Green Space News
Thundering Waters Forest, Niagara Falls
Location: Thundering Waters area north of the Welland River, east of the Hydro Canal, south of the Hydro Corridors and west of the Thundering Waters Golf Course and the Stanley Avenue Business Park.
Overview: The Thundering Waters Slough Forest in Niagara Falls, Ontario is a 484-acre old growth Carolinian forest located near the UNESCO Niagara Escarpment Biosphere Reserve, one hour south of Toronto, and is under threat of extensive development. The proponent, Chinese developer, GR Investment Group, and it’s Canadian arm, GR (Can) Investments, proposes a planned housing, retail and entertainment development called Riverfront Community, which among other things offers “bio-diversity offsetting”, a controversial concept that would recreate Provincially Significant Wetlands (PSW) elsewhere on the property to accommodate aspects of the development.
Proponents say the Riverfront Community will feature 1,117 dwelling units, including 238 for seniors and 500 hotel units, while creating between 1,800 and 2,800 jobs.
Thundering Waters contains a high diversity of native species and a variety of habitats including globally endangered savannah, vernal pools, and wetlands. The role of vernal pools and swamp lands is to assist with the natural regulation, and cleansing of, the watershed. Despite recent flooding in the Great Lakes basin and the Niagara watershed, there are currently no plans to mitigate the effects of the loss of this important floodplain.
Thundering Waters Slough Forest boasts an extensive list of species found to be at risk/threatened per Species at Risk Act (S.C. 2002, c. 29) and the Endangered Species Act, 2007, S.O. 2007, c. 6. These include, though are not limited to:
- Species-at-risk (SAR) bats (the Little Brown Myotis, the Northern Myotis, the Tri-Coloured Bat)
- SAR birds (the Barn Swallow, the Acadian Flycatcher, and the Chimney Swift)
- Common Snapping Turtle
- Monarch Butterfly
- Nine Lined Beetle
Thundering Waters slough forest and wetlands areas are also home to many amphibians, reptiles, and turtles while the tall grass savannah provides habitat for a huge number of wildlife species, including many that are officially designated as rare at the global, national or provincial level. Further, this eco-gem lies directly in the migratory path of pollinators returning north. Trees range from Black gum trees, oaks, maples, and tulip trees to plum trees transplanted by Indigenous peoples.
220 acres of the 484-acre site are Provincially Significant Wetlands (PSW) and protected through Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF), however these protections are not ironclad. Currently, plans are underway to develop the buffering acres and the results could be disastrous.
(Source)
The watershed falls under the jurisdiction of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA).
Timeline (chronological order)
|
Date |
Event |
|
2010 |
Designated a provincially significant wetlands |
|
2015-09-22 |
Open House #1 |
|
2016-04-27 |
Open House #2 |
|
2016-07-11 |
Open House #3 |
|
2016-08-23 |
Statutory Public Meeting (Niagara Falls City website) |
|
|
Niagara Falls City has initiated a Secondary Plan process for the project. The Secondary Plan is a land use, transportation and servicing policy plan for a sub-area of a city. It details how the policies and land use designations of the Official Plan are to be implemented. The Thundering Waters Secondary Plan, when completed, will be approved under the Planning Act as an amendment to the Official Plan. (link) [quoted from website with emphasis added] |
|
2019-01-15 |
Niagara Falls City Council Meeting to discuss illegal bulldozing in provincially significant wetlands (video) |
|
2020-01-22 |
Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) issues stop work order (article) |
|
2020-01-30 |
Call to Action – stand with the Haudenosaunee First Nations to protect Thundering Waters Forest from a massive commercial and real estate development by a Chinese development company.
