Region Archives: Canada East

Wilderness champions are renewing their push to safeguard Wolf Lake, in the Chiniguchi area near Sudbury, from the impacts of mining activity. In a recent article published at the Ontario Nature website, former Science North biologist and Wolf Lake Coalition member Franco Mariotti argues there should no longer be any dawdling on a plan the province itself articulated years ago — in the Mike Harris era, no less — for the area’s protection. “In 1999 the Ontario government’s Lands for Life public planning process declared Wolf Lake ‘a park in waiting,’ stating that once the mineral leases would lapse the area would become a park,” he notes. Two-dozen years later, it’s the park proponents who are still waiting, while junior miners continue to probe for riches — without, in Mariotti’s assessment, finding anything worth the disruption to the environment.

Yemi Adeyeye

Dave Lawson lives next to Optimist Memorial Park and says he walks through it almost everyday. The Windsor resident says before Thursday night’s city-run information session about a possible controlled burn in the park next year he was worried — but not now. “Having seen what their [city] plan can do. It’s not nearly as dangerous as I thought it might have been,” said Lawson. He says he wasn’t sure if a controlled burn could get out of control and what the end result would look like. …City of Windsor forester Yemi Adeyeye says the purpose of a burn in the park’s wooded area would be to foster growth of desirable species and get rid of materials people could light on fire. “Dry leaves that will fall … on the ground. That could really cause an accidental burning, or someone who will go there intentionally to burn it up,” he said.

HALIFAX — Forestry consultant Mike Lancaster sees a natural, long-term solution to the threat wildfires pose to city dwellers. The director of the St. Margaret’s Bay Stewardship Association says much of the 1,000 hectares that ignited in May — destroying 151 homes and businesses in Halifax’s western suburbs — was young, dense, coniferous woodland that had grown after decades of intensive logging. Pointing to the canopy of older-growth trees just three kilometres from lands scarred by wildfire, Lancaster describes how the space between the trees, the mixture of species and the higher branches decrease flammability. He says Nova Scotia should plan for centuries of restoration — rather than continuing a cycle of encouraging highly combustible trees and frequent cutting. “If we clear cut forests, it’s going to reduce the risk in the short term, but in decades … we’ll be back into the same problem of fire risk we already had,” he says.

About 60 kilometres east of Ottawa sits a forest resurrected. In the early 1900s, a canopy of hemlock and white pines was cleared to plant crops – an ill-guided plan, as the sandy soils proved unsuitable for agriculture. So sat a desert of abandoned farms near Bourget, Ontario until a local agronomist started planting conifers on the land in the late 1920s. Since then, thanks to collaborative efforts, the landscape has regrown and, with 18 million trees planted, it has transformed into a thriving, biodiverse woodland. It is now called Larose Forest, one of the largest community forests in southern Ontario – a sanctuary for wildlife and an important place for people to connect with nature amidst Canada’s most populous region. A small team at the United Counties of Prescott and Russell (UCPR) planning and forestry department leads the responsible management of Larose – efforts that have earned FSC certification for nearly 20 years. 

QUEBEC — An Atikamekw community in northern Quebec recently signed a relationship framework with the Quebec government in order to manage forestry and other economic activity in and around the community. The Atikamekw Council of Wemotaci signed its relationship agreement with the Quebec government last Thursday, thereby making the ‘The Nahitatowin masinahikan Relationship Framework Agreement between the Quebec government and the Atkiamekw of Wemotaci’ official. The agreement will regulate forestry activities in and around the community and will provide the framework for collaboration and negotiation when it comes to protection, management and valuation of the ancestral, unceded territory of the Atikamekw of Wemotaci for today and future generations, the Atikamekw Council of Wemotaci chief said. …Vivianne Chilton said, “this will allow us to better protect the resources on our traditional unceded territory.”

ONTARIO — Live Christmas trees have become more expensive in the last few years, but they continue to be a popular option for many families, according to tree farmers. Javid Gibson has owned Walker’s Farm Fresh Trees in Bonfield, Ontario for six years, and said business has increased every year since he bought the farm. It’s one of the few remaining Christmas tree farms in northeastern Ontario. “We’ve seen a huge increase in the demand for real live Christmas trees,” he said. …The Christmas Tree Farmers of Ontario say prices have gone up five per cent in the last year. And there were bigger price increases in 2021 and 2022. …Shirley Brennan, the executive director of the Christmas Tree Farmers of Ontario, said costs for farming equipment and fertilizer have also gone up significantly over the last few years.

