Steven Byvelds. (Nelson Zandbergen photo)
OTTAWA — South Dundas-area crop farmer and former mayor Steven Byvelds criticizes the new wetland mapping exercise recently undertaken by his local watershed authority, in a circulated letter to the board of South Nation Conservation (SNC). Byvelds takes aim at the reverse-onus responsibility placed on farmers to object to new wetland designations on their land. His letter appears below.
Chair Densham and Board Members
I am writing to you today concerning the updated mapping of Wetlands in the SNC jurisdiction. First of all I will state that I believe wetlands serve a significant purpose in our environment by providing habitat for wetland plants and animals along with providing for water filtering and storage.
The previously mapped wetlands [referred to as Provincially Significant Wetlands or PSW’s] have served their role well and certainly fit the definition of a wetland according to the old and new regulations. After looking at the new proposed mapping, I was surprised by the extent new wetlands were made and how they were made. I understand that using technology to start the mapping exercise is smart and efficient. However, once that is done, ground truthing must be done with the landowner to ensure that the proposed wetland meets the regulation definition. I am hearing that this is not the case.
I have done some research on our farmland and I am disturbed by my findings. Staff had mapped all our forested lands as new wetlands. These are not wetlands in any of the regulation definitions and are not connected to any other current wetlands. In fact, one has an elevation that is the highest point of the farm. Many have Municipal drains flowing through them. These drains are important for not only farm drainage but some also drain non-farm and urban lands. Making these lands with drains wetlands will impact the maintenance and possible upgrade of them which are vitally important with climate change causing more intense storms that need the water to move off them.
These new proposed wetlands are located on other land that may or not be farmed but it seems they were made so with the same logic. I have heard from many landowners who are not happy and feel this is an overstepping of the authority SNC and other Conservation Authorities were given recently. I believe that you and the Board need to hear from landowners and listen to their concerns.
As I stated previously, wetlands are important in our environment. However, the classifications of lands into wetlands must be done properly within the definitions or the regulations. Once land is made a wetland, not much can be done or happen on it [yes, agriculture can but no further clearing or drainage will be allowed]. There is no compensation [our farm paid $4,000/acre recently for forested land that was not a wetland but now is proposed to be so].
Please think of how this affects many landowners unfairly. I ask that you and the Board to defer the upcoming motion to enact the new proposed mapping on July 18 until staff have taken the time to do it correctly including ground truthing along with landowner visits. Passing it and placing the onus on landowners to prove they are not is not fair or right. Please attend the consultations this Thursday and listen to the concerns of those you represent.
Thanks.
Steven Byvelds
Bycrest Farms
