The demolition begins

Heritage fishing village at Point Traverse being erased

It took only a few seconds for the first structure in the heritage fishing village at Point Traverse to be reduced to a pile of broken lumber. The small weathered shed was no match for the crunching claws of a skid steer. The long-threatened erasure of the fishing village has begun, with the intention of the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) to return the area to its natural state. It is expected the demolition will take a week to 10 days.

South Shore Joint Initiative vice-president Cheryl Anderson did not mince words when asked how she felt about the demolition “I’m pretty mad about it,” she said. “For two reasons. This is a heritage fishing village. It’s been in place here at Point Traverse for about 200 years. The heritage component of this is very important. There’s still one family actively fishing from this harbour, and those fish are a sustainable resource. This is also the last habitat for barn swallows in the National Wildlife Area. Other sheds have been boarded up by the CWS, and now the CWS wants to take this shed down.”

The shed is definitely in need of repair, but Ms. Anderson said it would only be about a day’s work for two people to shore it up. There are eight barn swallow nests remaining from last season. With an average of five chicks being fledged and two broods per summer, that represents a production of about 80 new barn swallows. This species is designated as being of “special concern” in Ontario. The destruction of habitat is particularly acute for avian insectivores, which have seen a population decline of 70 per cent in the past 50 years. Environmental groups from the County have petitioned Stephen Guilbeault, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, to stop the demolition, but to no avail. Requests to preserve the last remaining cottage have likewise remained fruitless.