Proposal to cut down Breslau woodlot for pork plant withdrawn

A proposal by Conestoga Meats to cut down a woodlot in Breslau to build a new pork processing facility has been withdrawn.

The Breslau-based pork processors first proposed the development to the regional Licensing and Hearings Committee on Aug. 28, where the decision to put the proposal before regional council on Sept. 25 was made.

Sue Foxton is the chair of the Committee and a regional councillor. She said the proposal was met with a mass of public pushback.

"I was getting a lot of emails," she said.

Foxton said she was "not going to support it" when it was due to come up again before regional council Sept. 25.

"[The woodlot] goes back 1,000 years, with no deterioration of the trees. Can you imagine what that's like? It's probably one of the rarest things in Canada today," said Foxton.

Foxton said the woodlot is the habitat of endangered species as well, like flying squirrels.

"They're so rare," she said.

The initial proposal was to clear cut a 14.4 hectare (35 acre) woodlot on the company's land and build the new facility, where afterwards they would plant new trees surrounding it.

Despite efforts to present a viable alternative to the existing woodlot, Conestoga Meats' Aug. 28 proposal was met with pushback by delegations from environmentalists Inga Rinne from Trees for Woolwich and Greg Michalenko, the treasurer for the Grand River Environmental Network.

"Youcan't just replace a forest It's a very difficult thing to try and replicate it." said Michalenko in his five-minute delegation.

The proposed pork facility was expected to be an economic driver according to Arnold Drung, president of Conestoga Meats.

The motion has been removed from Sept. 25's regional council meeting agenda. Foxton said there are currently no other items pertaining to Breslau's woodlot before council.