AWARE Simcoe urges county to purchase Beeton Woods
AWARE News Network
The following is the text of the AWARE Simcoe presentation to Simcoe County Council at the hearing into whether the stop-work order of the Beeton Woods clear cutting should be lifted.
(The hearing is open to the public and all are urged to attend. This is the link to the agenda, with a list of those who will be addressing council).
Members of council,
Thank you for the opportunity to make this presentation to you. My name is Kate Harries. I am a resident of Springwater Township and I am speaking on behalf of AWARE Simcoe. With regard to the forest clearance at 6386 and 6416 9th Line in New Tecumseth, there are four main issues for you to consid
- 1. The importance of private woodlots in southern Ontario.
In northern Ontario, privately owned forest is the exception rather than the rule. The boreal forest is essentially Crown land, and stewardship of the forest, wildlife and natural heritage is a public responsibility.
The picture is very different in southern Ontario. Here in Simcoe County, thanks to the foresight of former premier and Oro Township resident E. C. Drury we have 32,000 acres of municipally owned forest.
But that is just a fraction – 7.6 per cent in 2010, according to the county’s forest management plan – of the total forested area. There is also some provincially owned forest, but most of our natural heritage is in the hands of private landowners. Many are members of the Ontario Woodlot Association.
This is the OWA vision:
Healthy and productive forests will always be part of Ontario’s landscape. All Ontarians will recognize the importance of maintaining healthy and productive
forests on private lands. Woodlot owners will be acknowledged and supported
in their role as the caretakers of this valuable resource and natural heritage.
And this is the OWA’s mission:
The OWA promotes the sustainable management of Ontario’s privately owned forest by providing our members with guidance and advice, and by representing their interests through a united provincial voice. We are working to ensure that Ontario’s privately owned forest will always contribute to the health of our society, our environment and the economy.
Without these private woodlot owners and their dedication to maintaining healthy forests, the prospects for maintaining wildlife in Ontario would be bleak. The woodlot owners work within a municipal and provincial land-use regime that determines what natural features in the landscape are essential to our continued well-being and directs human activity to where it will have the least adverse impact.
And make no mistake, nature is essential to our well-being. Forests provide many vital ecosystem services – the trees take carbon from the air and store it, playing a significant role in slowing global warming. They clean water, they hold water in the ground, and they build and hold topsoil. Forests also enrich our lives with beauty and an opportunity to appreciate our native flora and fauna. And they contribute directly to our health as individuals – a study published in the Journal of Physiological Anthropology in 2014 found a 15-minute walk in the woods results in significant lowering of blood pressure and cortisol levels compared to a walk in a built area.
The provincial government recognizes the value of forests through the Ontario Managed Forest Tax Incentive Program, which results in a property tax that’s 25 per cent of the residential tax. The MFTI brochure states that “Certain forestlands in Ontario may be privately owned, but they benefit all Ontarians,” and its Guide to Stewardship Planning for Natural Areas states that “Good land stewards know their actions affect the quality and health of plants, animals, air, land and water. What you do with your land today has an impact on your family, neighbours and future generations.”
Simcoe County has a forest conservation bylaw that promotes forests that are economically productive, while being maintained as healthy forests. The goal is for harvesting and renewal activities to “minimize detriments to forest values, including significant ecosystems, important fish and wildlife habitat, soil and water quality and quantity, forest productivity and health and the aesthetic and recreational opportunities of the landscape.”
- 2. The need to maintain connectivity on the landscape
If we do not maintain large areas of forest and provide wildlife corridors so species – both animals, and plants (through the dispersal of their seed) – can travel from one area to the other and maintain genetic health, wildlife populations will dwindle and species will disappear.
The NVCA’s 2013 health check for the Innisfil Creek subwatershed (where Beeton is located) shows that the percentage of forest cover is 19 per cent.
Across the NVCA watershed, the figure is 32 per cent.
