Turtles are front and centre in a case before the Ontario
Court of Appeal which is considering the fate of a proposed wind farm near
Belleville.
Prince
Edward County Field Naturalists Club won its case to protect the turtles when
it appeared before Ontario’s environmental tribunal.
Gilead
Power, which wants to erect nine turbines at Ostrander Point south of Belleville
on the shore of Lake Ontario, got that ruling overturned in divisional court in
February.
The
courtroom was packed this week when lawyer Eric Gillespie, who speaks for the
naturalists, pleaded with the three justices to restore the environmental
tribunal’s decision.
"The
tribunal was squarely within its mandate," he said. "We are simply
asking this court to respect and uphold that original decision."
Gillespie
noted the tribunal heard evidence over 24 days but essentially based its
decision on four duelling experts on the long-lived Blanding's turtles.
The
main issue, according to the tribunal, was that five kilometres of access road
needed would lead to more turtle road kill, poaching and predation, and
degradation of critical habitat.
The
turtles, which are already in decline, can take up to 25 years to mature and
survive for 75 years, court heard.
"It's
a highly vulnerable population," Gillespie said.
Even
a single individual matters, he said, when you're dealing with a small local
population.
Any bets on how many turtles show up near proposed wind farms?
