Bird paradise lost?

>> Nun's Island development threatens ecologically rich forest fragment

by GEMMA WILSON

Despite the fanfare over last weekend's Bird Festival, few Montrealers are aware that Nun's Island's bird-rich South Wood is threatened by urban development. Strolling along its muddy forest paths with the merry twitter of birds echoing in my ears, it is hard to imagine that this peaceful patch of greenery may soon be replaced with the roar of bulldozers and the construction of upscale housing. But that will soon be the case if housing developers and Nun's Island residents don't come to an agreement over the future of the forest.

"This is an ecosystem that is exceptional. It's a heritage site, and the wetland forest is used by four universities," says Nina Gould, head of Nun's Island's Committee for the Protection of Patrimony (CPP).

"We risk losing the diversity of wildlife that is present in that area," adds Michael Brongo, a biologist who conducts walking tours through the forest. The woods--which have been untouched since the arrival of European settlers--are home to some 200 bird species, including eight types of owls and 16 threatened or vulnerable species.

A plan by the City of Verdun to save the South Woods was thwarted last fall when 713 Nun's Island residents objected to paying the expropriation costs.

The latest proposal by the city--due to be officially released in June--would see the protection of only 3.3 hectares of the 10-hectare forest, at an estimated cost of $6 million.

"As for the rest of the lands, private donations may save it, but the CPP will have to speak with the developer," says Verdun city councillor Dany Tremblay.

Gould says that the group has already identified one donor who is willing to put up the cash to save an additional three hectares, and she's optimistic about raising another $4 million to save the remaining four hectares through private donations.

But attempts to buy the additional land may not be as easy as Gould thinks. "We have waited two years already for Verdun to come up with a suitable proposal," said Samuel Gewurz, president of Proment, the company which owns and seeks to develop the forest. "From our point of view we have been very patient."

According to Gewurz, the city has put together an agreeable proposal but adds, "There are different environmental perceptions as to what is important. And Verdun is getting the 3.3 hectares for between one third and one half of the realized price of the land."

According to Normand David, director of the Association québécoise des groupes ornithologiques, development of the forest will force the birds to find another oasis. Which means, says David, "Residents of Nun's Island and the city of Montreal will be deprived of a close and interesting site from which to see these birds." :

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