Stop the Destruction of the Waterloo Moraine

Stop the destruction of agricultural land on the Waterloo moraine.

Taking a look at a zoning map of Waterloo from 2001, I noticed that a lot of the outlying land was zoned for agriculture. Right behind the Columbia Forest Court was a beautiful field that glowed a brilliant gold during the fall season. When I glanced at a more recent map from 2009, this same field was rezoned as land for development. For a decade this field had been owned by IBI, a development company that leased the property to farmers.

Up until the end of 2009, these farmers were growing their crops on their field, but last spring a sign in front of the forest that leads to the field announced City of Waterloo's plans to commence the construction of a trail, lighting and waterworks through the middle of the forest to provide a safe passage from the Columbia Forest Estates to the new “Vista Hills” development to be built on the field.

The field remained dormant until this spring, when bulldozers moved in and started to level it. In addition to IBI destroying the land, they are devastating an entire ecosystem, teeming with flora and fauna. Small animals such as groundhogs are being endangered or extirpated and moved to the nearby forest. This construction has damaged the existing ecosystem of the moraine, and there will be an imbalance of species in the forest, which can cause a lot of damage to the existing plants and animals.

A gaping hole in the forest has been cleared to make way for the new path and waterworks that is going to be constructed. The deforestation of ESPA 19 happened this month, in June, prior to a land bird monitoring report that was to be completed, and it occurred during the migratory bird breeding season.

My family and I would like you to help save the Waterloo Moraine that is being destroyed by developers such as IBI. The reason we are trying to protect this land is because it has a rich natural history: it was formed by glaciers thousands of years ago, and today is a rich supply of water for the residents of Waterloo. If you were dwelling near the construction site, would you want to watch the destruction of a valuable natural resource?

Please assist me in stopping this development by signing my petition, and you will be making a difference in our community for generations to come.