Bulldozers moved in Friday to clear and drain a section of Ottawa's greenbelt for a proposed trade-show centre near the airport, before a provincial environmental study has been completed.

The move to clear-cut a section of greenbelt along Uplands Drive drew protesters including mayoral candidate Clive Doucet, who claim the site is an endangered wetland that needs further study before it disappears.

Sol Shuster of the Greenbelt Coalition says a 'terrible precedent' has been set. (CBC)

"This is the beginning of the end of part of the greenbelt, and it sets a terrible precedent for development not only in the greenbelt but also on a wetland," said Sol Shuster, chair of the Greenbelt Coalition of Canada's Capital Region.

The protesting environmentalists expressed frustration that the land's stewards, including the National Capital Commission and the federal government, are not waiting for the provincial environmental assessment of the project.

Property-development firm Shenkman Corp., which is receiving public money from the city for the trade-show centre, said it has to drain and clear the 13.6-hectare site before winter or the complex won't be ready for 2012.

But Doucet said the move to clear-cut before getting the province's environmental OK shows Ottawa is a "developer-driven city."

"Developers are taking the city and running away with it," Doucet said. "We've got to reclaim our city. We've got to take it back."

Doucet hopped a no-trespassing sign and brought a photographer to get a better look at the destruction. Workers threatened to call police if the photographer didn't leave, which he did after snapping several pictures.

The $40-million trade show site will have about 220,000 square feet of space and parking for more that 2,000 cars.

The land is owned by Transport Canada and is currently leased to the Ottawa International Airport Authority.