In New Tecumseth, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources, it is 15 per cent.
Across southern Ontario, forest cover averages 25 per cent.
Environment Canada suggests that 30 per cent forest cover is the minimum needed to support healthy wildlife habitat; and more coverage is beneficial.
So this forest – a Category 1 / 2 Woodland in the township’s Official Plan – is in an impoverished area in terms of forest cover.
A very important figure in the NVCA health check is the percentage of forest interior. This is the area of forest that lies more than 100 metres from a forest edge – away from the windy, dry conditions and predators that are associated with the edge. Sensitive forest birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians require deep forest habitat for survival.
Environment Canada suggests that 10 per cent forest interior cover is the minimum needed to support a range of species.
The Innisfil subwatershed has only 2.9 percent forest interior which ranks as very poor in the health check. The NVCA-wide figure is 10.3 per cent – barely what is needed to support sensitive species.
The 60-acre Beeton Woods is a narrow strip on the rise of land north of the village between the 8th and 9th line of New Tecumseth. It is located between two large forest tracts – the Cookstown Hollows Swamp to the east and the Bailey Creek Swamp to the west (map from Innisfil Creek subwatershed health check). Further west it links in to wildlife corridors that extend northwards up the Escarpment and over to the Minesing Wetlands (NVCA wildlife corridors map) and eastward along the Oak Ridges Moraine. This fragment of forest cover is well located to provide connectivity and play an important role in supporting biodiversity.
3. Application of the forest conservation bylaw
Part 4 of the bylaw sets out conditions for an application for a permit for harvesting trees, either as Good Forestry Practices (Section 4.2), which requires a silvicultural prescription by a qualified forester and marking of the trees by a qualified tree marker; or a Harvesting (Section 4.4) permit which sets out conditions to ensure that the woodlands remain woodland. Part 5, the Special Permit, which is what has allowed the clearcutting of the Beeton Woods to commence, does not include any conditions. However, the presence of butternut trees required MNR approval. And potential impact on water features meant that the NVCA required an Environmental Impact Study which, according to a report to Simcoe County Council in January, “led to further refinements to the original application to ensure adequate protection of stream corridors and steep slopes.”
As members of the public, we are not in possession of all the data that led to the approval of this clearcutting. However, the Environmental Impact Study, carried out by Azimuth Environmental Consulting of Barrie in October 2014 provided an assessment of the health of two issues. First, the butternut trees. Three out of 16 deemed healthy and requiring replacement, in addition to six healthy trees that were “accidentally” (illegally) cut, making for a total of nine trees to be replaced with 180 butternut seedlings and companion trees to be planted elsewhere under an MNR-approved plan. We would strongly recommend that Simcoe County require the owner to contract the task to an expert consultant or a responsible agency like the NVCA.
The EIS also examined flooding issues, which led to an NVCA requirement for a 30-metre vegetated buffer on each side of the nearby Beeton Creek, and that clearing not take place north of a top-of-bank line on the property. Beeton residents tell us that basement flooding is a frequent problem.
Beeton residents obtained information from Simcoe County through a Freedom of Information request which included a June 19, 2014 email from the NVCA’s Dave Featherstone to Larry Barrette, your bylaw enforcement officer. It refers to the need to identify the Category 1 and Category 2 Woodlands and undertake both a breeding bird survey and a flora survey. These are not referenced in Azimuth’s October EIS.
An October 25, 2014 email from the MNR’s species at risk biologist raises a number of issues regarding the Butternut, including the need to do further assessment in other areas of the woodland. Suzanne Robinson also notes that woodlands within agricultural lands can be managed to supplement farm income while providing important environmental benefits. She suggests consideration be given to the designation of significant woodlands within the County Official Plan. That suggestion was not conveyed in Mr. Barrette’s January report to County Council.
