Editor: At a recent council meeting, five of us from C-K were recognized with an appreciative round of applause from Mayor Canniff and councillors for receiving individual provincial awards at the Ontario Horticultural Association (OHA) Convention in Ottawa.
The Woodlot Protection Bylaw was also on the agenda for this meeting. When I saw the results of the vote whether to continue with further consultation or to eliminate this bylaw, I was surprised and saddened by the result.
A Horticultural Society is not just about flowers. It is about conservation, urban planning, preservation of green spaces and sustainability.
Farmers say they are good stewards of the land. Many are. But, when I see a photo of freshly cut mature trees and huge piles of tree roots ready to be burned, I am disappointed that not everyone is on the same page.
It is a fact that C-K has at most 4.5 per cent tree coverage… (one of the lowest in Ontario) yet, nine councillors approved the possible continuation of the destruction of C-K’s valuable woodlots.
I see an inconsistency with this issue. On one hand, 17 councillors recognized our efforts and accomplishments in the areas of conservation and tree cover enhancement … and on the other hand, nine councillors voted to eliminate the woodlot protection bylaw. This action to me shows a lack of support for what we are doing in the area of tree planting in our communities. As community volunteers, we plant trees, and somewhere else, for profit, an individual is allowed to clear cut an entire mature woodlot.
I find it ironic that the province has recognized the five of us for our efforts in enhancing the natural heritage of our communities, yet nine councillors from C-K chose to negate all the conservation and reforestation efforts we are doing by allowing clear cutting.
Linda Henderson
Chatham
That 4.5% that the KFA member asserted at that Council meeting, mistaking includes Rondeau Park, Wheatley Park and the 2 First Nations, Walpole Island and Moravian Town. These 4 areas are not part of Chatham-Kent. So as dismal as the 4.5% “tree” cover is, the actual number is less than 3.6% of Broadleaf Hardwood forests within municipal responsibility. These figures were gathered by the Swoop survey in 2015, and we’ve lost more woodlands since, up to the time of the temporary bylaw that protected the last Carolinian forests, the most biologically diverse habitat in Canada.