A- FIVE REASONS WHY WETLANDS ARE IMPORTANT AND NEED TO BE PROTECTED:
1. Wetlands are the kidneys of the planet:
Wetlands have the wonderful ability to remove pollutants from water, thanks to their luscious vegetation. Cattails, for example, are able to capture excess phosphorus and nitrogen, thereby preventing harmful algal blooms. Wetlands are able to get rid of 90% of water-borne pathogens. This is crucial as wetlands recharge groundwater, which 26% of Canadians rely on for drinking water.
2. Wetlands are home to a wonderful diversity of species: waterfowl, blackbirds, shorebirds nest and raise their young in the safety of reeds, grasses and stones. Wetlands are sanctuary for migratory and year-round birds, there are also fish species, frogs, turtles, muskrats, minks and beavers that are long-term residents. With deer mice and ground squirrels living in the grasses adjacent to wetlands and fish swimming in open water, this ecosystem is a favourite of osprey, eagles and hawks. Aquatic invertebrates, such as dragonfly nymphs and snails form the base of the wetland food chain.
3. Wetlands are masters at carbon sequestration: This process sucks in carbon and stores it in wetland soil and helps to regulate the climate. Wetlands store the largest amount of carbon per unit area, 10 times more than forests.
4. Wetlands act like giant sponges:. Wetlands are able to absorb excess water from precipitations and act as a buffer against flooding. In addition to their spongy talents, wetlands act as a protective barrier from storm surges along coastlines, which is the case for the wetlands in the object land of this development and others development in the West End, along Georgian Bay.
5. Wetlands facilitate many recreational activities for Canadians: If we protect wetlands, it means that we get to enjoy all they have to offer! In the summer, they provide endless entertainment for recreational birders, photographers and casual park users with parades of waterfowl chicks and spats between Canadian geese. The water and wildlife can be explored by gliding through the wetland in canoes and kayaks. Wetlands welcome family activities like pond-dipping to explore and learn about all the little creatures living in the marsh. In the winter, the frozen waters of wetlands can provide a surface for skating while the snow covered grasses surrounding wetlands provide the perfect opportunity to snowshoe and cross-country ski.
B- BUILDING ON WETLANDS IS HAZARDOUS
1. When wetlands are filled, the water that made them wet must go somewhere. If it isn't seeping back into the basement of the house built on the former wetland, the water likely is leaking into formerly dry homes of downstream property owners.
2. Wetlands are superb at purifying polluted water, replenishing aquifers and harboring wildlife. But they are always terrible places to build houses.
3. Future potential buyers of these semi-detached and townhouses will never know they have been built on wetlands until water infiltration starts cracking their foundations and basements, and ruin their life investment.
4. "Build your house in a wetland, and you've got a hobby for the rest of your life; You will be fighting that water forever."
In Conclusion: Therefore, whatever the wetlands in the Wasaga West End are provincially significant based on the evaluation point system or not, these wetlands are significant and important to Wasaga Beach residents, ecosystem, biodiversity, groundwater quality, public health and safety and to Georgian Bay pristine water and marine life and habitat, as well as to the climate, and therefore should be respected and protected. This should be a Wasaga Beach Mayor, Council and Staff duty and priority.
CALL TO ACTION: : you can write to Wasaga Beach Mayor and Council, and to Planning Department staff, asking our Town leadership to protect our wetlands, by sending email to (you can even copy or link to this blog):
Blog by Gerard Dusastre - Save Beachwood.
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