Pieces of history are at risk of being lost forever as work is done on St. Anne's Point Boulevard and Officers' Square, a Fredericton archeologist says.

Jason Jeandron said legislation requires that sections in both areas be excavated before heavy equipment is brought in for development work.

"This is a significant historic site both to the country and the people of New Brunswick and obviously the city of Fredericton," he said in an interview with Information Morning Fredericton.

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"This is a real jewel, this is one of the things that sets Fredericton apart."

The green space at Officers' Square is recognized by the province and Parks Canada as a historical area.

But the city plans to cut down 19 trees in coming months, starting with eight next week, although the trees are part of Officers' Square's character, Jeandron said.

The removal coincides with a planned revitalization of Officers' Square in the next four years. Most of the trees to disappear are beside the wall along the square.

One of the city's arguments for taking down the trees is that their roots would be compromised by major construction work being done on St. Anne's Point Boulevard this summer.

Although there have been protests against the removal of trees, Jeandron said the potential loss of history is just as disturbing.

Digging up the past

"You've got a huge volume of very significant archeology at that location," he said. "Largely, in part, what helps it to be defined as a national historic site and a provincial heritage place."

We've also got the potential for at least 8,000 years of archeological evidence of the ancestors of today's  Wolastoq  in that location.- Jason  Jeandron , archeologist 

He said the space at Officers' Square has at least four triggers for a required archeological excavation.
Excavation would be needed if a location is within 50 metres of a shoreline, the development extends onto a flood plain, if it's within 100 metres of a recorded historic site or if it's on an intervale.

"Any areas that they have the potential to destroy the archeology, then you want to collect all that information," he said.

"That's where the story comes from, it is the artifacts in the ground and how they're placed [with] each other."

A historical site

In 1784, Jeandron said, the British developed a garrison at the site, which grew to more than 50 buildings. Only four of those buildings from the military compound remain today and they were built in the early 1820s.

The Royal Canadian Regiment was formed Dec. 21, 1883, at that location, which Jeandron said gives it a significant place in the history of the Canadian army.

But much more than military history is stored at Officers' Square, he said.

At the northern end of the parking lot by the square is the old shoreline of the St. John River, known to Maliseet First Nations as Wolastoq. St. Anne's Point Boulevard now goes over the area, which was filled in for that purpose.

"We've also got the potential for at least 8,000 years of archeological evidence of the ancestors of today's Wolastoq in that location."

Jeandron said there's also the possibility archeologists would discover early pieces of Acadian and Loyalist settlement in the area.

But if there isn't excavation to uncover artifacts, the information associated with people who lived in the area over the centuries will be gone.

"Apart from a handful of small sites, we have very little information about how people occupied and lived on the banks of the Wolastoq and lived in our community."

Province to enforce rules

Jeandron said it's up to the province to enforce the rules about archeological work before development makes it impossible

Johanne Leblanc, a spokesperson for the Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture, suggested archeological and geophysical evaluations were done to identify locations of archeological interest at Officers' Square.

Character-defining elements of the area included "large mature trees" and "discovered and yet-to-be discovered archeological resources," she said in an email.

She said the province is considering approving a "site alteration plan," but final project plans will be required before approval can be final.

Leblanc was asked later to explain what was involved in the evaluations and to elaborate on the "discovered and yet-to-be discovered archeological resources," but at the end of the day she said she couldn't answer.

Public not impressed

At least 1,000 people have signed an online petition calling on the city to put the brakes on the Officers' Square plan.

Close to 100 residents attended Monday night's council meeting to protest against the removing the downtown trees.

The crowd roared at the meeting when council denied a motion to add an item to the agenda — which would have delayed work at the heritage site.

After the meeting, Mayor Mike O'Brien said he plans to consult with staff to "dig deep" in attempt to save some of the trees but he wasn't promising anything.