Simcoe County negligence threatens vital forest ecosystem and an endangered species

News release from Nicole Cox and Brittney Francis

Residents of Beeton, Ontario have been intensely campaigning against a County decision allowing for the removal of a mature local forest containing endangered butternut trees. Through the investigations carried out by Beeton residents themselves, suspicions have surfaced that proper protocol and procedures were not followed in the permit’s application process.

Residents were only informed that a ‘special permit’ had been granted through a local online news source and were quickly outraged at the municipal ruling, which was issued weeks before.

Since the announcement, a team of local supporters have managed to garner extraordinary support through an online petition, with over 1,600 signatures calling on Simcoe County to appeal the permit. As Jared Cox, founder of the petition, states, “What this forest is able to offer the community and future generations is far more valuable than anything that can be obtained through its destruction.”

Soon after the group become vocal with their concerns for the forest, owners and developers of the property quickly started to clear-cut and excavate the trees. Participants at a locally organized protest remained helpless, as at least half of the forest was destroyed within days. It was only when Simcoe County issued an emergency stop-work permit that the clearing subsided.

The New Tecumseth Town Council has since voted in favour of supporting its residents and is now doing all it can to assist in getting this permit revoked. It is up to the passionate community of Beeton to represent this precious forest at a Simcoe County hearing on April 14, 2015.

“I think it’s very concerning when due process isn’t followed, and it was most definitely not followed here,” said Stephanie MacLellan, one of the group’s leading supporters. “This whole situation is sad. The more I uncover, the more I wonder who’s really looking out for our community’s best interests? I thought that’s why we pay our taxes.”

While these inaccuracies could hold the key to saving this defenseless species of indigenous tree, it also calls to attention the issue of municipal governments’ control over local forest conservation. If ‘special permits’ like this one are being carelessly given out to every local developer, Ontario is at risk of losing the beautiful wilderness that so many seek to discover.

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Simcoe County will hold a hearing on April 14th 2015 at 11 a.m. in the County Administration Centre (1110, Highway 26, Midhurst, Ontario). It is here that both the residents and the development company will present their case.

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Link to County agenda for the hearing