Today, the Conservation Council is releasing a forest report card that draws attention to the need for modern forestry laws in New Brunswick. Executive summaries are available in English and French.
Thirty people, including forest scientists and representatives of conservation, woodlot owner and First Nation groups, told us what they thought about our Crown forest management. They overwhelming agree that we are doing an inadequate job of managing our forest for wildlife, watersheds, climate change, woodlot owners and a suite of other values that we hold as important.
The “New Brunswick Forest Report Card: A Stakeholder Survey of Opinions and Recommendations on Crown Forest Management in New Brunswick in 2017” assesses 12 public priorities for forest management by 30 people, including forest researchers and analysts at our universities and colleges, and representatives of conservation groups, First Nations organizations, forest user groups and private woodlot owners. The results reveal that respondents are largely dissatisfied with the current forest management regime, ranking most indicators as inadequate or worsening.
We issue this report card when we are spraying our forest in record numbers and when New Brunswickers have never been more opposed to it.
Most recently, the Miramichi Headwaters Salmon Federation have joined the growing list of wildlife, hunting and recreation groups opposed to spraying our forest. If our Atlantic salmon have any chance of surviving, they need cold water stream habitats to be protected from clearcutting and spraying.
This summer, the Conservation Council released maps showing the spraying hotspots in the province. We have also made it easy for you to write your member in the N.B. Legislature to voice your concerns with spraying. And, we created this survey for you to fill out to have your say on Crown forest management. Fill out the survey and you could win a gift basket of goods worth over $100!
Let’s make sure the forests of New Brunswick are managed in a way that protects our fish and wildlife, woodlot owners and woods workers and communities. Please consider donating $50, $15, $5 or more to help fund our forest conservation work. Donate today!
