By Monika Stelzl, Fredericton
June 16, 2008
Recently, UNB’s board of governors approved a plan to develop 1,500 acres of the UNB woodlot, a complex ecosystem which is home to many species.
What the social and environmental consequences of this will be is anyone’s guess. However, a municipal-plan document from 1989 states that the woodlot is an environmentally sensitive area and must not be developed.
Part of this is because the woodlot is important to recharging our downtown aquifer — the sole drinking water supply for Fredericton.
In light of this, I am appalled that Mayor Brad Woodside stated on CBC Information Morning recently that he will not advocate for a comprehensive environmental assessment of the woodlot — something which, to date, UNB has managed to evade.
This is not the reaction I would expect from the mayor of a city whose citizens may not only have a drinking water crisis on its hands due to the woodlot development, but who will also likely be forced to foot the bill for extensive infrastructure to deal with enormous amounts of water heading down the hill.
This at a time of warnings of more extreme rain events due to climate change.
Absorbing massive amounts of water is something that the over 3,800 acres of forest floor in the UNB woodlot has been doing for free.
What this city needs to do, to quote the words of Dr. Don Cameron, a former resident of Fredericton, is to “go beyond braindead accounting” and start assigning value to that which is profoundly invaluable.
