UNB Woodlot: Developments

'On Monday, February 16th at 9:30 AM, a concerned Fredericton citizen will be continuing his private prosecution in Fredericton Provincial Court against RAR Properties Inc. for the infilling of Regent Street Bog last summer. A total of four (4) charges are expected to be read by Judge Graydon Nicholas to RAR Properties Inc.

Mark D'Arcy of Fredericton, New Brunswick, says that he had no option but to go to Provincial Court.

"After considerable media attention last summer, and after personal pleas to Attorney General T.J. Burke of New Brunswick, and Environment Minister Roland Haché to intervene and enforce the Order in Council and our environmental legislation that protect this wetland, the infilling of Regent Street Bog went unchallenged by the Province of New Brunswick."

"Too many groups and government departments have worked to protect and preserve this beautiful ecosystem", says Mark D'Arcy. "The special legal protection afforded this Provincially Significant Wetland was the result of numerous studies by botany and wildlife scientists and organizations, Environment Canada, NB Department of Environment, and NB Department of Natural Resources."

Wetlands comprise only 4% of the land coverage in New Brunswick. They are very critical pieces of our environment, our wildlife habitat, and our flood control. The Regent Street Bog is the headwater to the large Corbett Brook Marsh, part of Fredericton's watershed that covers the huge forested wetlands of the UNB Woodlot Forest.

"All homeowners in downtown valley of southside Fredericton should be very concerned what happens to these wetlands at the top of the hill," says D'Arcy. "These wetlands are our insurance policy against the severe rain events and increased winter runoff due to climate change. Without forested wetlands working as natural sponges, rainwater capture and run-off control will be seriously compromised. Taxpayers should not have to pay for any attempt to replace the natural function of these wetlands with manmade pipe and retention pond infrastructure. And since an acre of forested wetland can absorb a million to a million-and-a-half gallons of rainwater, no amount of tax dollars can replace what nature is now doing for free."

"If we lose Regent Street Bog, officially designated a Provincially Significant Wetland, the other wetlands in the UNB Woodlot Forest don't stand a chance.", concludes D'Arcy.'

Courtesy of Woodlot Watch