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July 14, 2010
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Woodlot Advisory Technician Rose-Marie Chretien and landowners join hands to circle a huge Sugar Maple tree during a WAS site visit in North Glengarry. Trees of this size – almost 45 inches in diameter – are uncommon in Eastern Ontario. |
With the push on to reforest as much of Eastern Ontario as possible, South Nation Conservation has issued a reminder about two ongoing tree programs available to watershed residents.
One is the Ontario Trillium Foundation-supported Woodlot Advisory Service (WAS) which provides a technician to help landowners identify such management considerations as general tree health, species and what their uses are, and basic forest measurements.
Delivered by SNC and several partners, there’s no charge for the bilingual WAS program available on a first-come, first-served basis. Woodlot sizes must be a minimum of five acres. The program has been well-received by woodlot owners. To date, over 40 site consultations have been carried out covering more than 1,900 acres.
The visiting technician provides a report including aerial photography and recommendations on how a given landowner might proceed in managing a woodlot sustainably.
“A woodlot owner without a management plan is like a grocery store manager without an inventory of his stock,” said WAS coordinator Rose-Marie Chretien who can be reached at 877-984-2948, ext. 285.
The other program is the Tree Planting Service (TPS) through which SNC staff has begun site visits and planning for landowners wishing to add seedlings to their holdings in 2012. This spring, SNC provided and helped plant 154,000 trees, including 100,000 under the Trees Ontario and Green Acres programs.
Under TPS, South Nation staff will assist landowners design plantations of 2.5 acres or more, arranging if desired contractors to prepare sites, as well as plant and tend seedlings to aid them in surviving competition from grasses and weeds.
Trees Ontario provides up to $1.19 per tree to help cover costs; landowners are required to contribute a minimum of 20 cents per tree. In addition, Green Acres funding is available to landowners within the rural areas of the City of Ottawa. With a 500 tree minimum, the Green Acres program provides 20 cents per tree for orders of 500 – 1000 trees. When planting over 1000 trees, landowners will get up to 50% of their eligible costs covered by the program.
“It’s important to order early to secure species best suited to specific sites,” said SNC’s Michael Petryk who can be reached at 877-984-2948, ext. 295. “Trees can fail if not chosen carefully or if they’re out-competed.” The supply of trees available to landowners through SNC each season is limited. Petryk advises landowners considering spring tree planting to contact him as soon as possible, ideally by the end of August.
Check out WAS and TPS at www.nation.on.ca
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