured 80 metres from Corbett Brook Marsh and marked the area with pink ribbon.
Jessica Cusack, a St. Thomas University student, working with the Friends of the UNB Woodlot as part of her Social Action Field Placement said “We expect the University of New Brunswick to live up to their promise of keeping a 80 metre buffer to protect the Woodlot’s wetlands.”
Najat Abdou-McFarland who attended the gathering on Monday said “I would like to see the different parties come to the table and renegotiate the boundary line and move it back.”
“I'm here because the UNB Woodlot is public land and we should all have a say on it,” said Jennifer Abbott, a member of the Friends of the UNB Woodlot.
Charlene Mayes, a UNB biology professor and member of the Friends of the UNB Woodlot says the UNB Woodlot must be preserved for teaching and research. She wants the 3800-acre forested wetland ecosystem to remain intact and not fragmented. “Great universities across North America boast of their research and teaching forests, including McGill's Gault Nature Reserve, Harvard Forest, and Stanford's Jasper Ridge Ecological Preserve,” stated Mayes.
The Friends of the UNB Woodlot say they have requested meetings with the UNB President and the UNB Board of Governors but to no avail.
In reference to the development of the UNB Woodlot, Barbara Nicholson, VP Capital Planning and Property Development, in an interview with CBC on Tuesday, October 27 says UNB “have in their development followed all of the environmental regulations. They have consulted with the public as necessary. They have worked with the city of Fredericton. They have done their due diligence in terms of developing that property in accordance with environmental standards.”
Greg LeBlanc, who sat as a student representative on the UNB Board of Governors at the time of the UNB Woodlot Development approval says “I distinctly remember discussing and approving the 80 metre buffer for the UNB Woodlot development. This was one of the key aspects of the plan that went beyond permitting minimums, making a strong step toward developing sustainably. To see UNB now back down on the 80 metre buffer shows that the administration lacks integrity."
Nicholson promised there were would be public consultation on future development of the woodlot by UNB. “I can say that since people have spoken the university certainly has listened and as development occurs on the remaining lands that have been identified for development the university will be much more sensitive to the views of people who have expressed concerns relative to the environment. We have moved conceptually forward with other plans for development lands and I can tell you that the 80 metre buffer along the entire Corbett Brook will be respected,” stated Nicholson. Nicholson says that the university will be obligated to do more environmental studies and part of that process will involve consultation with the public.
The Friends of the UNB Woodlot are calling upon the Board of Governors of the University of New Brunswick to impose an immediate moratorium on development within the UNB Woodlot, initiate a Comprehensive Environmental Plan for the UNB Woodlot, and establish a standing inter-disciplinary committee for the woodlot that includes experts in the fields of biology, forestry, hydrogeology, and other pertinent fields.
The Friends of the UNB Woodlot and the Fredericton Chapter of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick are taking legal action to protect the UNB Woodlot. Mark D'Arcy, with the Friends of the UNB Woodlot, has launched a private prosecution case in the matter dealing with the backfilling of a wetland in the Regent Street bog area of the UNB Woodlot. The private prosecution suit is supposed to go to trial on November 12. However, the Attorney General of New Brunswick has promised to intervene in the case.
Last week, on October 20, the Assessment and Planning Appeal Board dismissed an appeal brought forward by UNB law student and Conservation Council Fredericton Chapter member Dave Steele dealing with the City of Fredericton's Planning Advisory Committee's approval of the Costco gas bar. The appeal was dismissed because it was filed outside the ten day deadline for appeals to be filed. Before being dismissed, Alex Forbes, Assistant Director of Development Services, City of Fredericton, admitted on the stand that the Planning Advisory Committee had not complied with subsection 81(3) of the Community Planning Act by not placing a placard at the site of development to inform the public.
“Citizens of Fredericton were led to believe they had an opportunity to have a say on Costco and its gas bar in the UNB Woodlot during the hearing of objections on April 14th. However, just before Fredericton city councillors were to vote on the Costco on April 27th, Mayor Brad Woodside announced that the variance of the proposed Costco gas bar had already been approved back in December,” stated Dave Steele. “Citizens of Fredericton had a legitimate expectation that City Council would listen to them and take into consideration their concerns regarding the Costco gas bar, but this never actually happened. It is sad when citizens of Fredericton have to take legal recourse to address the out of control big box store development happening in our city's natural areas.”
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