The City of Winnipeg is moving rapidly to replace our priceless Parker Wetlands and Aspen Forest with a massive retention pond and, of all things, a dogleg for its questionable bus rapid transit scheme. As if that's not bad enough, developer Andrew Marquess of Gem Equities will then cover the remaining land and forest with housing. Instead, Mayor Brian Bowman and City Council should nix the dogleg and retention pond plans, acquire the land from Mr. Marquess, and move to preserve the Parker Wetlands and Aspen Forest in perpetuity for the creatures who call it home and for the many people who visit everyday to experience its singular beauty and magic.
Wetlands are precious and in this day and age no one should be destroying them, yet that is exactly what Mayor Brian Bowman and City Council are preparing to do. Instead of running bus rapid transit (BRT) straight down major route Pembina Highway, the city plans to create an inefficient dogleg that will impinge on the Parker Wetlands & Aspen Forest. As well, the city aims to build a 20-acre retention pond, a thing so massive that it will consume one-third of the Wetlands. Finally, developer Andrew Marquess will cover the remaining Wetlands with housing units, displacing hawks and other birds, deer, frogs, dragonflies, foxes, rare prairie plants, an aspen forest, and possibly a lynx, erasing a green space that is precious to many and that is vital to preserve as Winnipeg becomes ever more developed, and burying the remnants of Rooster Town, a significant part of Winnipeg's relationship with Metis people. For more on the city's shenanigans, please see http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/raising-questions-293596751.html
and
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/developer-not-big-on-losing-land-to-retention-pond-293596791.html
and www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/irreplaceable-heritage-forest-faces-extinction-367904761.html
Update #27 years ago
Good morning! Thanks to all of you who care about our wild spaces & the creatures who inhabit them. You are from here in Winnipeg and as far away as Germany, Uruguay, S. Africa, Kazakhstan, Malaysia--the list goes on! You give me hope in what feels like a hopeless situation. Could you each take a moment today to forward this petition to 5 people and urge them to sign it?
With gratitude,
Jess
Update #17 years ago
Despite the efforts of many, bulldozers are nearing the Parker Wetlands, preparing to destroy it! Please share this petition widely so we can tell local, provincial, and federal government the world is watching! Opening up our 59-acre Wetlands stands to release 7,080 TONNES of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, an unconscionable act as we struggle to mitigate climate change!
