MICHAEL MCCAFFREY
NDP Candidate
New Maryland-Sudbury-West
As a concerned citizen and a supporter of Fredericton’s “Green Matters” campaign, I am greatly disturbed by the rapid development that has already destroyed acres of UNB’s prided woodlot, and that has been given the OK to continue to destroy this environmental landmark as time goes on.
The UNB Woodlot, priding itself as being an active teaching and research base for forestry students, is also “a provincially designated wildlife refuge and is a favourite place for people of Fredericton and surrounding communities to run, jog, walk and enjoy nature.” This is a direct quote from the University of New Brunswick’s Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management home page, which goes on to list the large variety of wildlife and plants that call this woodlot home. This UNB webpage, which beams of pride for their woodlot, sure doesn’t make sense when paired with the UNB Board of Governor’s decision to allow 50 per cent of the woodlot to be destroyed and privately developed over the coming years.
As the New Democratic candidate for the New Maryland-Sudbury West riding, I urge UNB to reconsider the consequences of their actions. Please submit this land to comprehensive environmental assessment, and realize that you are putting all of the wonderful aspects of the woodlot at great stake. I also call for a moratorium on any further development of the woodlot. Big box development is not the answer to Fredericton’s “Green Matters.” We must raise our voices together to save our environment, and ourselves.