Public consultation for a draft plan of subdivision and zoning bylaw amendment Thursday Jan 30, 2020 5-6pm Gale Centre, 5152 Thorold Stone Rd |
|
2020-10-06 |
Controversial Niagara Falls development going before public meeting Oct. 6 "The project, now formally called Riverfront Community, has in the past also been referred to as Thundering Waters and Paradise at Niagara Falls. "Plans were first made public in November 2015. "Supporters believe the development would be an economic boon to the city, with GR noting it would create about 3,000 direct and 10,000 indirect jobs, plus 1,000 jobs during construction. "Critics believe the development will destroy provincially significant wetlands and the overall rich ecosystem of the area, including habitat." More info on the project: https://niagarafalls.ca/city-hall/planning Register to speak (closes today at 4:30): email billmatson@niagarafalls.ca Watch the meeting: niagarafalls.ca/councilvideos
|
|
2020-10-28 |
Update from FB: “Area now threatened by scheme that would cut trees for meadows to have sewers beneath. It is to be called a "Special" Environmental Protection Area. One of the plants supposed to be removed to this place an Rare Orchid, the Great Plains Lady Tress may have been wiped out by developer in the cutting that is still subject of conservation authority prosecution.” |
NEWS (reverse chronological order)
|
Date |
Source |
Title |
Comment |
|
2020-01-24 |
NiagaraFallsReview.ca |
Developer denies NPCA issued stop-work order for Thundering Waters |
Grant laFleche |
|
2020-01-22 |
StCatharinesStandard.ca |
Grant LaFleche |
|
|
2019-01-30 |
iHeartRadio.ca |
Noelle Sinclair |
|
|
2019-01-01 |
Facebook.com / Mike Enns |
Mike Enns |
|
|
2018-10-22 |
Retail-insider.com |
Groundbreaking Development in Niagara Falls to be First-of-its-Kind in Canada |
Craig Patterson - Paradise Walk Niagara Falls |
|
2018-06-14 |
Sierraclub.ca |
Greenbelt: Haudenosaunee Strive to Protect Thundering Waters Forest |
Jerry Dong - Dr. John Bacher |
|
2018-06-02 |
John Bacher PHD |
Dr. John Bacher / Les Stewart |
|
|
2018-05-05 |
1dish1mic.com |
- Poster: Save Thundering Waters Forest on May 8, 2018 |
|
|
2018-03-25 |
John Bacher PHD |
Dr. John Bacher / Les Stewart |
|
|
2018-03-25 |
Youtube / Caver461 |
Saving Niagara Falls Forest from a Chinese Development Company (12 mins) |
Dr. John Bacher / Martin Moontoes |
|
2018-01-19 |
Niagara At Large |
Wetland Downrating is a Defeat in Ongoing Effort to Save Thundering Waters Forest |
Doug Draper |
|
2017-08-23 |
NiagaraAtLarge.com |
Doug Draper |
|
|
2012-11-21 |
NiagaraThisWeek.com |
Critics not swayed by changes to Thundering Waters development |
Richard Hutton |
|
2017-08-18 |
Itsgoingdown.org |
Niagara Falls, ON: Thundering Waters Forest Occupied Against Development |
|
|
2017-08-15 |
CBC News |
Protestors camp out to defend Thundering Waters Forest from Niagara Falls development |
Kelly Bennett |
|
2017-05-04 |
Greenpeace Greenwire |
EmilyBeth |
|
|
2017? |
Change.org |
Protect Thundering Waters Forest / Stop Riverfront Community |
Petition - Official Plan Amendment File No. AM-2017-015 |
More Information:
https://www.facebook.com/STWF6/ / https://www.facebook.com/groups/stwf6/
https://niagarafalls.ca/city-hall/planning/thundering-waters.aspx
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Disclaimer: This information has been compiled through private amateur research for the purpose of allowing the reader to make an informed and educated decision. However, while the information is believed to be reliable, completeness and accuracy cannot be guaranteed.
APPENDICES
https://awareontario.nfshost.com/AWARE-Ontario/Issues/GS_Niagara%20Falls/Thundering_Waters.htm