Dear Supporter,
The Friends of Silver Creek have joined forces with the Blue Mountain Watershed Trust (BMWT) to save our Provincially Significant Silver Creek Wetland in Collingwood, ON from destruction due to development. We are currently in a fight at the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) opposing a development in the wetland. The 2-dimensional flood modelling we have had prepared proves the threat of destructive flooding to the wetland and to surrounding communities is real and incontrovertible.
Blue Mountain Watershed Trust’s case at the Ontario OLT is now the only remaining path to meaningfully mitigate this risk. The Town of Collingwood and the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority (NVCA) have chosen to rely on rudimentary (the developer’s) 1-Dimensional flood modelling—data that fails to capture the scope and direction of water displaced in a major storm. Without our challenge at the OLT, that incomplete picture will stand, and our communities will bear the consequences – assured, significantflooding well above today’s levels given a major storm event.
Already we have invested over $130,000 in expert studies, legal counsel, and evidence to bring the full story before the Tribunal. To see this case through the OLT process, we need to raise additional funds to pay for our legal team engineering and planning consultants. Thanks to early generosity, we have raised $30,000, but these monies have already been allocated to cover earlier financial commitments. We are still facing a projected $45,000 - $60,000 shortfall and time is critical.
This fight is about protecting the Silver Creek Wetland from destruction and avoidable flooding. It’s also about protecting existing communities from being flooded out.
We are doing this for all of us, for future generations, and because Collingwood deserves responsible planning that puts public safety and long-term resilience ahead of developer pressure.
Please give! Your donation is tax-deductible and a receipt shall be provided to each donor. Every contribution directly supports paying bills coming due on this essential work.
Together, we can ensure that decisions made today do not create flooding disasters tomorrow. Thank you for standing with us at this critical moment.
Sincerely,
Carl Michener, President
The Blue Mountain Watershed Trust Foundation and Friends of Silver Creek