The Raging Grannies, a group of local women concerned about preserving forested areas, are calling on the Municipality of Chatham-Kent to provide accountability regarding trees being cut on some woodlots in the community.
The Raging Grannies, a group of local women concerned about preserving forested areas, are calling on the Municipality of Chatham-Kent to provide accountability about trees being cut on some woodlots in the community.
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Four members of the group, along with some other supporters, went to the location of two woodlots on Sunday – one on Botany Line, south of Thamesville, and another on 2 Zone Road, north of Thamesville – where a large number of trees that have been cut were visible.
An organizer, who said the Raging Grannies don’t identify themselves, said many people have called the municipality to report the cutting of trees in an attempt to get answers.
She said the municipality has told callers it will look into the tree-cutting and get back to them.
“We’re out here demanding accountability. We want to know what’s going on.”
In late April 2021, Chatham-Kent council passed a temporary woodlot conservation bylaw that prohibits clear-cutting of woodlots. The bylaw has been extended twice, with the latest extension expiring on April 30 at 11:59 pm
Council was previously told the bylaw doesn’t prohibit all tree-cutting, allowing about a quarter of an acre to be cut for maintenance purposes.
“There are exceptions to the bylaw, but how are we supposed to find out if they’re working under those exceptions?” the Raging Grannies spokeswoman said.
If a citizen sees trees being cut in a woodlot, she said there’s no way for the public to find out if the cutting is being done within the confines of the temporary bylaw.
“Is it up to us, the general public, to come out here and evaluate (the situation)?”
She said there needs to be a mechanism, such as a permitting process, put in place when this type of tree cutting occurs.
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“When we call, we should be able to find out,” she said.
The municipality’s building development services is investigating complaints in East Kent related to the temporary bylaw, a Monday news release from the municipality said.
“(Building development services) can confirm that these latest allegations of clear-cutting at the end of last week have been reported to the municipality and bylaw enforcement staff are investigating these matters further,” Paul Lacina, Chatham-Kent’s director of building development services , said in the release.
“As these are active investigations, further public comments cannot be made at this time.”
The release said bylaw enforcement has investigated “several” complaints since the temporary bylaw came into effect in April 2021, but no charges have been laid. Building development services has also worked with woodlot management companies to ensure any proposed work would not violate the bylaw.
Any person who contravenes any part of the bylaw can be charged up to $100,000. They may also have to rehabilitate the land or plant trees as the courts consider appropriate.
The release said anyone who intends to undertake selective harvesting of trees is encouraged to contact the municipality before starting any work.
Reports of violations of the temporary bylaw or general inquiries may be made to building development services at 519-360-1998 or [email protected] .
The spokeswoman for the Raging Grannies said they haven’t looked into who owns the woodlots.
“We don’t want to accuse anybody unnecessarily. We just want the municipality to do what they need to do to ensure that the bylaw is being enforced.”
– With files from Tom Morrison