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And the crews have left behind all the chipped-up wood, in effect spreading a layer of coarse mulch that will suppress new growth.

The woods surrounding Mud Lake are a swamp forest and a wetland that is designated as provincially significant. They are also a designated Area of Natural and Scientific Interest in Ottawa — on the same ecological level as Mer Bleue, the Burnt Lands, Stony Swamp and Shirleys Bay. And the NCC has designated the area as being of national significance.

“What we had there before was bush on both sides (of the path) and three to four feet between it and that’s it,” Weber said Thursday.

Photo by ? / OTTwp

“So the official story is that they cut down ash trees (because of) the ash borer. But they have cut down everything. It’s clearcut.

“And you could say, OK, something is going to grow back in. But what they left is a thick carpet of chipping residue and nothing is going to grow there. This is big chips and it is a deep pile.

“This is absolute nonsense … It is supposed to be a conservation area. It is supposed to be nature doing its thing.”

He estimates the length of the cut area at 600 to 700 metres. The NCC says it is 250 metres.

The federal agency said it had to do the cutting for the sake of safety, as ash trees are dying and may fall on someone.

“We did cut down about 200 trees in a 250-metre length. Those were ash trees” that were dead or dying, said spokeswoman Dominique LeBlanc.

“For the health and safety of the public we can’t leave trees that are diseased or dead because it causes a hazard for the public.”