Protesters block bulldozers in Parker wetlands

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This article was published 14/07/2017 (3371 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A HALF-DOZEN protesters surrounded a bulldozer at the Parker wetlands Friday morning to halt clearing of the land, saying they are determined to stop the machines “at any cost.”

Cal Dueck, co-chairman of the Parker Wetlands Conservation Committee, said the last straw came Thursday, when a bulldozer mowed down a tree that was home to a Cooper’s hawk nest containing hatchlings.

The Parker wetlands, a 42-acre ecosystem, is slated for development as the land — located east of Waverley Street and bordered on the north by the rail line and the south by Parker Avenue — is currently zoned as industrial.

A bird of prey, the Cooper’s hawk is a medium-sized hawk with a large head, broad, rounded wings and long tail.

They were considered endangered, threatened or of special concern in a number of areas in North America in the late 1990s.

Protesters, both independent and from various groups — the conservation committee, Urban Warrior Alliance and the Revolutionary Student Movement — gathered in front of the shredding machine used Thursday to remove trees from the first stretch of the land.

“They’re planning to stay there and they’re not planning to let the machines go. This is serious. There’s thousands and thousands of Winnipeggers that don’t want this property to be destroyed,” Dueck said.

“They have now bulldozed a big part of it, a third at least, maybe half.

In June, Marquess told the Free Press there were “no plans to remove any trees” on the land until the company had an agreement with the city on potential locations of naturalized green space that are to be protected.

In an email Thursday, Marquess clarified that though development would not begin until the city approved the development plan, tree-clearing would occur in selected areas.

“A private land owner can clear trees,” Marquess wrote.

“A tree-protection plan was sent to the city showing the areas of trees to remain until the final green space location has been chosen regarding the future redevelopment plans.”

Dueck said a biologist who had identified the hawk nest sent him a message Friday morning saying the nest had been destroyed.

“It’s indiscriminate killing here, with the wildlife. They could have waited until fall, that would have at least saved the young and thousands of birds and other creatures in the forest,” he said.

On Friday morning, a hawk circled the cleared area, finally coming to perch briefly on a lone tree left standing in the middle of the field.

Dueck said his organization hopes no one gets hurt, but it believes strongly it must take a stand in hopes what is left of the green space can be saved.

“We’d like to see the rest of this forest stay and be put into a permanent conservation area. They’ve bulldozed some of the best, most original land, but some of the wetlands are still left,” Dueck said. “We need future legislation that doesn’t allow nature wild areas to be bulldozed without any reason.”

For others, it’s not just about the environment.

“We all recognize here that this is Métis and First Nations land and it’s still contested land,” said Jenna Vandal, a student at the University of Manitoba. “The fact that this destruction is happening right now without consultation with the Métis or First Nations people is a slap in the face.”

The slap hurts a bit more when Vandal thinks about Rooster Town, a small settlement of Métis who lived close to the Parker wetlands and were pushed out as the city expanded in the 1950s and ‘60s. In a Free Press story from Jan. 29, 2016, Rooster Town was described as a place of poverty where inhabitants hoping to make a better life for their families faced prejudice.

Friday morning, the shredding machine hadn’t been touched. Construction workers and police officers who attended the site chatted with protesters. “They’ve all been very nice and understanding,” said Vandal.

Vandal is also concerned about the deer, fox, owls, northern shrikes and other animals and plants that populate the wetlands.

“Where are all these animals going to go? They’re going to go running on the street, they’re going to get hit by cars. We lose this wonderful gem of green space. It’s just a shame,” she said.

Another protester, Valerie Metcalfe, flipped through pictures on her cellphone of dense, green forest interspersed with creeks and cattails. “It’s just gorgeous,” she said with a sigh.

Some protesters are asking for moratorium that would halt the tree removal before it goes farther. The Parker Wetlands Conservation Committee has collected more than 1,500 signatures on a petition that asks both the city and the province for protection of the area.

More people are expected to join in the protest around the untouched shredding machine.

“So far, it’s working,” Vandal said.

As of 7 p.m., protesters remained on the site. According to Dueck, they were committed to staying overnight, “maybe longer.”

— with files from Ben Waldman

ashley.prest@freepress.mb.ca stefanie.lasuik@freepress.mb.ca