Allison Hanes: Demolition of Monarch Field is a crime against nature

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It seemed like a happy ending.

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This time last summer, environmental activists and nature lovers in Montreal were trying to prevent the construction of a medical mask factory on federally owned land known colloquially as Monarch Field.

Part of the old Dorval Golf Course, the area had slowly gone wild. It was filled with milkweed, goldenrod and other food for the powerful but endangered monarch butterfly, which winters in Mexico and then miraculously travels here to breed in the warmer months. The sanctuary was home to a myriad of other plant and animal species, including voles, snakes, and nesting birds. Adjacent to the Technoparc wetlands, an incredibly rich habitat for hundreds of species of migratory birds located in an industrial zone, conservationists made a strong case for preserving the site.

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As a result, Medicom, the company seeking to build a much-needed mask facility in Montreal with an investment from the federal government, made a wise and responsible decision. He would put his plant somewhere else. Why pave paradise when there are so many other vacant industrial and commercial properties available in Montreal?

But this victory was short-lived.

Campo Monarca was suddenly and inexplicably washed away earlier this summer. More than 4,000 milkweed plants and other food for butterflies and bees were cut. Even the bushes on the fringe where the birds nest were uprooted by giant machinery. Only the trees escaped unscathed.

The once-thriving Campo Monarca was reduced to 19 hectares of stubble in one fell swoop.

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The perpetrator of this outrage is Aéroports de Montréal, which leases the land from the federal government and was trying to sublease it to Medicom.

The reason was “maintenance”, despite the fact that the site was practically intact for 10 years.

This is an environmental atrocity. Although some monarchs still flutter about in search of scarce food, biologists say an entire generation of creatures has been wiped out. And this in a year in which researchers have observed fewer arthropods than usual. The larvae will never hatch and the adults are unlikely to grow strong enough to return home. The ADM has blood on his hands from the senseless massacre at Monarch Field.

This is a crime against nature. Montreal was granted gold status in 2019 for being a monarch-friendly city: the highest echelon and the first city in Canada to earn the designation. Much good you did by protecting essential butterfly habitat from wanton destruction. If this title is more than feel-good rhetoric, the WMD must be held accountable.

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This is hypocrisy. ADM spokesman Eric Forest claims the “maintenance” work was done to remove “nuisance” plants such as ragweed. This does not explain why the rest of the vegetation was decimated. He also claims that the organization remains committed to protecting monarchs and planted 200 square meters of milkweed seeds nearby. But don’t be fooled by the sheer number; 200 square meters is only 0.02 hectares. The ADM maintenance job just screwed up 1000 times that.

This is a cautionary tale. When the butterfly refuge was saved last year thanks to Medicom’s wise decision to relocate elsewhere, it seemed like mission accomplished. But without formal protection or official status, there were no guarantees for the safety of Campo Monarca, as has become tragically evident. There are many other green spaces of ecological value in Montreal and beyond that are equally vulnerable, including the Technoparc wetlands next door. We cannot assume that because they are here today they will still be here tomorrow.

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This is a wake-up call for authorities to act quickly and decisively to permanently preserve these precious natural places, which combat the heat island effect, purify the air and perform other vital functions, such as flood mitigation. The Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal may have frozen the development of “interesting” forests, grasslands and wetlands in the region, but that does not mean that public and private entities (such as the ADM) do not try. Constant vigilance is required.

This could be an opportunity. Montreal has now been chosen to host a long overdue global biodiversity summit this December. Government leaders from around the world will flock here for the COP15 speaks to negotiate new agreements in the conservation and prevention of the loss of essential ecosystems. What better way to underscore this vital effort than for the host country to preserve this bird, bee and butterfly habitat right next to the runway where the delegates will land? These are, after all, federally owned lands ready to be protected.

Monarch Field may be a barren wasteland now, thanks to the ADM. But given time, and a fighting chance, nature may one day be revived.