Verdun borough, residents butt heads over future of urban forest on Nuns' Island

A group of residents on Montreal's Nuns' Island is pushing back against a decision to cut down around 1,000 ash trees this winter in a beloved urban forest — the Domaine Saint-Paul. 

Starting in January, the borough of Verdun will fell trees within 25 metres of the park's trails and infrastructure. Most of those trees are either dead or decaying due to infection by the emerald ash borer, a sparkling invasive beetle.

Earlier this year, concerned residents formed the non-profit Les Amis du Domaine Saint-Paul to advocate for the 26-hectare forest which they say deserves patience.

"It's peaceful. If you have some torments or you want to calm down, it's the best place to come. There's no other place. It's not like by walking down Ste-Catherine that you're going to find peace," said Alain Bossé, the group's president.

Bossé understands trees must be cut.

But he says cutting them down gradually — instead of getting rid of around 1,000 in the new year — will give the forest a better chance of regenerating and prevent it from becoming a wetland.

Philippe Tremblay, an administrator with the group, says tree seedlings might not have a fighting chance against the phragmite and buckthorn, two invasive plant species growing around Nuns' Island and the Battures Lake which is near the Domaine Saint-Paul.

"Once you start changing the ecosystem from a shaded area to a fully lit area, stuff starts happening that is not good," said Tremblay.

Approximately 986 trees will be felled, according to a spokesperson for the borough. They said that number could vary slightly after all the trees are marked in the coming weeks. 

The borough has said on its website that it's chosen to fell all the trees all at once so as to disturb the ground as little as possible. Once the trees are cut down, heavy machinery will have to be brought in to remove the trunks from the site, the borough explains. 

In a statement, Verdun borough mayor Marie-Andrée Mauger added that the borough has consulted with the Environment Ministry and received its authorization for the intervention. She says the borough is also working in collaboration with the City of Montreal's urban forests team. 

"I wish to reiterate that the infestation of emerald ash borer in the woodland requires us to take certain actions in order to protect the woodland and keep it open to the community," reads the statement.

Les Amis du Domaine Saint-Paul received a copy of the felling authorization certificate issued by the Environment Ministry to the Verdun borough through an access-to-information request. CBC News has seen the document. The certificate dated January of this year states that the trees targeted by the intervention must present an imminent risk for the trail users and park infrastructure.

Tremblay worries the borough is exaggerating the threat posed by some of the trees to be cut down. He says the citizen's group has also consulted with biologists who say a gradual approach to the tree felling might be less harmful to the forest's overall well-being.

Ultimately, he says he hopes the borough isn't committing a mistake by being too hasty, and that the forest will be able to withstand the felling.

"It really is the heart of Nuns' Island in many ways," said Tremblay.