UNB ignoring woodlot promise - student
Published Saturday October 24th, 2009
A group of concerned citizens wants the University of New Brunswick to honour its promise to protect wetlands and marshes on the university's woodlot with 80-metre buffers.
Anne-Drea Allison, a St. Thomas University student and former UNB student, said she was shocked and saddened to learn that the buffers being used by the university are about 30 metres.
She said development so close to wetlands and marshes is harming wildlife and important water sources.
"The woodlot, which is about 3,800 acres (1,537 hectares), is a beautiful, serene place that we should be protecting," Allison said. "I understand that the university has to make money for research and development and to keep tuition low, but there are other ways to develop the woodlot without harming wildlife and wetlands."
The university's conservation boundaries as defined in its land management strategy include 30 metres under provincial legislation, 30 metres for a conservation buffer to protect ecologically sensitive areas and 20 metres designated as limited-access areas to provide opportunities for low-impact public use.
The management strategy suggests the 80-metre buffer is an interim boundary to be confirmed and fixed following environmental studies.
It's unclear if these boundaries have been set in stone.
No one at the university was available for an interview Friday, but officials said in a statement that UNB is continuing to ensure all environmental legislation is met or exceeded.
"UNB's woodlot, or heritage lands, is a valuable resource, one that we are managing responsibly," the statement said.
"As part of our land management strategy, we are protecting at least 50 per cent of the heritage lands in perpetuity. The UNB heritage lands are many things to many people and the feedback we receive from them helps us to balance how we manage this resource."
The woodlot is part of 3,356 hectares (8,295 acres) of land owned by UNB across the province.
Allison said she believes the university isn't managing its land well and should work more closely with environmentalists, conservationists and other concerned citizens.
"I'm working with Friends of the UNB Woodlot not just because it's part of my school work, but because I believe the wetlands need to be protected," Allison said.
"If enough people stand in solidarity and raise awareness about what's going on, we can make sure this area is better protected."
Friends of the UNB Woodlot is a group that's been trying to stop development on the woodlot until more environmental studies are completed.
Allison said the group plans to hold a demonstration on the woodlot Monday at 12:15 p.m. near the Corbett Brook marsh, which is next to the piece of land set aside for the development of Costco.
"The developers have already started infilling and the area for Costco is taped off," Allison said.
"What we plan to do Monday is tape off what it would actually look like if they were honouring the 80-metre buffer. That way people can see that the area is not being properly protected."
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http://www.unb.ca/lms/woodlot/3a.pdf
Or here is the identical document on the Internet Archive. This copy was archived from the UNB website on December 27, 2004.
University of New Brunswick Land Management Strategy (2004)
http://web.archive.org/web/20041227081914/http://www.unb.ca/lms/woodlot/3a.pdf
This document explicitly states 80-metre buffer zones around their Ecologically Sensitive areas, including Corbett Brook Marsh, Larch Swale, and Regent Bog. 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.
http://www.unb.ca/lms/woodlot/3a.pdf
"What are the Ecologically Sensitive areas?
The ecologically sensitive areas include Regent Bog, Larch Swale, Corbett Brook Marsh, Corbett Brook
Caves, and various areas of known rare or uncommon plants and animals."
"How were the Conservation boundaries defined? Are they fixed?
Interim boundaries totalling 80m have been established as follows:
1. Baseline Buffer located 30m from watercourses and wetlands as required by
provincial legislation.
2. 30m wide Conservation Buffer, that will allow for the protection of ecologically
sensitive areas.
3. 20m wide Limited Access Area to provide opportunities for 'low impact' public uses."