Conservation Authorities Need To Practice What They Preach

The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) is going into the development business at Woodend Conservation Area in Thorold. This 45 hectare piece of land has been preserved for generations, and it has great historic value, plus unique rock strata and plant and animal life. Now the NPCA wants to destroy a chunk of that natural wonder and put up a multi-million dollar building.

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This is the same conservation group that fines citizens up to $10,000 if they cut down a tree on their own property without a permit. This is the same group that has charged people for unclogging drainage ditches, for leveling their property, and even for planting trees without NPCA permission. This is the same group that recently lost a major court case—they had charged a Stevensville area farmer for farming a wetland, yet the Justice of the Peace discovered that the only reason the man’s land was soggy was because the conservation authorities, themselves, had botched a nearby drainage project and had flooded him out! If the conservation authorities have so much money that they can afford to destroy Woodend Conservation Area for their own gain, they should return some of that wealth back to the provincial government to pay off the province’s massive debt. The NPCA should also read their own training manuals, to remind themselves about why they’re here. They need to practice what they preach—not just prey on innocent taxpayers and then destroy precious land whenever it suits their purposes. David Honey President, Niagara Landowners Association

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