We Won!!!!!!!!

It is with much happiness, we wish to let you know.......We WON!!! Finally!
We thank you for all your support!!
We Won!!!!!!!!

You can read the decision here
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_mP3Bat_RT5sgGJ36h93u28PzYOT6n5m/view?usp=sharing

Response to "Blueprint for Change"

Dear Friends and Neighbours,

I've been reviewing the the BLUEPRINT FOR CHANGE on amendments to the Aggregate Resources Act. From my reading, it is not a" blueprint for change". Rather, the proposals could possibly make matters worse.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry is inviting comment up until December 15, so I have been hastily putting my thoughts together based on the experience of the past number of years.

I have not gone into the housekeeping details of the "Blueprint", but rather concentrated on what I think is the overall thrust of the document.

Thanks to some neighbour's input, I have tried to incorporate ideas other than my own as well. Thank you.

This was written, not just as a response to the "Blueprint", but in anticipation that in order to preserve and protect our area, we will need to carry our concerns to the Ministers and M.P.P.s at Queens Park who will ultimately decide the fate of our environment and communities.

If you wish to add your voice to mine, please read the attached RESPONSE and let me know by return email; and I will add your name and address to it. I believe it concerns all of us.

In an effort to reach you, please forward this as widely as you can, mindful that while others outside the province may feel just as strongly about this area as we do, it is the electorate of Ontario that will determine the fate of the province. Please accept, in advance, my apologies for any cross-posting.

Time for comment is short and the stakes are high, so your voices are needed.

Respectfully and neighbourly,

George Hewison

Please read and share this!

You may contact George by email georgehewison@gmail.com and have him add your name as we all did.

A very good read. It goes far beyond Nogies Creek. Enjoy!

A letter to the editor...

A letter to the editor from our friends at North Pigeon Lake Ratepayers' Association

Article sent to the newspaper editors and other media to emphasize lack of due process in the Mega Quarry application process:

Bobcaygeon January 3, 2013

NOW WE SEE DEWDNEY's CAVES, ... SOON WE MAY NOT.

 What few know is that right outside Bobcaygeon, in Galway-Cavendish Harvey Township, we have what spelunkers (cavers) have said is Ontario's number 2 cave system and perhaps number 31 in all of Canada.

Little is known about the caves but "old timers" talk of exploring the caves, which carried names such as the Ongley Caves, the Parker Caves, and now the Dewdney Mountain Caves. Research by members of the North Pigeon Lake Ratepayers' Association, into how well various organizations did their research for a proposed quarry adjacent to these caves, identified it as a very significant karst (a region made up of porous limestone containing deep fissures and sinkholes and characterized by underground caves and streams).

From what we have gleaned from cavers' reports and those who have visited the site we see this cave system as extremely important, significant to geology, the environment, species at risk like bats, and as a potential tourist attraction for the area. E. A. Ongley wrote a thesis on the caves in 1965 and it is widely available to anyone researching the area. The caves should be referred to as the Dewdney's Caves, derived from Arthur Dewdney who was Rod Parker's (the owner prior to a Mr. Ritchie) great grandfather.  There would appear from these sources to be over 1.6 kilometers (possibly 10 kms) of caves explored and many more meters unexplored.  They are suspected to be about 500 metres from the proposed quarry with the cave floor in some places lying only 2 m above the water table.  This needs to be verified before blasting in the quarry begins.  Why does Council and other authorities resist this investigation?

Just East of Lakefield, The Warsaw Caves are a well-known and well-used tourist attraction. For decades they have been a favorite destination for many families wishing to see examples of erosion over centuries through the limestone. This makes it one of Ontario's best tourist destinations, making the top 15 in 2012

Helen Gerson from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources states, in the guidelines for bats of Ontario, that every OMNR district office should prepare a list of locations of caves and mines in which bats hibernate during the winter.  She also states that in The Endangered Species Protection Act it mandates stiff fines and possible imprisonment for those who kill or disturb endangered bats or harm their habitat.

