Why this is important
Dear friends,
In Ottawa, Canada's Capital, this “Year of Celebration" for our country’s 150th anniversary is starting with needless injury and death to hibernating animals and other wildlife wintering in a large tract of land known as Kanata Lakes North.
To the dismay of many, and despite concerted efforts to stop it, some 240 acres of old growth forest, wetlands and uplands, with ten distinct habitats and some 675 species of animals and birds, are slated for destruction by Kanata North Lands Development Inc., a company owned by builders Urbandale and Richcraft.
Complete removal of the forest (clear‐cutting) has started and the politicians and company officials responsible for it need to know that, for all of us, this situation is unacceptable. If land is to be cleared, animals must be protected.
Clear‐cutting requires heavy equipment that will crush wildlife living in dens underground – think of rabbits, foxes, skunks, groundhogs, voles and many other species. The felling of trees is equally lethal to animals inhabiting them – porcupines, raccoons, squirrels, chipmunks, owls and other overwintering birds, to name only a few, live in trees. Those that survive are left without their shelter and food supply, necessities for survival in an Ottawa winter. We fear that thousands of animals will die.
Over many years, elected officials have rubber‐stamped this project, despite increasing awareness of the inestimable value of biodiversity in old growth forests. In 2015, Mayor Jim Watson and the City Council agreed to the Protocol for Wildlife Protection during Construction. The Protocol outlines wildlife protection measures recommending against winter clear‐cutting precisely because of danger to forest animals.
It is unacceptable that the City and the companies involved ignore this most basic principle of the Protocol, but these voluntary guidelines lack the teeth needed to make a difference. A simple postponement would prevent animal deaths and suffering, while a complete halt to the whole project would make even more sense.
We can only use moral suasion, and we can only speak on behalf of the animals.
-- Janice S., Wildlife enthusiast
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