- CCHP - Who we are
- What is the Ridgewood Precinct?
- What Can You Do?
- Form Letter to Paula Havixbeck
- ACC Meeting re: Ridgewood Precinct Plan June 2013
- William R Clement Parkway Extension - Wes Chamberlin
- Impact on Existing Infrastructure Presentation - Al Roberts
- Natural Areas - Victoria Macdonald
- Ridgewood Bird Survey
- Birds of Charleswood - Sue Cousens
- CCHP Community Meeting June 2013 - Victoria Macdonald
- Support CCHP
- Feedback Form
- Resources / References
- Summer 2012: Plant / Bird Surveys
- Wildlife Corridors
- June 25, 2012: Open Letter to Councillors
- Summer 2012: ECO Journal
- June 2012: Myrna Drieger Article
- June 12, 2012: Letter to Ms. Mico, MB Coordinator, IBA
- May/June 2012: Nature Manitoba
- May 9, 2012: Metro Article
- May 2, 2012: Letter to MB Wildlife
- April 29, 2012: CCHP update
- Apr. 26, 2012: Free Press
- April 11, 2012: Vision Statement
- Mar/Apr 2012: ECO Journal
- Feb. 15, 2012: Metro Article
- March 12, 2012: Free Press
- Nov. 30, 2011: Metro Article
- Oct. 26, 2011: Metro Article
- Bur Oaks: What's wrong?
- Untitled
May 2, 2012: Letter to MB Wildlife Federation
May 2, 2012
Beverley Sawchuk,
Administrative Director
Manitoba Wildlife Federation
Dear Ms. Sawchuk:
In June 2011, a public meeting was held regarding plans to develop ‘Ridgewood South’. This area is approximately 1,000 acres of largely vacant private land in south Charleswood that contains a variety of habitat and wildlife. Subsequently Citizens for Charleswood Habitat Preservation (CCHP) was formed whose mandate is to represent Charleswood residents’ concerns on protecting existing natural areas, and addressing traffic/drainage issues. CCHP chose not to take an anti-development position as we felt it was not reasonable given the circumstances, and had a better chance of preserving natural areas if we worked with the developer and city.
Since then, CCHP has successfully established a mutually respectful working relationship with the developer, but has been less successful communicating effectively with the city planning dept and Councillor Havixbeck.
In November 2011, the City released their Natural Area Assessment (NAA) which is the first step of the ‘Ecological Significant Natural Lands’ strategy.
In December 2011, CCHP wrote the city planner and Councillor Havixbeck to request further surveys to address significant gaps. The NAA only assessed habitat quality without regard for the species it supported. For example, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) lists Bobolinks as a threatened bird species, which nest in the Ridgewood Precinct every year. Other species (Yellow Rail bird and Northern Leopard Frog), both listed as ‘Special Concern’, have also been documented in the area. The current NAA suggests the areas where these species occur are low quality and therefore are not good habitat for preservation. The presence of these species suggests otherwise.
In February 2012, CCHP met with Councillor Havixbeck, who told us the NAA is sufficient for planning purposes, without addressing our issues. Although she supported a request for 25% greenspace/natural areas when we first met in October 2011, she has since indicated that she favours ‘quality’ areas over ‘quantity’. We are on our third lead city planner for the project and all have remained silent on the issue.
In April 2012, Qualico indicated they hired Native Plant Solutions to conduct additional surveys on their own land to address gaps in the NAA. Details are forthcoming. Qualico requested CCHP survey private lands which we agreed to as offered previously. How this information will be used is unclear and must be discussed with both the developers and the city.
According to Winnipeg’s Development Agreement Parameters, the developer must dedicate 10% of the development area to the city for use as active and/or passive park with an option to dedicate 2% in funds in lieu of land. We made it clear to our councillor and developers that we do not want 2% funds in lieu of land, and that given the biodiversity of the area, 25% is required to preserve existing medium - high quality areas to maintain urban biodiversity in terms of habitat, wildlife, amphibians, birds etc and the natural corridors required to connect and maintain these natural areas. The 25% also includes a buffer for the Harte Trail (currently 90 ft designated width) which runs the length of the area east to west. The Harte Trail is a significant natural space corridor in the area. We support increased housing density to achieve this.
Since the Developer must only dedicate 10%, it’s the city’s responsibility to use tools such as land swaps, conservation easements etc to increase the amount of natural areas preserved. However, it’s evident our councillor has not bought into the benefits or concept of preserving urban natural areas and this is a significant obstacle for all parties involved - she has influence/authority over city staff.
The values and goals of CCHP support a broader global perspective on urban biodiversity. The European Commission recognizes that urbanization is impactingan increasing number of the world’s species (http://ec.europa.eu/environment/integration/research/newsalert/pdf/199na3.pdf). The Commission indicates conservation in urban settings is important but less straightforward because it is rarely possible to maintain or reconstruct a pristine ecosystem exactly as it exists in the wild. This situation reflects Ridgewood South. The NAA recommends only protecting higher quality habitat areas even thought lower quality supports species biodiversity.
Here at home, Environment Canada recognizes Canadian cities are growing rapidly and (http://www.ec.gc.ca/envirozine/default.asp?lang=en&n=37C2F602-1) conserving urban natural areas is important.
