THE HERALD June 12 Scotsdale Farm treecutting condemned by MPP Duignan By LISA BOONSTOPPELPOT The Herald Halton North Noel is among the growing number of politicians and citizens who are opposed to the cutting of centuryold trees at Georgetowns publiclyowned Scotsdale Farm It shouldnt be allowed to hap pen said Mr Duignan Although he hasnt visited the site of the cutting he said its shameful that numerous trees including 215yearold Beech trees and eightfeetwide Ash trees have been cut down The controversy surrounding the cutting of the trees began ear ly this year when neighbors of Scotsdale Farms took a walk through the farms woodlot and saw huge piles of timber located throughout the forest Neighbor Nelson Hogg called the Halton Hills Herald to say how saddened he was that this beautiful mature was be ing slaughtered He alerted the Federation of Ontario Naturalists who issued a press release which stated the Ontario Heritage Foundation which holds the land in trust must be prevented from repeating such an abuse of power and the trust that lan downers mistakenly put in it Just last week the Legislature in Queens Park learned about the controversy when Halton Centre Liberal MPP Barbara Sullivan demanded that En vironment Minister Ruth Grier and Culture Minister Marchese put an end to the Suddenly the cutting has become an important issue and environmentalists are saying its about time But the Ontario Heritage Foun dation which santioned the cutting doesnt understand what all the fuss is about Bob head of marketing and communications for the OHF said the objective of the cutting in Scotsdale is to do scientific research to demonstrate how a woodlot can be harvested to the benefit of the owner and the environment We want to demonstrate by example that trees can still be harvested without ruining the he said We were also worried that because some of these trees are so old and starting to rot someone could be injured walking through there The forest is located along the Bruce Trail a scenic trail frequently travelled by nature lovers The project is called the Niagara Escarpment Management Pilot Project and involves the planned cuttings of throughout the Niagara Escarpment It was initiated in late by the Niagara Escarp ment Commission in cooperation with the Ministry of Natural Resources and the The pro ject report states there are two main objectives to the cutting to determine the effects of forest management on the various vegetation communities in escarpment forests and to pro vide information to demonstrate the forest growtheconomic potential of forest management Ms Sullivan told the Legislature that wasnt a valid excuse We know the effects of selec tive logging in woodlots we dont need new information that comes from the destruction of property held in publictrust she said The fact the forest does in fact belong to the public the proper ty was bequeathed to the people of Ontario in the when Scotsdale farm owners died is the reason Mr Hogg believes he should stand up and fight against the cutting Theyre the OHF treating it as a forestry project which it isnt he said It goes against the whole purpose of the Scotsdale owners will The said there is nothing in the will that supports the idea The will stated the owners wanted the property to be used as a working farm said Mr Mr Hoggs other argument against the cuttings in Scotsdale is that the site is a haven for rare species such as the woodpecker and the Great Hom ed owl This stance was supported by the which said there are three habitats in the woodlot the upland mature MapleBeechAsh forest the previously logged forest and the swamplands which they consider very fragile We remain unconvinced that human intellect will ever be able to improve on ecosystems so complex we will never be able to fathom even the smallest fraction of their interactions the FON stated in a press release So far the OHF has made one sweep of cuttings in the Scotsdale The project report indicates many more trees will be cut since it was recommended that harvest woodlots be sampled at one and then at three year inter vals to monitor changes in the forest communities Volunteers needed Volunteer drivers for the Canadian Cancer Society Georgetown Unit are desperately needed to transport patients to and from the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto Reimbursement for mileage will be paid If you enjoy helping people please contact the Georgetown Units of fice at Guelph Street Georgetown between pm daily or call the cancer office at 8771124 Your assistance will be very much appreciated Cruise Night WEDNESDAY JUNE 1 2th Come out and join us for a great night of fun with beautiful classic cars and memories Cruise Night Special 99 SMALL BEVERAGE ANDDONUT Oiler Good June pm Only ALL DAY TAX INCL 306 Guelph Street Georgetown 8731211 PRICES WORTH MARCHING FOR MEAT THAT DOES MORE THAN COMPETE BBQ BEEF RUMP ROASTS COLA or COTTPOP 750 mL Bottles NEW CROP Product of Ontario Canada No GREEN LEAF LETTUCE FRESH FROM THE DELI OUR OWN KNECHTEL SALAMI PEPPERONI OR SUMMER SAUSAGE MOORE PARK PLAZA Pleasure To Serve You Monday to Friday IDC pm CLOSED SUNDAY pm COUPON WITH COUPON OFF The Purchase or RC COLA or COTTPOP Assorted ml Tin- ffl SPECIAL PRICE WITHOUT COUPON Special Price special Price With Coupon Coupon COUPON WITH THIS COUPON SAVE OFF The Purchase RC COLA or I 1 COTTPOP Assorted Tins Special Price With Coupon 100 Coupon SPECIAL PRICE WITHOUT COUPON Values effective Saturday June through Saturday June 1991