Expansion of runway at the Waterloo Region Airport

To whom it may concern,

I am concerned about the negative impact that expansion of the Airport runway would have on the Kossuth Bog, a significant Ontario wetland.  

While the amount of bog lost is small, the Region of Waterloo has an obligation under it's Official Plan not to disturb wetlands. 

In this case, the Kossuth bog is categorized as significant in the Subwatershed Study Report.  The study also noted that: "Development is generally prohibited within PSW’s and not permitted within Core Environmental Features (ROP 2015)" and to "Avoid encroachment into the feature" (p. 187).

We need the bog and the animal life in it to sustain our own environment for healthy living.  Expansion would involve a great cost in energy in the concrete needed for the runway (among other excavation costs) but it would also result in a loss of a significant greenhouse gas reservoir.  The development would also have a significant impact on the Blanding's Turtle, which may lose it's life-sustaining creek.  Will diverting the creek be successful in keeping this endangered species alive?  

We also need to safeguard the trees that might be cut for the expansion and the intrusion into the Kossuth Bog, which is a significant Ontario wetland. In the past we have lost a lot of wetland territory and we should strive to preserve. 

We need a more environmentally responsible solution.

Sincerely,

Gail Pool, PhD