LANSING – The proposed Detroit River International Crossing will harm a rare ecosystem and threaten endangered species, Sierra Club Canada said Thursday in announcing it filed a lawsuit seeking to reverse an environmental permit issued by the Canadian Minister of Natural Resources.
The group said it will also seek an injunction to stop any environmental damage that would be caused by construction related to the Windsor-Essex Highway, which is proposed to connect DRIC with Ontario Highway 401.
The Ojibway Prairie complex contains Canada’s largest remaining tall grass prairie ecosystem, as well as habitat for the Massassauga Rattlesnake, Eastern Fox Snake, Butler’s Garter Snake, Kentucky Coffee-Tree, the Willowleaf Aster and the Dense Blazing Star, which are all threatened or endangered species.
“The DRIC project would result in the permanent degradation of a sensitive ecosystem and the destruction of threatened species at great public expense, all to provide additional infrastructure to meet a declining demand,” said Sierra Club Ontario Director Dan McDermott.
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