Advocacy Update - 2021.10
Did you know that Turtles Kingston is active within the City of Kingston when it comes to advocating for turtles and the natural environment?
Turtles Kingston advocacy efforts aim to work with the community and the City of Kingston to ensure turtles are protected when development, maintenance, and restoration occurs within the city.
As of this moment, Turtles Kingston is actively involved in 3 main advocacy efforts: 1) Abbey Dawn Flood Protection; 2) Davis Tannery Development; and 3) Inner Harbour Sediment Management. We are interested in these projects because of their potential impact to turtles.
Learn more about these projects and our position with the summaries below.
Abbey Dawn Flood Protection
In the east side of the city there are several roads that experience flooding as a result of the adjacent Madoma Marsh and St. Lawrence River: Abbey Dawn, Hwy 2, and St. Lawrence. As such, the City of Kingston is preparing to update these roads in order to provide enhanced flood protection.
At Turtles Kingston we are supportive of this initiative to improve road safety for drivers. However, we want to ensure the protection of Turtles and their habitat is also considered in this project. Specifically, Turtles Kingston is advocating for the following:
Inclusion of mitigation measures (exclusion fencing, eco passages, and alternative nesting sites) in the project design
Exclusion of any features that encourage fishing as turtles are known to mistake fishing hooks as food. When ingested, fishing hooks are damaging to the turtles, decreasing their life expectancy
Use of erosion prevention practices that mimic natural riparian buffer and that do not include stone rip-rap or armoured stone platforms
Read our letter to the City of Kingston
Davis Tannery Development
The Davis Tannery site is considered a brownfield site, meaning it is a site that is currently contaminated as a result of historical activities on the property. Patry Inc. is currently proposing to develop the site for residential purposes following remediation of the site.
At Turtles Kingston we have several concerns about the proposed development, and have even put together a Petition to obtain community support. Our main concerns include:
That the proposed development, if not completed properly, will eliminate important turtle habitat
We oppose the Developers requesting to change Environmental Protection Areas on the property to Residential and their proposal to remove the Provincially Significant Wetland, Riparian Corridor, and significant Woodland designations that are currently on the lands
We oppose the Developers proposal to fill in portions of the Provincially Significant Wetland on the site
That the proposed ‘ribbon of life’ along the shoreline will not adequately reproduce ecological values and habitats lost as a result of the development
Read our letter to the city about Turtles Kingston’s petition
Inner Harbour Sediment Management
As a result of the historical activities on the Davis Tannery site, and along other sections of the Inner Harbour shoreline, sediments of the Inner Harbour have high concentrations of hazardous chemicals. Parks Canada and Transport Canada are currently in the process of initiating a sediment management project to deal with the contamination.
Turtles Kingston acknowledges the potential risk of the contamination but has several logistical and turtle health related concerns with the project at this point in time. As this project is in early stages and consultations are ongoing, you can continue to follow along on the project website: http://www.kihproject-projetpik.ca/Home/IndexEN
Read our letter to the Environment, Infrastructure & Transportation Policies Committee