Wetlands destroyed for luxury development?
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- Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00
- Written by editor
PAOV — The Silver Creek wetland in central Ontario is home to endangered wildlife, migratory birds, and spawning trout and salmon. It is at serious risk of being turned into a large residential neighbourhood that includes restaurants, tennis courts, and a public swimming pool. The development has the potential to destroy the delicate local ecosystem, and petition starter Julie is urging the government to put a stop to the development. You can join Julie and over 30,000 supporters by signing the petition now.
SAVE Silver Creek Wetland - STOP an environmental disaster on the shores of Collingwood!
31,732 have signed Julie Watene’s petition. Let’s get to 35,000!
Sign now with a clickSouth Georgian Bay’s last remaining intact coastal wetland is being threatened like never before by rampant overdevelopment. Time is of the essence and the costs are very real: the destruction of endangered wildlife habitat, heightened risks for severe flooding, and the permanent loss of our natural heritage.
Please sign this petition telling local and provincial politicians and the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) that we must stop the proposed developments threatening the Silver Creek Wetland - one of the officially designated Provincially Significant wetlands in the province of Ontario.
We the undersigned therefore:
1. Call upon the Ontario government and the City of Collingwood to put a stop to the Huntingwood Trails and Bridgewater Development - which have been ranked as the two “worst” developments in the area by the Blue Mountain Watershed Trust, as they would permanently degrade this fragile ecosystem and crucial natural flood mitigation zone.
2. Call upon the Ontario government to recognize, respect and enforce environmental protections and zoning currently in place and permanently protect the Wetland from development. The provincial government is on the record as "acknowledging the importance of maintaining wetlands"
- but rather than spending taxpayer dollars to restore already degraded wetland that will never be the same, let’s protect what little remains intact!
Make your voice heard. We have a unique window of opportunity to influence government and policymakers:
- The Bridgewater Development owned by GTA mega developer Consulate Development Group is in the process of applying to double and possibly triple the size of the project.
- The Ontario Land Tribunal has scheduled 25 days of hearings, commencing August 8, 2022 that will decide the fate of the Huntingwood Trails development, owned by Toronto mega developer, Paradise Developments.
- A provincial election is slated for June 2, 2022 and now is the time to find out where candidates stand on sustainable development and environmental protection.
Act now and sign our petition and please share with anyone who cares about the future of Collingwood!
More on Silver Creek & the importance of wetlands:
- Silver Creek is a critical waterway from The Blue Mountains watershed which supplies Georgian Bay with fresh water. Proposed developments throughout the environmentally fragile wetland and floodplain area threaten the flow of clean, fresh water to the Bay.
- Repeated attempts by the City of Collingwood to preserve the wetlands have been appealed and challenged by developers, while biologists, conservation authorities and environmental groups have fought to preserve it for decades.
- Wetlands around the world are under threat, with some 70% in Canada already degraded or destroyed.
- Wetlands are key to mitigating the impacts of climate change, acting as natural carbon sinks, and playing an essential role in flood and water pollution mitigation.
- Silver Creek is a Class A cold water trout/salmon stream, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources, and likely the most pristine Rainbow Trout and Chinook Salmon spawning stream in Southern Georgian Bay.
- The Wetlands provide a critical habitat for threatened and endangered species such as the Least Bittern and the Spotted Turtle, as well as the provincially rare plant species Stiff Yellow Flax. In addition, Silver Creek Wetland is home to many songbirds, frogs, muskrats, minks, osprey, bald eagles and egrets.
We must do our part to protect the natural beauty of South Georgian Bay and preserve it for future generations and the good of the planet!
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