[WolselyMan]

Incompetence such as this seriously pisses me off.

Arborist blasts Assiniboine Park for uprooting century-old trees http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manito...oted-1.4163600

The destruction of century-old trees in Assiniboine Park has alarmed a Winnipeg arborist, who says the park's stewards are more focused on building attractions than maintaining the natural environment.

"It's a park, why are we removing trees in a park? It seems so counter-intuitive and counter-productive. It's not what's supposed to go on," said Matt Vinet, director of the Prairie chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture.

"I don't think a lot of people realized what was going on."



While the park says it plans to plant hundreds of new trees, in recent years, many decades-old trees have been taken down for developments such as the Qualico Centre, the nature and adventure playground, and the zoo's parking lot.

And more — upwards of 150 — are expected to be uprooted to make way for the Canada Diversity Gardens, the signature project in the $200-million redevelopment campaign at the park.

The facility is being touted by the park as a place where visitors will learn about sustainability, conservation and nature.

"That's really kind of the opposite of what's going on there," said Vinet. "They're not exactly sustainable when they're a park removing a large number of irreplaceable trees."

He doesn't believe what is happening in Assiniboine Park would occur in other cities, such as Vancouver's Stanley Park, New York City's Central Park or London's Hyde Park.

"You have to have a really good reason to take a tree out," he said, adding there are also repercussions for the ecosystem to consider.