The Department of Agriculture and Forestry has implemented a new harvest policy to better protect nesting birds on the 18,300 hectares of public forest land managed by the Department and has made a commitment to establish more red oak on Provincial Forest properties across the province. These initiatives were announced as part of Environment Week 2002 celebrations.
In the 2002 Provincial Forest harvest tenders, notice was given that commercial cutting on Provincial Forest land would cease from late May until late July to allow forest birds a measure of security during the nesting season. "This policy was developed to further the Department's commitment to healthy and productive forest ecosystems," said Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Mitch Murphy. "Due to habitat loss in the tropics, many migratory forest bird species are in trouble. This policy complements existing bird habitat conservation initiatives on Provincial Forest lands."
The Provincial Forest program has been a leader in sustainable forest harvest and management practices on PEI. "All harvest contracts contain strict requirements for wildlife cover patches and travel corridors, snag trees, and buffer zones along stream and water courses," explained Provincial Forest program manager, Dan McAskill. "As well, all Provincial Forest harvest sites are quickly returned to forest cover by planting or natural renewal. Our goal is enhancing timber quality, while encouraging biodiversity and practicing good forestry."
While the restricted period will cover most Provincial Forest harvest sites, there will be exceptions for wet, poorly drained sites. "On wetter sites, commercial harvests may still be allowed during this period. The summer is the driest period for many forest areas, particularly in western PEI," said McAskill. "It is critical that we operate under the best possible conditions on this type of site, to minimize soil rutting and soil erosion problems."
The Province tenders the standing timber harvests to Island mills to provide local employment in the value-added sector and ensure that a public resource is put to use for the public good. McAskill said these harvest restrictions should not impact Island mills, because there are no similar harvest restrictions on private forest lands which provide more than 90 percent of the Island's softwood timber requirements and the fact that, today, most contractors can operate in year-round weather conditions. "We are still providing high quality timber for Island mills," he noted. "But their operating window will be reduced for the benefit of these wild creatures and our environment."
The Department will also be planting red oak seedlings on all suitable Provincial Forest properties where it currently does not exist. "Red Oak's abundance on PEI has been greatly reduced through land clearing and harvesting over the past 150 years," said McAskill. "Since the 1980s, the Department has been working to protect and promote red oak. For instance, we have established gene banks to preserve the unique genetic traits of the Island's red oak, provided oak seedlings to interested land owners and local watershed groups for enhancement plantings, and conducted red oak planting trials on public lands. Our commitment to plant red oak on more sites will benefit from the knowledge we have gained from these ongoing experiments and trials and help us to re-establish healthy breeding populations of red oak throughout the Island."
The Department of Agriculture and Forestry also extended invitations to all Islanders to attend the June 5, 2002 Environment Week open house at the J. Frank Gaudet Tree Nursery in West Royalty and to visit any Provincial Forest property and learn more about the value of these public forests to our economy, environment, and society.
Provincial Forest properties are identified by attractive forest-green signs along Island roadways. These diamond-shaped signs incorporate the leaf and acorn of PEI's Provincial Tree, the Red Oak, and the silhouette of a conifer tree. For more information, Islanders can visit the Provincial Forests at: http://www.gov.pe.ca/af/agweb/provincial_forest/index.php3