Louis De Grandpré

QUEBEC — Louis De Grandpré is a forest ecologist with the Canadian Forest Service, currently on an exchange programme with the Pessamit people. …I work with the Pessamit band of the Innu First Nation in Nitassinan, the traditional land of the Innu Indigenous people. This is a vast boreal forest region in Canada, covering some 130,000 square kilometres northeast of Quebec City. …I study the southern portion of these forests, an area of roughly 30,000 square kilometres, to see how their structure and diversity change over time and respond to disturbance. …I’m not against logging, but I’m against the speed with which it’s done here. …Sustainable forest management means maintaining the species that are associated with these forests. And that’s not what is happening. Many groups are pushing for an Indigenous-led conservation area. The Innu are also interested in the possibility of carbon credits. They want to find ways to manage the forest, while continuing their cultural practices. 

Growing up in the Innu First Nation of Essipit east of Saguenay, Quebec, Michael Ross, the community’s director of development and territory, says caring for the land nestled along the St. Lawrence River was instilled in members of the community by their elders and parents. But on Thursday, the council of the First Nation took it a step further, making public Essipiunnu-meshkanau, a proposal that would more than double their protected area over the next seven years. By 2030, Essipit aims to have protected 30 per cent of its territory, in line with international targets set at COP 15 in Montreal last year. …The protected area, which would cut across the Côte-Nord and Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean regions. …He says several industries, especially logging, have a role to play and that Essipit will have discussions with forestry operators, who they hope will keep an “open mind.” “It’s going to be tough discussions,” said Ross.

A Nova Scotia environmental group is calling on the province to protect a section of Crown land in Kings County from potential logging and development. The Blomidon Naturalists Society wants the Nova Scotia government to conserve a portion of land in the southwest corner of the county next to the Cloud Lake Wilderness Area that includes vulnerable and endangered species and old-growth forest. …The Nova Scotia government has a goal of protecting 20 per cent of the province’s land and water by 2030. Approximately 14 per cent is currently protected, according to the province. …The society has asked the Municipality of King’s County to support its request, but the county has one condition — wind turbines need to be allowed in the protected land. …The Nova Scotia government has released the locations where clear cutting may be allowed. Some of the locations are near the area the society wants protected.

Moulay Akhloufi

NEW BRUNSWICK—Researchers in New Brunswick are developing a new approach to tackling Canada’s growing threat of wildfires: teaching artificial intelligence to find them faster. A team of engineers at the Université de Moncton is fine-tuning an algorithm that works with satellite and drone images to detect fires more accurately than humans. The technology also predicts where a blaze will spread, helping firefighters know where to send resources. Moulay Akhloufi, a computer science professor and head of the Perception, Robotics and Intelligent Machines Laboratory, said it can help spot signs of a fire the human eye would miss. “It’s very accurate. Some of the algorithms are able to get to more than 99 per cent performance when we want to detect fires,” he said. …While in early stages of development, some firefighters are already using artificial intelligence to inform decisions on the ground.

Cam Douglas, Sandy Agnew and Doug Frost

The Huronia Woodlot Owners Association recently held their 43rd White Pine Award meeting, and the 2023 recipient is Oro-Medonte resident Sandy Agnew. Agnew is a Certified Engineering Technician, a graduate of Niagara College’s Ecosystem Restoration program and a Managed Forest Plan Approver. He has been involved in ecological restoration for over 35 years with such groups as Black Creek Project of Toronto, Trout Unlimited Canada and the Severn Sound Environmental Association. He is a former councillor in Oro-Medonte Township and former member of the Lake Simcoe and Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authorities boards and the Couchiching Conservancy land trust board. …Agnew holds memberships and has held Board positions in numerous environmental groups including the Ontario Society for Ecological Restoration, the Ontario Woodlot Association (Huronia Chapter), Forests Ontario and Ontario Nature. …The White Pine Award is given to a deserving person to recognize and celebrate their dedication to good forestry practices.

