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Scanned, recopied or Internet copy, if there are errors, please e-mail me with corrections:


Opening comments:  More at the end.


    The Roy Ivor - the Birdman of Mississauga & Bernice Inman-Emery - the Birdwoman of Mississauga Web-page.


Globe and Mail - Mar 2, 1978, Thursday - pg.# 4 - By Donald Grant.

Naturalist's work would have been destroyed

Toronto ON -- Mississauga saves wildlife sanctuary, changes route of new sewer line Mississauga's City Council and planning board have moved to prevent a sanitary sewer from running through one of the city's last virgin forests.

The sewer would have upset the delicate balance of nature in the forest and would have destroyed more than a half-century of work by Roy Ivor, an internationally known naturalist.

Bernice Inman, who has been carrying on Mr. Ivor's work for 17 years, said in an interview yesterday that a whole new precedent has been set because they'll be looking at the environment first now.  It used to be last.  Hopefully, it'll be carried into other areas.

She was enthusiastic about another decision by the council and board to enlarge the eastern limit of the Environmental Protection Area around the sanctuary and Sawmill Creek at Dundas Street West and Mississauga Road.

The new restrictions on caring for the environment will mean greenbelt over the 20 to 30 acres, and homes and townhouses, scheduled in the forest area, can't be built, she said.

Mississauga's Environment Advisory Board recommended to the planning board that no sewer works or future development be permitted on the Harkiss Road allowance, which runs about 30 feet north of Mrs. Inman's home on the edge of the sanctuary.

Mrs. Inman has said that the sewer would cut through the forest, which has 14 varieties of trees, and threaten the sanctuary created by Mr. Ivor, who is 99 and living in a nursing home.

Mr. Ivor worked for 50 years to preserve the woods as a wildlife refuge.  Mrs. Inman, who has 100 hawks, owls, eagles, vultures and other birds wintering at the site, said that about 2,000 injured birds pass through the sanctuary during a year.

Earlier, the Credit Valley Conservation Authority had granted approval of a sewer line to serve two subdivisions on Mississauga Road.

But the latest move would have that sewer line going north to Featherstone Drive or connecting with the University of Toronto's Erindale College trunk line, opposite our sanctuary.

A hydrogeology report included in the planning board's report showed that the forest's wetland provides a habitat for wildlife and nesting area for waterfowl besides absorbing runoff and supplying Sawmill Creek with water.

The report said that the white ash, beech, sugar maple and hemlock trees, one to two feet in diameter, are about 60 years old, exhibit good health and vigor, and under natural conditions can be expected to prosper an additional 100 years.

The planning report noted that the sewer project would not only remove all trees within the working easement, but would also have secondary effects beyond the right-of-way.  The initial removal of trees would open up the forest canopy, leaving the shallow-rooted trees open to the elements.

The board noted that the forested corridor along the valley of Sawmill Creek contains water, food and shelter for wildlife and provides an excellent habitat for a variety of wildlife.

It found that since the forest corridor is narrow any actions or activities which are disruptive to wildlife (such as tree removal, intrusion by structures or facilities and increased access) would impair the area's value as a wildlife habitat and present an obstacle to the movement of wildlife along the corridor.

The board report said that objectives and functions of the Winding Lane Wildlife Sanctuary are known internationally and need not be elaborated.  The presence of the sanctuary within the study area contributes substantially to the value of the forest as a wildlife habitat and as an outdoor laboratory for nature study.

It concluded that the forested area, by virtue of abundant mature trees, diversity of vegetation, presence of uncommon and specimen trees and wildlife habitat, constitutes a vital component of the forest along Sawmill Creek and and has considerable social value in terms of esthetic, recreational, urban design and educational benefits.

To ensure that environmental integrity, the Environmental Protection Area was enlarged to include all the forested area, the wetland and the steep slopes, cutting out the propsed housing projects and nudging into existing home backyards.

Mrs. Inman, excited by the changes passed unanimously by the council, said she was also wary because she's seen the property zoned greenbelt, then residential and then greenbelt before.

What they say and what they do may be two different things.  It still needs a watchful eye, she said.


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