While the Azimuth EIS noted that the fact that the clearing was to be done for the purpose of farming activities in an area zoned for agriculture, and thus does not conflict with New Tecumseth or NVCA policies, the MNR raised the issue of whether the future objective for the site is development.
As the current owners of the property are well-known local developers, it is not surprising that many residents are concerned that the ultimate objective is not agriculture.
AWARE Simcoe is in favour of preserving farmland. We recognize that there are circumstances where it makes sense for a farmer to expand operations into an existing woodlot. Often, however these woodlots exist because the land is unsuitable for farming. It should be noted that the Rizzardos’ 2012 application for a permit lists the land as being zoned residential / agricultural (although the land is zoned agricultural). The fact remains that this area is not designated for development under any municipal plan, so if there is in fact a long-term (and presently unstated) desire by the property owners to develop this woodland, further changes by New Tecumseth and Simcoe County councils will be required.
That such changes require public input and consensus is key to the planning process in Ontario. The County is in the midst of gaining approval for an Official Plan first presented to the public in 2008 and approved in a changed form in 2012. Public consultation for the 2012 version was flawed and only now, as the OP is before the Ontario Municipal Board, is the public being given a chance to have this important document explained, through information sessions next week (April 20).
It is time for the County to make public consultation an ongoing process – a two-way conversation between government and residents, and not something that happens every few years. With regard to this particular application, the limited consultation that was required through notification of adjacent property owners did not occur, and we have yet to hear the explanation of why. There is a pressing need for improved public consultation with regard to county forest operations.
- 4. Community values and natural heritage
It is clear from the history of this property that it is a much-loved feature of the Beeton community. The former owner did not mind residents using the woodland for recreation. They accessed it from a trail that is to become part of the TransCanada Trail. Since his death approximately 15 years ago, residents have rallied twice to defend the woodland – first against a proposed gravel pit and then against a plan to build 900 homes – and now, a third time.
Some county councillors have expressed concern that the public’s interest in the Beeton Woods infringes on the owner’s private property rights. That is the nature of the social contract that upholds property rights, which includes checks and balances to protect societal values. When you vote to grant a harvesting permit, your bylaw spells out the standard of care that through you, our society deems appropriate. But it is not clear what criteria come in to play when you vote to grant a Special Permit.
5. Recommendations
- We recommend that the clearing of the forest cease. Once a forest is gone, it is gone forever. If it was to be replaced, tree for tree, by a planting elsewhere, the benefit will not be felt for decades, and many species will not be around to make the transition. We cannot plant a mature forest. So we must exercise due diligence before taking one out. People recognize this. This is why Beeton residents have risen up to defend the woodland. The land may be privately owned, but the forest, the birds, the turtles, the fish are our joint heritage and their survival on our landscape depends on all of us being mindful of our actions.
- In the interest of better lines of communication between the public and the Simcoe County forestry department, we recommend setting up a forest advisory committee composed of residents, naturalists, woodlot owners, loggers, recreational users and other stakeholders. The committee could address issues such as criteria for Special Permits, sale and purchase of county forest, control of invasive species as well as appropriate penalties for violations (the fine for illegal harvesting of 6 healthy butternut trees in 2012 was $300).
- We recommend the county explore purchase of this agricultural property as an amenity for Beeton residents, and to maintain an important natural link in the fragmented landscape of south Simcoe. One of the criteria for designating a High Conservation Value Forest under your forest management plan is whether it is fundamental to meeting the basic needs of local communities. We submit that without the nearby forest, the quality of life in Beeton will become significantly diminished, and its purchase is worthy of serious consideration.
References
Simcoe County staff report Jan. 13, 2015
Simcoe County Forest Conservation bylaw
Application for Special Permit 2012
Azimuth Report Oct. 2014
NVCA Innisfil Creek SubWatershed health check 2013
NVCA wildlife corridors map 2006
Simcoe County Forests management plan 2011-2013
Journal of Physiological Anthropology http://www.jphysiolanthropol.com/content/33/1/8
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