'It was something we couldn't not do': South Bruce Peninsula mayor on piping plover appeal

Sauble Beach, Ont. -

South Bruce Peninsula Mayor Janice Jackson says Sauble Beach’s shoreline is a bit of a mess right now.

“Our hands are so tied on the beach right now, because of the decision that has been made. We are struggling with the basic maintenance of Sauble Beach."

Jackson says the Ministry of Natural Resources is severely restricting what they can do to Sauble Beach’s shoreline, since the municipality was found guilty of destroying the habitat of the endangered piping plover back in 2019.

That decision was upheld earlier this year, so South Bruce Peninsula is taking their plea for Sauble Beach’s sand maintenance to Ontario’s highest court, the Court of Appeal, for a one-day hearing in November.

“It was something we couldn’t not do. We’ve already spent a tremendous amount of money defending ourselves over this situation, so to walk away from it all when there was just one day left to go…that wasn’t an option for us,” says Jackson.

Of course there’s a choice for the municipality and Jackson, says Friends of Sauble Beach member, John Strachan.

“She’s gone back on her word. She said let the judge decide, and she’s not letting the judge decide. It’s cost well over a million dollars. She’s throwing our money away, and there’s a lot of people pretty upset."

He believes the beach maintenance done at Sauble Beach in 2017 that led to the charges caused severe damage to the plover’s habitat and the beach as a whole.

But, he says since the ministry has stepped in to oversee the municipality’s beach maintenance, nature has taken over.

“If you walk the beach right now, there’s a little less beach because it goes in cycles, but the beach is restoring itself. It’s a gorgeous beach. Everyone I’ve talked to just loves it the way it is. There’s a few sticks and twigs, but that’s the beach we’ve grown up knowing,” says Strachan.

Strachan says a pair of piping plovers have been spotted on Sauble’s shores this summer. He’s hopeful they stay.

Jackson says she’s all for having plovers on the beach, but keeping the beach tidy for its millions of human visitors each year is important as well.

South Bruce Peninsula’s piping plover appeal will be heard in November.