City, Ottawa urged to save bird habitat at Technoparc
Birding enthusiasts and environmental groups are ramping up the pressure on the city of Montreal, the province and especially the federal government to take action to preserve the wetlands in and around the Technoparc de Montréal as a bird and wildlife sanctuary. More than 66,000 people have signed an online petition demanding that all work in the sensitive natural areas in and around the Technoparc be halted, and that they be protected as a conservation area called the “Sources Nature Park.” On Sunday, Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party of Canada will hold a news conference at the site, along with representatives of local environment groups Technoparc Oiseaux, Green Coalition, Sierra Club, Sauvons la falaise!, les amis du parc Meadowbrook, and Sauvons l’Anse à l’Orme as well as the Westmount United Church. May and the groups will be outlining the steps they intend to take to get the federal government to take action on the issue.
The Technoparc in Montreal’s St-Laurent borough has been under development for more than 30 years. It is home to about 75 companies, but much of the territory remains undeveloped. Along with undeveloped adjacent land that belongs to Transport Canada, the area provides habitat to an impressive array of wildlife and migratory birds.
In 2016, the borough of St-Laurent began infrastructure work to prepare for construction of a new sector of the Technoparc.
The project has been dubbed the Hubert Reeves Eco-Campus, after the famous astrophysicist and ecologist, to reflect its mission to attract green and clean businesses. But environmentalists say the impact of the eco-campus so far has been anything but eco-friendly.
The work involved extending Alfred Nobel Blvd. about 500 metres into the wilderness, taking down about 3,000 trees and adding a dike and some drainage infrastructure.
Joël Coutu is an experienced birder who has been leading groups of birdwatchers into the area for the past three years, and runs a Techno par c Oise aux Facebook page to draw attention to the issue.
He says the impact of the development on local bird populations has been quite noticeable.
“These wetlands, forests and fields provide nesting habitat for more than 80 species of birds,” including at least four at-risk species, said Coutu. He calls it the No. 1 birding spot on the island of Montreal because its mix of marshlands, meadows and forests attracts more diverse populations of migratory birds than the Botanical Garden, Mount Royal or Parc des rapids in Lasalle.
A large swamp known as the Marais des sources, on land adjacent to the Technoparc owned by Transport Canada, is a major attraction for migratory birds. Coutu says there is no doubt that the Marais des sources area meets the federal criteria for a migratory bird sanctuary.
Coutu and his group have been keeping track over the past three summers of sightings of the Least Bittern, a tiny heron that is listed by the federal government as an at-risk species. He said the bird has been observed nearly 100 times and his data indicates the bird has been breeding in the area for a significant period of time.
“As Marais des sources is the only location on the Island of Montreal where we find such a large concentration of Least Bitterns that continue to nest successfully year after year, it absolutely must be declared a protected nesting site and critical habitat,” Coutu says.
Three other species at risk — Wood Thrush, Eastern Wood-Pewee and Barn Swallow — have also been confirmed to be breeding in the area.
Five other species with precarious status use this sector as an important migration stopover for rest and feeding, he said.
Coutu is determined to expose the rich diversity of the area to as many people as possible, in order to increase the pressure on governments to protect it. He has led 180 birdwatching walks into the area over the past three years.
According to the federal government’s 2014 Recovery Strategy for the Least Bittern in Canada, there are only about 1,300 pairs left in Canada, and 43,000 across North America. The primary threats to the bird are wetland loss and degradation, as well as impaired water quality.
Gabrielle Lamontagne, a spokesperson for Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), told the Montreal Gazette that the ministry is aware of citizens’ concerns about the Technoparc development and its possible impacts on birds.
She acknowledged that the Least Bittern has been observed in the Marais des sources, and said ministry officials have initiated discussions with the Technoparc, Transport Canada and others to make sure that federal obligations under the Species at Risk Act are met.
“Although the situation (has been) monitored by ECCC since 2016, no violation of the federal laws has been reported in the Technoparc area,” she wrote.
Coutu said that response is unsatisfactory and is similar to the ones he and his group have been getting over the past three years.
“They seem not to want to take leadership in this dossier,” he continued.
These wetlands, forests and fields provide nesting habitat for more than 80 species of birds.