UNANIMOUS VOTE by Dufferin County Council favouring a committee’s recommendation that it deny The Highland Companies’ bid to clear-cut a 2.4-hectare woodlot was hardly surprising in the circumstances.

However, it should serve as notice to Highland that it should be more cautious in its future dealings with municipal politicians, at the county level as well as at the lower tier.

At present, we have no idea whether the proposed tree removal was simply to achieve more efficient potato planting and harvesting operations or was really, as Highland’s critics have alleged, merely the first step toward the longer-term objective of turning 2,400 acres of Dufferin’s prized potato lands into a 200-feet-deep “megaquarry.”

But the lesson to be learned is that when it comes to dealing with the public and the electorate’s chosen representatives, it’s always a good idea to proceed slowly and minimize the risks of offending anyone.

In this case, if the objective was indeed to make farmland more productive, Highland ought to have accompanied its application with both a guarantee that the farm would not form part of a quarry for 20 years or so and a commitment to replace the lost trees through a credible reforestation plan.