Although not a project of Kawartha Region Conservation Authority (KRCA), the caves referred to so far have not been identified as an Area of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI).  As such, they have not been granted protection as a significant natural heritage feature (Natural Heritage policies of the PPS). Furthermore, MNR staff was contacted on this matter and indicated that the MNR has accepted the geology /hydro geology studies prepared in support of the Dewdney Farms quarry application without providing information or consideration to the endangered species protection act on this issue of caves and bats in the area.   

From a report of 2003 by Trent University entitled "The Parker Property: An Important Biological Rich Hardwood Forest area in Central Ontario" we learned the following "The flora is overall very rich with a large number of regionally or provincially rare orchids, sedges and ferns. The Natural Heritage Information Group of MNR and the Canadian Nature Conservancy found 423 vascular plant species in a short one-day visit in 2002. Rare snakes and salamanders also occur, as well as a rich butterfly, dragonfly and Damsel fly fauna and a large mammal population, including a winter deer yard with 950 white-tailed deer in 1998 (MNR-Report). The bird diversity is also rich, but not yet fully documented. There are numerous underground caves in the limestone, where the Queen's University Caving Society has explored and mapped 10 km of underground caves, one of the longest underground sequences in the province of Ontario."

In spite of the fact that this is such a unique feature, possibly of greater significance than the protected Warsaw Caves, why did not one of the exhaustive reports on the area of the potential quarry mention such an Ontario feature?  

What is needed is an ANSI study to determine whether the caves play a significant role in the area and garner the attention of the local Councils who have control over approval of Quarry applications.  This is a costly effort for which we will be seeking the support from local residents. Perhaps the Council of Galway-Cavendish Harvey will pay half of the $2000 needed while the NPLRA pays the other half. With Mr. Ritchie's cooperation we could determine once and for all the importance of the caves.

Ross Morton

President, North Pigeon Lake Ratepayers' Association

WWW.NPLRA.CA

For those of you who want to explore before potential damage is done to the surrounding area by blasting or heavy truck traffic just drive about 3 kms east of Nogies Creek on #36 to Quarry Road and turn left. You travel about 6.8 kms from #36 always staying to the left at turns. We suggest you ask Mr. Ritchie for his permission to walk the property.

 https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=44.646613,-78.50367&num=1&t=h&z=16 

Or by map coordinates for you real hikers and geocaches   44.646613,-78.50367.

 

-30-

For more information and membership support please go to

www.nplra.ca

Important Meeting Jan 15th 2013

Happy New Year!

Please attend this Galway Cavendish Harvey Council Meeting to show your support and concerns with the Quarries issues. The applications from the public meetings held on April 10th 2012 and June 23rd 2012 will be brought forward at this Planning Meeting for Council's consideration:

RE: Dewdney Mountain Farms Ltd., Lot 28 and Part if Lots 29 and 30 concession 15, Harvey Ward
Applications for Official Plan and Zoning By-Law Amendments.
 
The Galway Cavendish Harvey Council (GCH) Meeting on January 15th 2013 will be held in the Township's Council Chambers at 701 County rd. 36, Bobcaygeon at 1pm.

This meeting is open to the public, however it is not a public meeting under the Planning Act and the Council will not be accepting public comments.

Your attendance to observe is vital, please respect the purpose of this meeting and observe only. Any unruly behavior will not be tolerated.

Updated images

What wildlife?

So they claim that the quarry will have no "significant" impact on the environment and wildlife... give your head a shake, are we reading the same diagrams?

Taken from Page 25 of the "Planning Justification Report". We kindly magnified the Legend for you!

View the entire report HERE

Celebrate Earth Day in Bobcaygeon

Join us in Celebrating Earth Day in Bobcaygeon at Kawartha Settlers Village on Sunday April 22 2012 from 1:00pm-5:00pm. For more information click HERE to read the article and get all the details from MyKawartha.com. Looking forward to seeing all of you there!