Last summer, many woodlot owners across PEI discovered an ugly secret - ground hemlock had been harvested from their forest land without the owners’ knowledge or permission. Others claimed their contracts with ground hemlock harvesting companies were not being honoured, their woodlands had been damaged, or their ground hemlock had been over-harvested.
The number and severity of these allegations led Government to ask the Public Forest Council to determine if the allegations and concerns were valid. Council met with the ground hemlock harvest and processing industries and dozens of landowners to get a feeling for the situation. Based on the information they received, Council members developed a series of recommendations on how to address these concerns.
Minister of Environment, Energy and Forestry Jamie Ballem, released the Public Forest Council’s report to the public today.
“Ground hemlock holds great promise for industry and landowners but only if the supply is managed and harvested in a sustainable and responsible fashion,” said Minister Ballem. “I believe the Council’s recommendations are both practical and fair, and therefore, I have instructed my staff to develop an implementation plan.”
Recommendations include creation of a licensing and record-keeping system for buyers, training and identification for harvesters, tagging all bags of harvested ground hemlock, improved trespass legislation, and increased effort on education and research.
Minister Ballem said Government will also consider implementing a harvest season and creating a PEI standard for ground hemlock harvest.
“There is growing concern about the impacts of disturbance on ground-nesting birds and other forest wildlife during the breeding season. By restricting the harvest during this critical period, we can help protect wildlife habitat without interfering with the productivity of the harvest sector.”
Public Forest Council Chair, Dr. Ian MacQuarrie, expressed his pleasure at Government’s response to the Council’s recommendations.
“Regardless of whether they are private or public, forests provide habitat for thousands of plant and animal species. Like ground hemlock, some of them hold great economic and medicinal promise for our society,” said Dr. MacQuarrie. “By setting standards and enforcing them, Government will send a clear message that we must always keep stewardship in mind when dealing with our natural resources, or this potential may be lost to generations to come.”
The Public Forest Council’s report is available at Forestry offices throughout the province, from Island Information Service (368-4000 or 1-800-236-5196) and online at http://www.gov.pe.ca/go/pfc.