Premier Pat Binns and Agriculture and Forestry Minister Mitch Murphy today planted a red oak seedling at the J. Frank Gaudet Tree Nursery in West Royalty to officially launch the 50th anniversary celebrations of the founding of the Island's first forest service. The service was established by the provincial government in 1951.
"The founding of an Island forest service fifty years ago was a far sighted act which required a long-term vision, so 2001 marks a special event for Island forests and the people who work with and depend on them," said Premier Binns. "For most of our history, Islanders were more concerned with clearing forest to create cities, farms, and pasture lands than in preserving or managing it. But by the turn of the 20th century, this attitude began to change as people saw how much land had been cleared and understood the consequences that clearance was having on timber supplies, wildlife habitat, and environmental quality."
During the first half of the 20th century, politicians, community leaders, innovative farmers, and other land owners called for the establishment of a forest service to help reforest parts of the Island and educate Islanders about forest conservation and management techniques. In 1951, the provincial government hired two young foresters, J. Frank Gaudet and Wendell Profitt, and founded the first forestry service.
"These young men were responsible for establishing a small forest nursery, carrying out trial and demonstration plantings on public lands across Prince Edward Island, and working with land owners and the public to increase their understanding of the many values forests provide to all of us," said Mr. Murphy. "It was a tall order and they often had to improvise or invent what they needed, but they were up to the challenge. Over the following years and decades, they built a forest service which would provide Islanders with the knowledge and services they required to manage their forest lands."
The J. Frank Gaudet Tree Nursery is Prince Edward Island's largest tree production facility producing some 3,000,000 seedlings for reforestation efforts on private and public lands across the Island. The forest service offers a wide range of technical and financial assistance programs. These programs assist land owners who want to reforest and manage private forest lands and ensure that timber, wildlife and environmental values are respected on public forest lands. Some programs focus on basic research into tree breeding, forest management and forest growth and development, and the production of high quality seedlings for reforestation efforts. Other programs direct forest fire management and suppression across the Island or work with students and teachers to improve their understanding of the province's unique forests.
Over the coming year, forestry staff from across the Island will be holding a number of special events to recognize past achievements and highlight their current work with the forest community. For more information on events and opportunities, contact the J. Frank Gaudet Tree Nursery at (902) 368-4700.