"It's not conscientious": The group was shocked to discover the destroyed Monarch Field

Quebec Conservation Society, long for protection I've been fighting for a while. -What is called Monarch Field, northwest of Trudeau Airport, says he was shocked to discover that they had been attacked last week.

TechnoparcOiseaux is a 4,000 milkweed plant that has been described as essential for the survival of monarch butterflies, cut from 19 hectares of land that was once part of the Doval Golf Course. I presume that it was done. This is a move the group expects to affect many other species, including birds that are currently nesting.

"They left only the trees and destroyed all the shrubs," Benoit Gravel, a member of the civil society group, told Montreal Gazette on Friday. "For us, that's incomprehensible."

Aéroports de Montréal (ADM), which leases and manages federal-owned land, said in an email Thursday that it had done normal maintenance work in the area. ..

"The ADM maintenance team did ground maintenance in the industrial sector north of the airport site, both of which are annoying, especially due to the presence of tall grass and ragweed." Said Eric Forest, a spokesman for ADM.

However, members of TechnoparcOiseaux say that some of the fields have undergone minor maintenance over the years, but most have remained untouched. ..

"This has never been done, this maintenance," Gravel said. "It hasn't been touched since 2012."

Since the land was abandoned, it has grown into a habitat of various species, said Jim Harris, another member of Technoparc Oiseaux. ..

"It has been re-wilded into a very useful and commonly used habitat by a variety of wildlife such as birds, mammals and snakes. It is full of insects. These are all food for other species. "He said. .. The

group has been working for years to obtain official conservation status for a wider area, including the Monarch Field, which consists of more than 200 hectares.

"The whole mosaic in this area is wetlands, forests, fields, and there are three big ones. With these big three, most of the needs of most animals You can meet, "Harris said.

Monarch Fieldwas talked about last fall when a mask manufacturing facility was scheduled to be built on Air Street. At the time, Technoparc Oiseaux and another group, the Green Coalition, asked about the environment and climate. Change Minister Stephen Gilbo to issue special designations to prevent the destruction of the field. They explain that this is a valuable ecological environment. Gilbo rejected the request, but the projectnever came to fruition 

"There was a huge outflow on the part of the public." Said Green. Vice President David Fletcher.

"These field areas are absolutely gold mines in terms of protecting the very foundation of the food web and protecting pollen maters, so this is a real disadvantage. , This is not really conscientious, "he said. ..

Forest said ADM created an area for monarch butterflies in the Source Ecological Park section of Techno Park last fall by planting hundreds of milkweed plants and seeds over 200 square meters. rice field. High ecological value for the benefit of the community.

"I don't know if any of them are still bearing fruit," Harris said. "When they said they wanted to plant more milkweed, we said,'Wow, that's great.' "We weren't told we were planting these because others would be reduced."

According to Harris, the milkweed plant will grow next year. However, the generation of monarch butterflies is said to have been lost.

"There was no sign that they were trying to do this," he said. "We certainly didn't expect it."

The horror between the groups is that the destruction of Monarch-Cornersfield means there are plans for construction.

"Currently, the area is an industrial area and we will continue to ask for protection," Harris said. "Once it disappears, it will disappear forever. It will never come back."

Michel La Rondo of Montreal Gazette contributed to this report.

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