CCHP is aware of a Memorandum of Agreement signed in 2007 between the Province and City whose objective states they will work together to a) identify city lands that contribute to Manitoba’s network of protected areas, 2) enhance conservation of these areas in the city. Subsequently we contacted the Protected Areas Resource Planner for Manitoba Conservation, Elvira Roberge, to determine if the MOU could be used to preserve natural areas in Ridgewood. She indicated no city lands have been protected to date. We sent an email to the Minister Gord MacIntosh today regarding this issue.
The David Suzuki Foundation advised CCHP to advocate environmental issues in our own backyard first - before pursuing global issues. This is what CCHP is trying to accomplish.
We are requesting your assistance to help us achieve our goals. Any advise or ideas are appreciated. Please visit our website www.cchpcharleswood.org
I may be reached at cchpcharleswood@gmail.com
Sincerely,
Victoria Macdonald
CCHP Chair
Beverley Sawchuk,
Administrative Director
Manitoba Wildlife Federation
Dear Ms. Sawchuk:
In June 2011, a public meeting was held regarding plans to develop ‘Ridgewood South’. This area is approximately 1,000 acres of largely vacant private land in south Charleswood that contains a variety of habitat and wildlife. Subsequently Citizens for Charleswood Habitat Preservation (CCHP) was formed whose mandate is to represent Charleswood residents’ concerns on protecting existing natural areas, and addressing traffic/drainage issues. CCHP chose not to take an anti-development position as we felt it was not reasonable given the circumstances, and had a better chance of preserving natural areas if we worked with the developer and city.
Since then, CCHP has successfully established a mutually respectful working relationship with the developer, but has been less successful communicating effectively with the city planning dept and Councillor Havixbeck.
In November 2011, the City released their Natural Area Assessment (NAA) which is the first step of the ‘Ecological Significant Natural Lands’ strategy.
In December 2011, CCHP wrote the city planner and Councillor Havixbeck to request further surveys to address significant gaps. The NAA only assessed habitat quality without regard for the species it supported. For example, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) lists Bobolinks as a threatened bird species, which nest in the Ridgewood Precinct every year. Other species (Yellow Rail bird and Northern Leopard Frog), both listed as ‘Special Concern’, have also been documented in the area. The current NAA suggests the areas where these species occur are low quality and therefore are not good habitat for preservation. The presence of these species suggests otherwise.
In February 2012, CCHP met with Councillor Havixbeck, who told us the NAA is sufficient for planning purposes, without addressing our issues. Although she supported a request for 25% greenspace/natural areas when we first met in October 2011, she has since indicated that she favours ‘quality’ areas over ‘quantity’. We are on our third lead city planner for the project and all have remained silent on the issue.
In April 2012, Qualico indicated they hired Native Plant Solutions to conduct additional surveys on their own land to address gaps in the NAA. Details are forthcoming. Qualico requested CCHP survey private lands which we agreed to as offered previously. How this information will be used is unclear and must be discussed with both the developers and the city.
According to Winnipeg’s Development Agreement Parameters, the developer must dedicate 10% of the development area to the city for use as active and/or passive park with an option to dedicate 2% in funds in lieu of land. We made it clear to our councillor and developers that we do not want 2% funds in lieu of land, and that given the biodiversity of the area, 25% is required to preserve existing medium - high quality areas to maintain urban biodiversity in terms of habitat, wildlife, amphibians, birds etc and the natural corridors required to connect and maintain these natural areas. The 25% also includes a buffer for the Harte Trail (currently 90 ft designated width) which runs the length of the area east to west. The Harte Trail is a significant natural space corridor in the area. We support increased housing density to achieve this.
Since the Developer must only dedicate 10%, it’s the city’s responsibility to use tools such as land swaps, conservation easements etc to increase the amount of natural areas preserved. However, it’s evident our councillor has not bought into the benefits or concept of preserving urban natural areas and this is a significant obstacle for all parties involved - she has influence/authority over city staff.
The values and goals of CCHP support a broader global perspective on urban biodiversity. The European Commission recognizes that urbanization is impactingan increasing number of the world’s species (http://ec.europa.eu/environment/integration/research/newsalert/pdf/199na3.pdf). The Commission indicates conservation in urban settings is important but less straightforward because it is rarely possible to maintain or reconstruct a pristine ecosystem exactly as it exists in the wild. This situation reflects Ridgewood South. The NAA recommends only protecting higher quality habitat areas even thought lower quality supports species biodiversity.
Here at home, Environment Canada recognizes Canadian cities are growing rapidly and (http://www.ec.gc.ca/envirozine/default.asp?lang=en&n=37C2F602-1) conserving urban natural areas is important.
CCHP is aware of a Memorandum of Agreement signed in 2007 between the Province and City whose objective states they will work together to a) identify city lands that contribute to Manitoba’s network of protected areas, 2) enhance conservation of these areas in the city. Subsequently we contacted the Protected Areas Resource Planner for Manitoba Conservation, Elvira Roberge, to determine if the MOU could be used to preserve natural areas in Ridgewood. She indicated no city lands have been protected to date. We sent an email to the Minister Gord MacIntosh today regarding this issue.
The David Suzuki Foundation advised CCHP to advocate environmental issues in our own backyard first - before pursuing global issues. This is what CCHP is trying to accomplish.
We are requesting your assistance to help us achieve our goals. Any advise or ideas are appreciated. Please visit our website www.cchpcharleswood.org
I may be reached at cchpcharleswood@gmail.com
Sincerely,
Victoria Macdonald
CCHP Chair
