Friends of Simcoe Forests questions County’s FSC certification

News release form Friends of Simcoe Forests

Since earning FSC Forest Management certification in 2010, Simcoe County has been audited annually by the Rainforest Alliance to ensure it continues to meet certification standards. The County’s failure to disclose the selection of the Freele Forest for a new waste processing facility and the discovery of an archaeological site in the area has prompted a special audit, according to information received by the Friends of Simcoe Forests.

The Rainforest Alliance is an internationally recognized non-governmental organization that works to conserve biodiversity and promote best land-use practices. Its certification program is a trusted and well-respected standard of forest stewardship. The County first earned FSC certification in July 2010 and promotes this honour on its website (http://www.simcoe.ca/Forestry/Pages/stewardship.aspx). While the County passed its last annual audit in July, part of the process required the County to disclose any decisions made on changing forest use.

The County selected the Freele Forest for a Materials Management Facility and Organics Processing Facility in March of 2016, information that does not appear in the July 2016 audit report, which was conducted May 25. The planned conversion of forest land to non-forest use is required to be reported, yet this was not disclosed to the forest management specialists conducting the audit.

“We have been telling County Council that a forest is no place for a Materials Management and Organics Processing Facility,” said Mary Wagner of the Friends of Simcoe Forests. “Nowhere else in Ontario have we found a municipality trying to convert forest to industrial land for the purpose of placing this type of facility.”

A Toronto-based Forest Management Associate is expected to conduct this special audit, and the Rainforest Alliance will be conducting a stakeholder consultation process. The Friends of Simcoe Forests welcomes these actions and will be taking an active part to assist in this audit.

“All of Simcoe County benefits from its FSC Forest Management certification. It’s a badge of respect that consumers recognize and equate with a well-run organization. Now we find the County failed to disclose its decision to build a waste facility in the Freele Forest instead of on industrially zoned land ” said Mark Etherington of Friends of Simcoe Forests.

This short-sighted decision to place a Materials Management and Organics Processing Facility in the middle of a forest will have long-term implications for all of Simcoe County. The loss of the prestigious FSC Forest Management certification would be an international black mark on the entire County.