Check out three videos taken on the Cains River Crown Reserve Road after areas of it were clearcut. The videos were made by Keith Wilson.

(more…)

UNB professor Dr. Tom Beckley delivered the presentation, Same As It Ever Was: Current Directions in NB Forest Policy, on Feb. 7th as part of the Occupy Speaker Series.

Based on a recent survey conducted by Beckley and others, the people of New Brunswick are not happy with the way our forest is managed. The highest ranking priorities of the survey respondents said the forest should be managed as a place for protection of water, air, and soil and as a place for a variety of animal and plant life.

The new forest policy will roll out shortly. Will the Alward government listen and protect our wildlife habitat areas to the extent that scientists say is needed?

Let the government know what is important to you about our forest, and what you expect government to do.

Natural Resources Minister Hon. Bruce Northrup: bruce.northrup@gnb.ca
Premier David Alward: premier@gnb.ca
Contact your MLA.

Send letters to the newspapers and get on the radio.

The provincial government will be deciding in January or February 2012 whether to go ahead with the previous government’s plan for public forest use and conservation.  The plan that was on the table would decrease the amount of forest that is managed specifically to conserve deer wintering habitat, old forests and stream bank buffer zones.

Based upon what we have learned from DNR, this could mean a reduction of as much as 25% (one quarter) of some of these habitats.  At the same time, the amount of plantations on public land would be more than doubled to 28% of Crown forest.

The Hon. Bruce Northrup, Minister of Natural Resources, announced he will re-examine the previous plan, and will announce a new forest plan In February.

New Brunswickers have Rejected this Before

The majority of the public told the Select Committee on Wood Supply in 2004 that they do not want fish and wildlife habitat to be sacrificed to increase wood supply.  The Select Committee rejected industry’s request to put a cap on conservation zones, and instead recommended that the amount of clear-cutting be reduced.

A 2007 survey of the New Brunswick public showed that the overwhelming majority of people surveyed place highest priority on the forest’s protection of fresh water, air and wildlife habitat (Public views on forest management in New Brunswick: Report from a provincial survey).

Both the Select Committee hearings and the survey of New Brunswickers showed that our citizens expect government to stand up for what the people want, and to work with the natural forest we have.

The public also expressed they want more say in how forests are managed.  Government has still not implemented any real public consultation strategy to involve the public in the public’s forest.

Will The Government Listen This Time?  We Think Yes.

We believe there is a real opening for New Brunswickers to speak up on behalf of our forests once again.  This is a new government, and the Minister said he wants to hear more from conservationists and First Nations.

Please write a letter that tells government what is important to you about our forest, and what you expect government to do.

Send your letter to: Bruce Northrup, Minister of Natural Resources (bruce.northrup@gnb.ca), P.O. Box 6000, Fredericton, NB E3B 5H1, and a copy to your MLA.  We can provide a list of MLAs if you are not sure.

Make a short version of your letter and send it as a letter to the editor to your local newspaper, or one of the daily newspapers.

More detailed information can be found on the following web sites: www.acadianforest.ca; www.cpawsnb.org.

Prepared by Crown Lands Network Steering Committee (CCNB Action, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society-NB Chapter, Meduxnekeag River Society, Nature NB, Public for the Protection of the Forests of NB)

Beau Bear fell asleep in the beautiful and diverse Acadian forest, but later awoke to find his home clearcut. Stop the clearcut nightmare. Don’t let this be the fate for our wildlife. New Brunswick’s 50 year public forest plan, due at the end of 2011, will determine the fate of our wildlife. Tell the government of New Brunswick to protect our wildlife habitat.

Fredericton – Newspapers all over New Brunswick carried notices last Saturday announcing that 15,000 hectares of public forest will be sprayed in the coming weeks with herbicides to poison hardwood trees and shrubs growing in softwood plantations.

“Today, CCNB Action is announcing that 4,000 New Brunswickers have signed a petition to say no to spraying our forests. The petitions will be tabled in the Legislative Assembly during its fall sitting,” says Tracy Glynn, CCNB Action’s Forest Campaigner.

Over the years, old spruce and fir stands and beautiful maple and birch ridges have been clearcut, doused with herbicides and replaced with tree farms. “The diversity of our forest has suffered badly.  The abundance of sugar maple, red oak, yellow birch and beech have all declined in our forests.  Herbicides kill broad leaf trees, shrubs and grasses destroying the food source and habitats of many forest dependent species,” says David Coon, CCNB Action’s Executive Director.

The most commonly sprayed herbicide, glyphosate, is currently under review by Health Canada. This  re-evaluation is the result of a large and growing number of scientific studies that have reported toxic effects of glyphosate and associated adjuvants in a wide range of species including humans. Given this, CCNB believes that a precautionary approach to its application should be considered. The Canadian review is expected to conclude in 2014.

Roger Babin of Public for the Protection of the Forest based in Acadieville joined CCNB Action in initiating the herbicide petition when the former government under Shawn Graham announced its intent to triple the area of public forest that would be converted from naturally growing forest to plantations, necessitating a massive expansion of herbicide spraying. “Many New Brunswickers are shocked when they learn that we pay for the mechanical site preparation, planting and spraying of our public lands, which according to Natural Resources Canada, can exceed $1,000/ha,” says Roger Babin.

