CONSERVATION AUTHORITY GETS SCHOOLED

   The pluckiest little Christmas protest in Canada began on Dec. 1 with a single decorated tree alongside a dirt trail in Heber Down, a conservation area north of Whitby, Ont., where the bedroom communities east of Toronto finally give over to farmland
   It was not to last. Fearing the litter that will be left in January, and having not received any official request for permission, the Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority (CLOCA) ordered staff to clear it all away. It decided the decorations “severely impacted” the balance they aim to strike between environmental priorities and public use.  “Our staff are removing them now to reduce the hazard and remind people that any type of activity of this nature requires communication and permission,” said a CLOCA spokesperson.
    Today, if you drive to where Country Lane dead ends at a locked gate, walk down the road as it changes from asphalt to dirt, then take the Devil’s Den trail up into the trees, you will come to a hilltop clearing. There you will see fully 14 trees decorated for the season, lining the path as far as you can see, like a jolly Yuletide array of evergreen middle fingers to the Grinch.