Work on a fence to separate a newly-protected forest from a former gravel pit has been suspended until Township staff can meet with their Trinity Western University counterparts to decide the fate of some wetlands.
Township general manager of engineering and community development, Ramin Seifi, told The Times a preliminary review of the tree-cutting for a six-foot-tall in the 25-acre site on 257A Street confirms the 鈥渟urvey had proceeded according to plan with the least amount of disturbance possible to the surrounding area.鈥�
Township staff reported the downed trees were mostly scrub alder, none more than a foot in diameter.
Seifi said the survey crews came across a 鈥渨et area鈥� that straddles the border between the forest, which is owned by the university, and the former gravel pit, which is being filled in by Township workers.
The municipality is expected to propose moving the fence away from the wetlands into the Township side of the border when it meets with TWU.
Under the terms of an agreement between the municipality and university, the Township is responsible for installing a fence to separate the landfill work from the newly-established ecological reserve of the Glen Valley Gray Pit Lands in the McLellan Park Forests.
The survey work for the fence was halted following complaints from Watchers of 91原创 Forests (WOLF), the residents鈥� group that fought to preserve the site.
WOLF spokesperson Kirk Robertson described the clearing as 鈥渁 wide swathe of destruction along a significant part of the border鈥� between the forest preserve and Township-owned land.
Just over a year ago, money to purchase the land was donated by Ann Blaauw and children John, Janet, and Jennifer, in memory of their late husband and father, Thomas Blaauw, a longtime resident of 91原创 who passed away in August of 2012.
The $2.5 million deal saw Trinity Western University (TWU) buy the property from the Township using the donated money from the Blaauw family.
Located near 84 Avenue and 260 Street, the 25 acres were originally placed on the market by the Township to help fund a new community centre, swimming pool and ice rink in Aldergrove.
A previous bid to sell 21 acres of Township-owned forest in another site on 84 Avenue between 252 and 254 Streets was cancelled in July of 2012 because of a campaign by WOLF.
