We have lots of extra signs for everyone. We want to make it clear to the UNB Board of Governors that the Costco development plan violates the guarantee of 80m buffers that was made to the Board of Governors. As documented by UNB, Corbett Brook Marsh and Larch Swale are “Ecologically Sensitive areas”, and the Costco building and parking lot must be built outside this 80m buffer.

If the UNB Woodlot continues to be developed as planned, we are going to see the loss of this valuable teaching and research resource, increased taxes, increased insurance costs, increased flood risk, and decreased quality of life for our community and children.

Don’t pave over our woodlot. Don’t pave over our future.

About 20 people holding signs in support of saving Fredericton’s UNB Woodlot lined Regent Street in front of the future site of a Costco store over the noon hour today. The action, organized by the Friends of the UNB Woodlot, was meant to draw attention to the infringement of the 80-metre buffer zone of a wetland for the Costco store. Similar to two previous actions at the Woodlot last fall, they used pink flagging tape to demarcate the area that they say should be protected as part of that buffer zone. Over 40 students, professors, alumni and concerned citizens attended the first flagging event in October 2009. Read more at the NB Media Co-op.

DATE:  Monday, April 26, 2010
TIME:  12:15 – 12:45
LOCATION:   Corbett Place, with parking in front of Home Depot
DIRECTIONS:  At top of Regent Street just past Regent Mall.  Corbett Place is directly across the highway from the RCMP building and the City of Fredericton maintenance depot.
CITY:  Fredericton, New Brunswick

The timing is important because of growing pressure on UNB Administration to stop the destruction of wetlands in the UNB Woodlot.   Also significant is the April 14, 2010 news release by Environment Minister Rick Miles in which he states, “The mistreatment of wetlands will not be tolerated.” “They provide flood control, ground water re-charge, shore line stabilization, storm protection, and some wetlands store carbon, helping to offset the effects of climate change.”  (http://www.gnb.ca/cnb/news/env/2010e0532ev.htm)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ATTENTION: NEWS EDITORS

UNB MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR WETLAND PROTECTION ON ITS LANDS

Fredericton Citizens Continue to Measure off the 80-metre Buffers Approved by the University’s Board of Governors

Fredericton, N.B., Canada October 30, 2009

On Monday, April 26th, at 12:15 p.m. noon, the Friends of the UNB Woodlot invite the public to stand together for wetland protection at their taping-off event to be held at the site of the Corbett Brook Marsh and Larch Swale in the UNB Woodlot. Over 40 students, professors, alumni, and concerned citizens turned out at the first flagging event in October 2009 and the publicity led UNB’s Barbara Nicholson (Associate Vice-President, Capital Planning & Property Development) to admit on CBC Radio the existence of the document that details the 80metre buffer for Corbett Brook Marsh and Larch Swale.

Costco must be 80 metres from Corbett Brook Marsh and Larch Swale; this buffer will be measured and marked off with flagging tape for the public to see. Costco must also stop plans for its gas bar.  Citizens will gather at the new intersection to Home Depot (beside the New Maryland Highway and directly across the street from the City of Fredericton maintenance depot).  The flagging and sign waving will be in clear view of the cars passing by on the highway.  The Friends of the UNB Woodlot will bring lots of signs but also encourage citizens to bring their own.

The UNB Land Management Strategy for development of the UNB Woodlot stated there would be 80-metre buffer zones around their Ecologically Sensitive areas, including Corbett Brook Marsh, Larch Swale, and Regent Bog.

see UNB website - http://www.unb.ca/lms/woodlot/3a.pdf

The recent cutting of every tree by heavy equipment on the proposed Costco site is unacceptable.  This razing of the entire development site included both the 80metre buffers for Larch Swale and Corbett Brook Marsh, as well as the two (2) additional wetlands discovered during our first 80metre flagging event back in October 2009.  These two wetlands were not surveyed by consultants during the original EIA process for these UNB lands.  Confirmation of these wetlands was provided to us by the Minister of Environment Rick Miles in a letter received in January 2010.

How is it possible to miss wetlands when doing an environmental inventory for such a well-documented land as the East side of the UNB Woodlot?  UNB Forestry, the Forest Ranger School, and even the Fredericton Foxes have geographic information system files with full attribution for features such as wetlands.  Yet, in 2006, Jacques-Whitford consultants (now Stantec) claimed that a huge wetland was beside the proposed Knowledge Park Drive when in fact it crossed directly through it.  In 2007, Jacques-Whitford missed two (2) significant wetlands in the proposed Southside rink property of the UNB Woodlot. And now in 2009, the Friends of the UNB Woodlot discovered at least two (2) wetlands in the south end of the UNB property where the proposed Costco is to be built.

In light of the recent statement (April 14, 2010) made by Minister of Environment Rick Miles, Mark D’Arcy asks: “What does Minister Rick Miles intend to do, if the destruction of wetlands will not be tolerated in our province?  To date, a total of seven (7) wetlands have been completely or significantly destroyed for Corbett Place and Knowledge Park Drive.  And now Costco is being allowed to destroy two (2) more wetlands.”

UNB must take responsibility for wetland protection on its lands.  The destruction and degradation of wetlands by piecemeal development must stop.  The Friends of the UNB Woodlot call upon the University of New Brunswick administration (and Costco) to take the following steps in order to be the environmental stewards that they claim to be:

1.  UNB start a water quality monitoring program for wetlands that could be potentially affected by the Costco development.  This would include Corbett Brook Marsh which could be most significantly impacted by the huge loss in catchment area that will occur once the Costco store and parking lot is built.