The Nova Scotia Forestry Innovation Transition Trust is investing $9.85 million in a new program to support businesses facing increased costs from adopting more sustainable forestry practices. Under the Ecologically Sustainable Forestry Equipment Program, businesses will be able to apply for a grant to help with the cost of buying or retrofitting equipment for sustainable harvesting operations. An eligible business could receive up to $500,000 in total from the program. Available grants include: up to 35 per cent of the purchase price for new equipment (maximum grant of $250,000); up to 30 per cent for used equipment (maximum grant of $125,000); and up to 30 per cent for retrofits (maximum grant of $100,000). The trust is developing criteria and application requirements for the program, which will be administered through Nova Scotia Community College.

CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Woodlot owners across P.E.I. are facing the continued aftermath of post-tropical storm Fiona and are asking the province for increased support. Despite support from the Forest Enhancement Program (FEP) woodlot owners are still struggling to heal their woodlots more than a year after the post-tropical storm. This lack of financial assistance has caused massive delays and decreased recovery work in woodlots across the province. “The quicker we can get it down, the better, there’s never enough woody debris,” Wanson Hemphill, a board member of the Prince Edward Island Woodlot Owners Association, told SaltWire on Nov. 4. …The Prince Edward Island Woodlot Owners Association (PEIWOA) went before the standing committee on natural resources and environmental sustainability last month, recommending increased support and funding for woodlot owners after Fiona.

The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund has chipped in $1.5 million to help make the film Jane Goodall: Reasons for Hope. The film was produced by Science North, and was officially released in Kenora last week. Chair of the NOHFC, Greg Rickford says says the film talks about preserving nature in other parts of the world, but here at home in northwestern Ontario. “The film shows the great work Jane Goodall has done, but also shows her particular focus in northern Ontario, showcasing the commitment we have keeping the vast region protected and conserved and there for people to enjoy,” says Rickford after the launch of the new film at the Discovery Center in Kenora.

Quebec’s forest fire prevention agency says the area burned by wildfires this year was greater than the previous 20 years combined. SOPFEU director general Eric Rousseau told reporters Tuesday that some 45,000 square kilometres of land burned during this year’s record-breaking fire season, including more than 11,000 in the bottom half of the province, where most people live. …other provinces found themselves similarly overwhelmed, leaving them largely unable to lend workers. Instead, the province received help from about 1,000 Canadian Armed Forces personnel as well as more than 1,100 foreign firefighters from the United States, France, Portugal, South Korea and Spain. …Forest Minister Maïté Blanchette Vézina said the province is providing an additional $16 million to the fire prevention agency. She said the money will go toward the purchase of new equipment, such as vehicles and telecommunications material, as well as fire prevention initiatives and strategies to make communities more resilient to extreme weather events.

Wahkohtowin Development is being lauded for its land stewardship work by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Wahkohtowin is one of 17 organizations and three projects to be cited as part of the 2023 FSC-US Leadership Awards, “recognizing uncommon excellence that advances responsible forest management and forest conservation.” …Wahkohtowin is a social enterprise founded by three First Nations — Chapleau Cree First Nation, Missanabie Cree First Nation and Brunswick House First Nation — that seeks to pursue economic and employment opportunities focussed on sustainable forestry practices. The FSC acknowledged Wahkohtowin for “partnering with FSC Canada and Green First at the intersecting areas of land stewardship, sustainability, respecting and upholding Indigenous rights, climate change mitigation and cultural revitalization.”

The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) announced that the agency responsible for watershed protection in Niagara and parts of Haldimand and Hamilton has added 11 conservation areas encompassing 790 hectares — almost 2,050 acres — to land already committed to a plan to protect 30 per cent of Canada lands and waters by 2030. That nearly doubles the total amount of NPCA property placed under this designation to 1,622 hectares, or 4,008 acres, the NPCA said. …The NPCA, which has 41 conservation areas, said the newly protected conservation areas were evaluated for inclusion in partnership with Ontario Nature. The properties were assessed to look at unique ecological characteristics and biodiversity, the NPCA said. …Many of the submitted properties are along the Niagara Escarpment, a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, which represents the largest continuous forested area in south-central Ontario.