[All] Wonderful News for Jefferson Salamanders in Mount Nemo!

[Louisette Lanteigne]

BREAKING NEWS: Nelson Aggregates' quarry expansion into Mount Nemo has been dismissed. Scientific facts and evidence have prevailed and the Jefferson salamander, a threatened species, will remain protected on Mount Nemo.

Not only will they protect habitat, they will also be protecting primary recharge. 

The EA data used was produced by Stantec and at the local level, we can thank the victory to stop the quarry based on the work of hydrologist, Ray Blackport. Mr. Blackport, gave expert evidence on behalf of PERL. He was clear in his testimony: Nelson mischaracterized the wetland hydrology and hydrogeology. The water regime and wetlands near the property will be worse off if a new quarry is dug.

Blackport found that the wetlands are not sitting on the impervious layer of rock described by Nelson’s witnesses. Instead, water moves up from the ground and back into it through fractures or patches of conductive bedrock. Put simply, the wetlands are leaky. If enough water is drawn away from them by a new quarry, they could lose their storage capacity and dry up completely. The mitigation measures proposed by Nelson just won’t work under these conditions.

Kudos to PERL and Mr. Blackport for helping to protect aquifers and Jefferson Salamanders. 

Lulu :0)
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