Wondering where our forest will be sprayed this summer? The government of New Brunswick has just released the 2016 spraying map.
Zoom in on your area on this map. Be sure to click on “Proposed Vegetation Management Areas” on the legend and layer list on the left side of the map.
Notices are appearing in our local newspapers, announcing what type and brand of herbicide will be sprayed in clearcut areas and when and where spraying will occur. The spray season starts August 1 and goes until September 30. The forest industry sprays clearcut areas to grow conifer plantations. The spray kills hardwoods and vegetation that compete with the conifers.
The Conservation Council has long advocated that the province stopped the old-fashioned practice of spraying the forest. Quebec banned the spraying of its public forest over 15 years ago and Nova Scotia stopped using taxpayer’s money to spray its forest. Glyphosate, the main active ingredient in most herbicides used in Crown forest operations in New Brunswick, has been listed as a probable carcinogen by the World Health Organization in 2015. Conservationists, biologists and hunters are worried that spraying vegetation is wiping out the food and habitats of our forest wildlife.
Let’s take the chemicals out of the woods and put more people to work in twenty-first century forestry and silviculture practices that conserve and restore a healthy, resilient and diverse forest.
Be part of our forest conservation efforts. Donate $5, $15, $50 or more to help fund our work. Stay tuned for the exciting 5 Days for the Forest event coming up in September. Donate today!