Ask Council to approve a land purchase for environmental conservation!

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City of Ottawa staff have identified an excellent opportunity to advance ecology in Ottawa: the purchase of a 223-acre forested parcel near Fitzroy Harbour.

The hitch? It may not make it through City Council.

The property in question is ecologically beautiful: it includes 0.8 km of shoreline on the Ottawa River, and 60 per cent is forested, with wetlands and mature woodlands, and the remaining 40 is pasture. There are several benefits of this setup: the combination of shoreline and interior land mean that both aquatic and terrestrial species can benefit, and the pasture affords opportunity to increase our tree canopy by planting additional trees.

It's understandable, then, why in their report (PDF here), City staff call this potential purchase “a highly unique conservation opportunity.” The lands “occupy a significant section of the Natural Heritage System Core Areas and Linkage Areas, as per the Official Plan, that have been identified as being highly important to conserve over the long-term.

It’s also a good price. The $2 million price tag is market value for the area. A property nearby is selling for $39,000 per acre, compared with this property’s $8,700 per acre.

In fact, it even has heritage value, with a farmhouse (c. 1910) and a log home (c. 1845), and archaeological potential, including for use or even occupation by Indigenous people.

So it's a slam dunk, right?

Unfortunately, the area councillor has expressed opposition to the purchase. According to West Carleton Online, Councillor Clarke Kelly thinks the money “could be better spent.”

This doesn’t hold up.

Land like this offers valuable ecosystem benefits. Natural forests and wetlands are critical to feeding and sheltering an array of species; they also clean the air and sequester carbon, as well as managing stormwater and improving human mental health. The list is almost endless. It's for benefits like these that a 2016 study showed that the National Capital Commission’s greenspaces offer $332 million per year in economic value.

And of course, this Council has a history of questionable spending—for example, the $500 million deal for Lansdowne 2.0, $600 million for Tewin’s water infrastructure, or $24.5 million for a single Kanata intersection. If they can afford these expenditures, they can afford $2 million for precious ecological lands.

This expenditure also aligns with Council's commitments: the City's Official Plan calls for acquiring conservation lands (OP 11.6.5–6), the Term of Council strategic priorities include conservation (Green and Resilient City), and the Rural Summit last year called for conservation of rural forests (see image).

Take the following, for example, from the Official Planthe City's highest-level guiding document:

The City shall seek to improve the long-term integrity and connectivity of the Natural Heritage System through land use planning, development processes, acquisition and conservation of land and support for voluntary, private land conservation and stewardship (OP, 4.1.8.2).

Clearly the proposed purchase would satisfy this and other City commitments.

So what now? Council's Finance and Corporate Services Committee approved the purchase in December (with Councillors Luloff, Darouze, and Kitts dissenting), but the proposal goes to Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee (ARAC) this Thursday, January 23, and to full Council on January 29.

Here’s what can you do:

If you want support in any of these actions—advice on delegating, contact information, etc.—please let us know.

Please join us in standing up for ecology in Ottawa!

(PS: If you like our work, please consider making a donation :)

 

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