Landowner Doug Healey declared war when he used a bulldozer and back-hoe to clear vegetation on 10 acres of land after the city said it would be re-designated as "provincially significant wetlands."

It only takes 50 per cent of a land’s vegetation to be considered "water tolerant" for a wetlands designation, said Healey, who added with a mischievous smile: "So, we removed the vegetation."

The bold move has raised eyebrows across the region and captured the imagination of rural dwellers, many of whom applaud the decision as a means to fight back against over regulation. The "wetlands" designation means a landowner cannot develop or change the existing use of the land. That’s stealing without compensation to the landowner, Healey said.

"Farm land redesignated as ‘significant wetlands’ will have a huge decrease in value," said Kinburn land assessor Glenn Lucas, who sits on Ottawa’s task force for property assessment and taxation. "It could drop in value from $2,500 an acre to $200 or $400 an acre. ‘Wetlands’is not a good designation to have on your property. ‘Significant wetlands’ is the most evil designation of all. Anything that limits the person’s use of a property will have a negative affect on land value."

Healey and four other landowners in the area razed their "wetlands" on August 22.

When Farmers Forum checked on August 24, Healey’s land was dry. So was beef farmer Terry Hale’s 30 acres that he cleared. "This area is bone dry," Hale said. "There’s not a puddle on it. It’s wet in the Spring. All farms are wet in the spring."

The city of Ottawa has found itself in a quagmire of issues since it amalgamated 11 rural townships in 2001, including 1,450 farms. Goulbourn-area city councillor Janet Stavinga, who has to deal with the landowners, said that until more research is done it’s too early to say if landowners should be compensated when their land is re-designated.

"Traditionally, compensation has not been under taken," she told Farmers Forum.

Stavinga, who sat on a committee to re-designate land and approves of the idea, said that it is necessary to protect wetlands as an animal habitat and as a water recharge area. Shockingly, she could not offer an argument why "provincially significant wetlands" are so important that it is necessary to put the wetlands strangle hold on privately-held land.

She did say that the process of re-designating land needs to be halted until everyone understands the issue.

Rushing to her defence, Ministry of Natural Resources area supervisor in Kemptville, Kerry Coleman, said that landowners can continue to use "wetlands" for its existing use, including farming. "You can’t develop it," he said. "You can’t pave it for a subdivision."

MNR acting district planner Gary McLaren met with Farmers Forum to resolve the landonwers’ concern. Explaining the importance of wetlands, he said that without them, wells would dry up in some areas, flooding would occur in others and cities would have to pay for the infrastucture to pipe in water. Compounding the problem is that all wetlands in rural Ottawa are on privately owned lands, he said.

The city is using "pseudo-science" to pull the wool over people’s eyes, said Goulbourn Landowners’ Association president Tony Walker. Individuals should not bear the burden of what any level of government considers a common good for all of its citizens, he said.