On January 25th during a regular council meeting the topic and concern of wetland filling and protection for turtles was a topic brought into discussion. The counsel did share their concerns for wetland filling activities that are taking place in the township although, the only actions taken were to see if the landowner on Gelert road had the proper permits and plans from the MNRF to fill in the wetland.
The reason stated about why actions on implementing a bylaw that restricts site alterations, like wetland filling, are not being taken immediately, is due to the current bylaw that has been drafted by the County that includes site alteration bylaws for wetlands and other water bodies. This bylaw from the county has been in the works for 4 years and there is still questions of whether it will ever be passed.
Every township in Ontario except those within Haliburton County have site alteration bylaws in place as a fundamental way to protect natural heritage and historical sites from destruction. Asking to have site alteration bylaws put in place is not a big ask and is nothing out of the ordinary. This means we need to continue to push for Dysart to create a site alteration bylaw, or amend the current zoning bylaws for environmentally protected areas to include site alteration bylaws to directly protect the land and water.
A link to the January 25th Council meeting can be found below.