“If the new provincial government forges ahead with former Premier Graham’s plan, at $1,000 per hectare, New Brunswickers will have to shell out over $600 million to the pulp and paper companies over the next 50 years to convert vast swaths of our natural forest to artificial plantations and spray these with herbicides if the plan to convert 28% of our forest to plantations goes ahead in the next 50 years,” says Glynn.

New Brunswick stands alone in paying for the chemical spraying of its public forest. Nova Scotia recently announced that they will no longer fund herbicide spraying of their forest and will reduce clearcutting to 50%. Last September, P.E.I. announced it will pursue Forest Stewardship Council certification for all of its public forest; this would mean banning herbicide spraying. Quebec banned herbicide spraying of its public forest in 2001.

New Brunswick has been spraying herbicides since the 1970’s when it first permitted pulp and paper companies to clearcut natural forest and replace it with artificial plantations. Spraying usually occurs one to two years after a plantation has been established. Herbicides are sprayed once or twice over plantations to poison hardwood trees and shrubs that compete with the planted softwood trees for space and nutrients. Spraying occurs each year in August and September and lasts about 40 days.

-30-

Factsheet about glyphosates: http://www.conservationcouncil.ca/files/PDF/Glyphosate-English.pdf

Tracy Glynn, 458-8747, forest@ccnbaction.ca / David Coon, 458-8747
Roger Babin, Public for the Protection of the Forest, ppfnb@rogers.com

Tell the new government to dump the old government’s plan for the public forest.

The former government called its new distribution of clearcuts and conservation on New Brunswick’s public lands “balanced.” But industry gets to clearcut more at the expense of wildlife habitat. How is this a balanced approach?  How can our wildlife survive when the new plan does not meet their minimum habitat needs?

Pieces of New Brunswick’s Public Forest Pie

Over the years, old spruce and fir stands and beautiful maple and birch ridges throughout New Brunswick have been clearcut, doused with chemicals and replaced with tree farms. Despite public outcry, a more disastrous plan for our public forest was brought down on New Brunswickers in 2009. First Nations in the province were not included in the  decision-making of this new forest plan even though the new plan will affect Aboriginal rights and treaties. It is not too late for the new Alward government to do the right thing and shelved this plan before its planned start in 2012.

(more…)

On the same day that New Brunswickers–young and old and from different parts of the province–were rallying for greater wildlife habitat protection in Fredericton, J.D. Irving was holding a meeting in the northern New Brunswick community of Kedgwick asking people to support their demand for more wood from the public forest.

Read more…

Nova Scotia announced last week that they will no longer fund herbicide spraying of their forest and they will reduce the proportion of wood harvested by clearcutting to no more than 50 per cent over a five-year period. In September, Prince Edward Island announced it will pursue Forest Stewardship Council certification for all of its public forest. The Conservation Council feels New Brunswick should follow Nova Scotia and PEI and move away from destructive forestry.

The Conservation Council feels New Brunswick should follow Nova Scotia and PEI and move away from destructive forestry. New Brunswickers have repeatedly told our government they want to save animal populations decimated by overcutting, to stop the damage to our rivers and lakes, and to diversify our forest-based economy.

The former Graham government announced a new forest strategy for 2012 that was widely seen as destructive to the health and resilience of New Brunswick’s forest ecosystems and forest dependent communities. Commitments were made to triple the area of plantations and to expand herbicide spraying over our public forest at public expense. With approximately 90 per cent of its forested land under public ownership, the province of Quebec listened to public concerns and banned herbicide spraying of its public forest in 2001. Over 3,500 people have signed a petition against spraying New Brunswick’s public lands. The petition will be delivered to the government in the new year.

Will the new Alward government listen to the concerns of New Brunswickers and act on moving away from clearcutting and herbicide spraying?

Forestry Summit Opportunity for Hitting the Reset Button

The Conservation Council’s Executive Director David Coon is looking forward to tomorrow’s forestry summit.   “It’s an opportunity to hit the reset button so our forest policies can be brought into line with the values, goals and objectives of New Brunswickers,” said Coon.  “And we are bringing a proposal to help achieve this,” he said. Read more…

NEW: Read this 1-page fact sheet on “What you need to know about what’s sprayed on our forest?”

As more New Brunswick public forest is being doused with herbicides, more New Brunswickers are mobilizing against the practice.

A petition to ban herbicide spraying of NB’s public forest

A rally against herbicide spraying in Kedgwick, NB in 2009.

The Government of New Brunswick is going to massively expand the spraying of herbicides over our public forest, and at public expense. This follows the decision to allow industry to triple the area of conifer plantations in areas of naturally growing forest. Young conifer plantations are sprayed with herbicides to control broad leaf/deciduous trees and shrubs.

Broadleaf trees and shrubs are an important food source for a variety of forest wildlife. Spraying herbicides to kill broad leaf trees and shrubs destroys the food source and habitats of many forest dependent species.

With approximately 90 per cent of its forested land under public ownership, the province of Quebec listened to public concerns and banned herbicide spraying of its public forest in 2001. We call on the provincial government of New Brunswick to do the same and ban the spraying of our forest.

To sign/circulate this petition, email forest[at]conservationcouncil.ca or call 506 458-8747. Deadline for petition signatures is mid-August 2010.