The City of Longueuil has decided to complete construction work on a section of road that had been stopped in 2021 because it was destroying one of the last habitats of the chorus frog. Even if the municipality assures that the project has been reviewed to reduce its impact, an expert on the threatened batrachian judges that the planned measures will not make it possible to preserve this environment essential to the survival of the species.
Longueuil had decided in 2021 to extend boulevard Béliveau over a distance of 300 meters, in order to allow real estate development on either side of the road, and this, in the heart of an essential habitat for the tree frog. -cricket. The Legault government had also authorized the project, despite an opinion from its experts warning of the impacts on the species.
Longueuil was therefore able to destroy a good part of the wetlands in the sector, before a work stoppage was ordered in the wake of a legal action by the Center québécois du droit de l’environnement (CQDE) and the Society for Nature and parks (SNAP Quebec). Subsequently, the federal government finally passed an order protecting the habitat that had been largely destroyed.
Nearly two years later, the City of Longueuil announced Tuesday that it intends to restart work to complete the extension of boulevard Béliveau, which cuts in two what was previously an important area for the tree frog. “The work had been completed at 75% and it was not possible to restore the natural environment,” argued Mayor Catherine Fournier, in an interview with the Duty.
The mayor, who was elected after work stopped in 2021, assures us that she would never have supported the road project. But she adds that the restoration of this wetland is not an option. “It was not possible, according to our analyses. This is the first option that we analyzed with our teams, but it was not technically feasible. According to her, “there is a question of costs, but that is not the main reason”. As early as November 2021, she had raised the idea of completing the boulevard, after the adoption of the federal decree.
The road project will therefore be relaunched in the spring of 2024, on the condition that the Trudeau government authorizes work in the area protected by the decree. Mme Fournier also says he is confident that the City will get the green light, because of the measures planned to try to reduce the impact of the project on the tree frog, a tiny frog about three centimeters in length.
Longueuil essentially plans to set aside all real estate development in the habitat duly protected by the Species at Risk Act, in addition to reducing the width of the right-of-way of the road section. “A wildlife crossing specifically dedicated to the needs of the chorus frog” is also planned under the road, bike paths and sidewalks, according to the press release.
What science?
Biologist and general manager of CPAWS Quebec, Alain Branchaud considers that the terms provided do not guarantee the possibility of saving what remains of the species in the sector. “I don’t understand what science is behind this,” he dropped on Tuesday, saying he was very disappointed with this announcement.
“We want to build a funnel under the street in the hope that the tree frog will use it. That’s an incredible distance for a tree frog. And we add a lot of disturbance, with in particular the passage of cars, the light, etc. It is a compromise, when there is an urgent need to act to save the species, ”he argued.
By maintaining the road project that divides this natural environment, Mr. Branchaud believes that we are adding to the threats hanging over this batrachian, which has already lost more than 90% of its habitat, mainly due to urban sprawl. “Here we lose a fundamental element of the biology of the species, namely the connectivity between habitats, which allows them to move. And without connectivity, we risk losing this population. »
According to a scientific opinion written by experts from the Government of Quebec, this new section of street will destroy “a key crossing point” and “breeding habitats” of the species which are “particularly active”. The document specifies that the situation of this threatened species “represents an indicator of the loss of ecological goods and services provided by temporary wetlands and natural environments in urban and peri-urban areas”.