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By
Alexandra
Paul
Winnipeg
Free
Press
Thursday,
April
25,
2002
Five
hundred
people
sat
hushed
last
night
as
they
learned
a
forest
facing
a
bulldozer
is
really
a
virgin
forest
of
ancient
oaks
that
shelters
endangered
plants.
It
was
the
first
time
many
of
the
residents
had
heard
of
the
forest's
historical
and
botanical
riches.
A
swath
through
the
85-acre
forest
will
be
cut
to
make
way
for
a
bridge
and
access
road
to
a
new
subdivision.
The
information
was
presented
at
a
meeting
called
by
a
group
known
as
Save
Our
Seine,
which
hopes
to
stop
the
bulldozers
and
turn
the
St.
Vital-area
forest
into
a
park.
The
four-lane
bridge
at
Southglen
Boulevard
across
the
Seine
River
is
part
of
a
larger
development
to
connect
a
proposed
subdivision
of
700
homes
to
St.
Anne's
Road.Experts,
politicians
and
even
Yvon
Dumont,
Manitoba's
former
lieutenant
governor,
spoke
up
for
the
forest
known
as
Les
Bois
des
Esprits,
named
for
the
sprits
said
to
whisper
through
the
oak
trees
there.
SOS
Members,
citing
city
documents,
told
people
the
forest
stood
watch
over
some
of
the
province's
pivotal
moments
in
history.
The
original
homestead
for
Louis
Riel's
Parents
sat
on
the
edge
of
the
forest.
The
forest
is
home
to
oaks
that
are
at
least
200
years
old.
Deep
in
its
heart,
naturalists
have
found
such
rare
plants
as
the
endangered
yellow
lady's
slipper
and
Indian
pipe.
"We've
had
our
sights
on
this
land
and
at
all
costs
it
had
to
be
preserved,"
said
Jean
Pierre
Brunet,
SOS's
past-president.
The
85-acre
forest
is
owned
by
Ladco
Development
Ltd.
and,
in
partnership
with
the
province,
the
developer
intends
to
build
a
700-home
subdivision.
Last
month
developers
cleared
a
200-metre
swath
on
its
property
inside
the
forest.
"The
biggest
vote,
the
loudest
vote,
is
right
here
in
this
room,"
SOS
member
Marcel
Ritchot
told
the
crowd
as
he
recounted
the
bulldozer's
track
through
the
woods.
"There
it
is
folks,"
he
said
pointing
to
the
screen
to
show
an
aerial
map
of
the
forest.
"I
stood
in
front
of
those
bulldozers
for
the
longest
time.
It
was
not
a
pretty
thing
to
watch,"
Ritchot
said.
NDP
MLA
Nancy
Allen
(St.
Vital)
was
anxious
to
show
that
the
government,
despite
its
partnership
with
the
developer,
was
a
friend,
not
a
foe,
and
told
a
reporter
the
province
is
on
the
resident's
side.
"We're
all
on
the
same
page,"
Allen
said,
citing
negotiations
by
the
city
to
purchase
most,
if
not
all,
of
the
forest.
That
would
mean
no
bridge
at
Southglen,
and,
while
the
subdivision
would
go
ahead,
its
link
would
be
at
Warde
Avenue,
outside
the
forest.
Councillor
Vandal
described
the
tough
negotiating
over
the
forest.
"There
is
a
gap
between
what
the
developer
thinks
the
stand
is
worth
and
what
the
city
is
willing
to
pay."
Then
he
reminded
the
crowd:
"The
political
reality
we
live
in
is
Ladco
would
pay
for
the
Southglen
Bridge
and
the
city
would
have
to
pay
for
the
Warde
Avenue
and
we
don't
know
how
much
juice
the
city
has."
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