Airport says clearing was required for safety reasons
Local environmentalist and tree advocate Dave Nicholson was outraged last week that trees were being chopped near the E.C. Brown Conservation area, on River Road across from the Niagara Central Dorothy Rungeling Airport (NCDRA).
“Right under the nose of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, who own the property on either side, the airport has felled several acres of woodland without their knowledge or consent,” Nicholson told the Voice. “They cite improvements to the airport, and that since the strip is owned by Transport Canada, the NPCA have no jurisdiction. The effrontery is mind-blowing!”
Erika Navarro, a communications specialist with the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA), advised the Voice that the property upon which the activity took place is indeed managed by the Niagara Central Dorothy Rungeling Airport. She attached a map that distinguished the boundary lines between the conservation area and the airport property, and said that although the property that was cleared is managed by the airport, it is owned by Transport Canada.
“The NPCA does not regulate federally owned lands and therefore a permit for this activity was not required from the NPCA,” said Navarro. “I have spoken to a commissioner of the airport about the clearing. The reasoning provided for this activity includes provision for [sea-]plane access to and from the water, maintenance of an existing septic bed, and to ensure the safety of airport operations by maintaining required sightlines for taxiing aircraft.”
NCDRA Commission chair John Maclellan told the Voice that the trees were removed for safety reasons.
“A lot of them were dead, and we removed a lot of scrub brush. It is on our land, and we only cleared what was a danger to aircraft. We are running an airport."
The 15-hectare conservation area, located on the Welland River, provides fishing and non-motorized boating opportunities with shoreline frontage and a boat launch, as well as a picnic pavilion. Hikers enjoy the trails, wetland, meadow, and forest landscapes of the wildlife habitat.
