In an area where thousands of birds and insects used to thrive, it is now a challenge to find even one.

That’s from Michael Parsons, a resident of the RM of Redberry, located near Hafford. Parsons says a nearby quarter of land, which has been a designated wildlife zone for as long as he can remember, now has some suspicious activity going on.

Parsons says that last spring, he noticed a heavy presence of construction machinery on the land. Shortly after, the wildlife quarter was plowed up and sprayed with strong chemical that killed some of the vegetation in his nearby yard. When Parsons issued a complaint with Environment Canada, he was met with an apology, told the land was being put back to alfalfa, and that it would never be sprayed again.

Parson’s let the issue go at that time; however, the final straw came on July 25 of this year. Parsons says he witnessed an old grain truck dumping what looked like chemical barrels all over the land. Fifteen minutes later, a regular sprayer came in to finish the job. Since then, Parsons says he’s been hard pressed to find a single bird, insect or healthy plant.

“Within one week, I started seeing things dying. Within ten days, the last of the bees on this property are dead. All I can find on four quarters of land, searching hard, are four wild bees. Four. That’s not enough to keep one cucumber plant alive,” he explains.

Determined to figure out what was going on, he contacted every He says, in talking with a chemical specialist in Calgary, he’s learned that likely the only substance that can cause such death and destruction is an illegal chemical.

“I phone there every single day. We were talking, and these are experts, they have over fifty-some years of experience with chemical, that these lands around me have become dumping grounds for illegal chemical.”

In an emailed statement to CJWW, the Ministry of Environment stated that, “The rejuvenation work undertaken on FWDF lands… was necessary to restore habitat conditions and improve the long-term ecological health of the site…Activities on portions of the existing hay land included targeted vegetation management, limited cultivation, and planned reseeding with permanent forage species. These measures are intended to control noxious weeds, rehabilitate degraded areas, and establish stable forage cover that benefits wildlife and enhances habitat quality over time.”

Parsons continues to report the issue to as many agencies as he can find, hoping to spur a large-scale investigation into the matter.