2.  UNB faculty take over the responsibility of wetland and habitat mapping in the UNB Woodlot.  The wetland surveys done by outside consulting firms have been unsatisfactory to date for Knowledge Park Drive, the proposed Southside Rink, and Corbett Place big box stores..

3. UNB submit one development proposal for its Phase 1 development.  This is necessary to allow for a comprehensive review of the development with respect to its environmental impacts to wetlands and biodiversity, which has been requested on several occasions by the Department of Environment.  This development proposal is not a complex engineering drawing, but instead can be as simple as a land use plan with the general shape and location of proposed residential, retail, and commercial development outlined in colour on the map.

4.  Both Costco and UNB stop the proposed construction of a Costco Gas Bar, the location of which is within the 80metre buffer of Larch Swale and is directly overtop groundwater which has a direct communication with the Fredericton aquifer in the valley below (+25 year transit time).

FRIENDS OF THE UNB WOODLOT

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:   Caroline Lubbe-D’Arcy or Mark D’Arcy, spokespersons, The Friends of the UNB Woodlot
Tel: 1-506-454-1230 (work)
Tel: 1-506-454-5119 (home)
E-mail:  friendsoftheunbwoodlot [at] gmail.com

References:

Environment Minister’s message: importance of wetland protection (10/04/14)
http://www.gnb.ca/cnb/news/env/2010e0532ev.htm

University of New Brunswick Land Management Strategy (2004)
http://web.archive.org/web/20041227081914/http://www.unb.ca/lms/woodlot/3a.pdf

(Note:  The 80m buffers are critical, since this conservation strategy was used as a key argument, back in 2004, in order to win the approval of the UNB Board of Governors for the Woodlot development. The 80metre buffers would (1) create wildlife corridors between the larger conservation areas, and (2) raise the level of conservation to 50% of the Woodlot. This was stressed at the UNB Board of Governors’s meeting, and in the presentation given, before the final decision was made.)

The Value of Wetlands (from Ducks Unlimited Canada)
http://www.ducks.ca/conserve/wetland_values/index.html

The Value of Urban Wetlands – Priceless
http://www.elements.nb.ca/theme/filters08/Mark/Mark.htm

Additional information on the UNB Woodlot:

Website maintained by Friends of the UNB Woodlot:  http://www.smartgrowthUNB.ca
Website maintained by Fredericton Chapter of the Conservation Council:  http://www.unbwoodlot.org
Facebook: “I don’t want the UNB woodlot turned into Big-Box Strip Malls”
YouTube: search for “UNB Woodlot”
E-mail: friendsoftheUNBwoodlot [at] gmail.com
Telephone: 1-506-454-5119

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 Wetland.” Friends of the UNB Woodlot members measured 80 metres from Corbett Brook Marsh and marked the area with pink ribbon. Read more…

To: President John McLaughlin, University of New Brunswick
Stephen Strople, UNB Board of Governors
Roland Haché, Minister of Environment
Fredericton City Council
Media

The UNB Woodlot, located on unceded Wulustuk land, is over 3,500 acres of woods, wetlands and wildlife, home to mature forest, herons and lady slippers.

Many residents of Fredericton enjoy the Woodlot as a place of recreation and refuge from the increasing proliferation of concrete, asphalt, litter, light, noise and visual pollution. How many cities can boast a wild area of its size in its city limits? Many people value the UNB Woodlot for its trails.

The development of the UNB Woodlot, replacing forest and wetland for big box stores, is unthinkable in today’s knowledge of the conservation importance of such natural gems. Today, we are deeply concerned about the proposed Costco development that will adversely impact a wetland.

The UNB Woodlot is used by students and UNB Faculty as an important natural research lab for fish ecology, forestry and other studies.

Urban forest such as the UNB Woodlot reduce air pollutants and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which is a key factor in mitigating climate change.

Rain capture by the UNB Woodlot supplies the headwaters and tributaries of Corbett Brook, Phyllis Creek, Garden Creek and Baker Brook watersheds, and smaller watercourses that flow through Fredericton and towards New Maryland. The forested wetlands of the UNB Woodlot contribute to our aquifer – the sole drinking water supply for the City of Fredericton – and act as a giant sponge during severe rain events by retaining water and slowly releasing water to surrounding forests and aquifers that supply our drinking wells.

UNB’s land endowment plan in its current form will result in irreversible adverse changes in the ecological goods and services provided by the UNB Woodlot to the City of Fredericton.

We feel there has been inadequate public engagement on the proposed developments in the UNB Woodlot.

We call upon the Board of Governors of the University of New Brunswick to immediately put into place a moratorium on all development in the UNB Woodlot until there is a time for adequate public engagement on the issue. We call on the university to engage the community, including First Nations, conservation groups, forest and wetland ecologists, users of the UNB Woodlot as well as the wider community in any future proposals for the UNB Woodlot.

Sincerely,

Tracy Glynn and Julie Michaud,
Fredericton Chapter of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick
180 St. John St.,
Fredericton, NB
E3B 4A9
Tel: 506 458-8747
Email: forest@conservationcouncil.ca