Dear Editor,
I wish to thank THE EQUITY for the opportunity to respond to the story regarding land clearing along Goldmine and Sixth Line.
Healthy forests once covered a large area of the planet, continuously producing oxygen and filtering H20. Yet, as imperative as forests are, in as little as a human lifetime, modern civilization has taken to . . .
defoliating the landscape to a point where that delicate life supporting balance can no longer be taken for granted.
Imbalance in a living system, when pressured by encroaching development and pollution from industrial activities, is an invitation for disease, bacterial and viral proliferation as well as invasive species infestation. All wreaking havoc on plant and animal kingdoms, and ourselves, as we’re now witnessing with the COVID pandemic.
Wetlands, no matter how small, are the kidneys of the planet. Long root systems of mature, moisture loving trees work in symphony with the plethora of subterranean organisms to capture carbon and nitrogen pollution from the air, feeding it to plants and, in turn, animals, that are all part of the watercourse.
The goal for all land owners needs to be above and beyond minimum requirements when it comes to maintaining or restoring the delicate balance of functioning ecosystems and especially wetlands on their property. Ripping out protective wooded fence rows, tree-lines on roadsides and creek banks, we now know, is akin to throwing gasoline on a house fire, expediting the loss of the very things we need most, biodiversity, unpolluted water and clean air.
For what it’s worth, I accept Ms. Hamilton and Mountainview’s apology for cutting the trees. But I am not the injured party here. As a sentient being, able to communicate through its intricate mycorrhizal fungal networks to the bastion of interconnected species of flora, fauna and everything in between, from one end of the woodland to the other, the forest might be where you’d be best to direct that apology. While you’re at it, apologize to your grandkids, for ignoring your choice to protect their best chances of inheriting a world as healthy as, or better than you found it.
C. Watson
Bristol, Que.
