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Missing report on the state of N.B. forests 'appalling,' says Green Party leader

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Missing report on the state of N.B. forests 'appalling,' says Green Party leader

Natural Resources misses deadline for state of the forests report — again

Green Party Leader David Coon said he's been waiting for an update on the report since it was first promised seven years ago. He said since then, the department has continuously missed its own deadlines. 

"The government has a responsibility to be transparent around its stewardship of half of our land mass. And they're not at all," said Coon. "That's appalling and unacceptable."

The report details forestry activity updates, ground sampling, aerial photography and photo interpretations of New Brunswick's forests.

A balding man with glasses is speaking inside the legislature. Green Party Leader David Coon said the Department of Natural Resources continues to miss its deadline for the state of the province's forests report. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)

"The state of the forests in New Brunswick has deteriorated considerably since 2015 when the last state of the forests report was released," said Coon.

"We know that there's been a massive reduction in habitat, a massive reduction in wildlife populations, birds in particular, as a result of the loss of that habitat."

The department did not respond to requests for an interview, but they responded via email: "We are committed to providing an update on the state of New Brunswick's forest[s]. We look forward to sharing more information with New Brunswickers in the near future."

"I don't expect to see it anytime soon," said Coon. 

Calls for other forest-related reports

Amanda Page, ecological forestry researcher for the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, said this isn't the first time the government has missed a deadline on forest-related updates and reports. 

In May, conservation groups — including the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, Nature Trust of New Brunswick, Conservation Council of New Brunswick, and Nature NB — called on the provincial government to provide a "transparent and integrated forest management strategy rooted in biodiversity, conservation, Indigenous co-stewardship, and ecological forestry practices," according to Nature NB's website. 

Page said the forest management strategy was supposed to be released in July, but it never came. She added that the Department of Natural Resources said it was working on a forest carbon inventory, but it too has not been released.

The Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development did not provide a response for information pertaining to these missing reports.

"Year after year, we're missing these deadlines," said Page. "The forests report is just the cherry on top of the cake of deadlines missed by our administration."

'Missing a lot of information'

The Carleton Victoria Wood Producers Association is a non-profit organization in Florenceville dedicated to helping private woodlot owners. General manager Linda Bell said that without an updated report, "we are missing a lot of information. We know it's inaccurate." 

Bell added, "We know that many woodlots have been harvested, and we have no records of the wood being harvested. So the wood's gone, but there's been no record remitted to government in our production."

CBC New Brunswick requested interviews from larger logging companies, including J.D. Irving and Acadian Timber, but no one was made available for an interview.

A woman smiling in front of piles of logs Linda Bell, general manager of the Carleton Victoria Wood Producers Association in Florenceville, said the government's information is outdated. (Submitted by Linda Bell)

In 2015, an auditor general's report reviewing the Department of Natural Resources stated that during the 2009 to 2014 audit period, "the Department fell short in fulfilling some of its related management and oversight responsibilities. This includes not updating the forest management plans and agreements; failing to enforce compliance with treatment standards and not completing licensee performance evaluations, in addition to not keeping the public informed on the state of the Province's forests and the impact of the Department's silviculture activities."

Both Page and Coon said transparency about New Brunswick's forests hasn't been a priority for the government.

New Brunswickers care about forests, poll shows

But public opinion polling shows New Brunswick residents care deeply about the state of the province's forests. 

In 2022, Oraclepoll Research, an analytics and public polling company, surveyed 300 New Brunswickers on behalf of the Atlantic Salmon Federation, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society–NB Chapter, and the Conservation Council of New Brunswick.

The report found that 70 per cent of respondents said it was of "total importance" to protect multi-species forest landscapes, and 82 per cent said the province should consider limiting the size of clearcuts.

According to the report, the majority of New Brunswickers also disapprove of industrial forest management in the province, with 47 per cent of respondents saying they hold an unfavourable opinion. In comparison, 34 per cent responded favourably, and 19 per cent said they were unsure. 

People in New Brunswick "very much value their forests," said Page. "We need to be able to trust the government."

She added, "I feel that it's very uncertain what the next 10 years or 20 years is going to look like in terms of how much income and value we can get out of forests."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rachel DeGasperis is a 2023 CBC News Joan Donaldson Scholar working as a reporter in New Brunswick. She holds a master of journalism degree from Toronto Metropolitan University and a bachelor of arts in political science from the University of Toronto. You can reach her at rachel.degasperis@cbc.ca

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31 Comments 
 

 
David Amos
The constant laments of the Green Party Leader have become a joke to me

 
Rosco holt
Reply to David Amos
The Greens are the only one that are speaking up while the other opposition parties are awfully quiet.


EVELYN NOLAN
Reply to Rosco holt
our current party is slack and not looking after our forest or our interest at least the Greens our speaking up
 

Micheal Wilson
Reply to David Amos
The Greens is the only ones telling the government to do their job.


Marguerite Deschamps
Content Deactivated

Reply to Micheal Wilson
David is the only one who can right the ship. Just ask him.


David Amos
Content Deactivated

Reply to Marguerite Deschamps
I quit trying I'm a privateer these days



Jos Allaire
The best government this province ever had... for the affluent, that is!


David Amos
Content Deactivated

Reply to Jos Allaire
Are you affluent?


David Amos
Content Deactivated

Reply to Jos Allaire
Oh My Wasn't that a telling thing?





G. Timothy Walton
So, just how bad is the devastation from letting the foxes hide the henhouse from public view while they work?

From family experience, if you own woodlots you should go make sure the wood is still there. Don't wait for a Google Earth update to find out everything's gone missing.

Unless the law's changed in the last decade or so, if you catch a company in the act of harvesting your timber without permission, their only penalty will be paying the value of the wood; guess who sets that value?


David Amos
Reply to G. Timothy Walton
Well put




Jim Lake
One could be led to think the Premier is intentionally blocking the report due to the sad state of our forests and New Brunswick’s environment under Higgs’ stewardship (or lack thereof). If the Premier doesn’t hold his Ministers and Departments accountable for their responsibilities, who will?


Ron parker

Reply to Jim Lake
Hopefully the voters of NB.


David Amos
Content Deactivated

Reply to Ron parker
Dream on
 
 
Bobby Richards
Reply to Jim Lake
Higgs only holds his ministers accountable if they don't go along with his wishes. Mike Holland most likely won't say a word on this because he is too nervous of losing his position. Which is too bad because he should be a good steward of the woodlands.
 
 
David Amos
Reply to Bobby Richards 
Check the not so good steward's NB Power file 
 



 
Greg Miller
The Minister for the Dept. of Natural Resources and Energy is Mike Holland. Yes, of course the report is missing -- what else would you expect?


Michael Cain
Reply to Greg Miller
Higgs hasn't read it yet; he is still stuck on the pandemic report that has yet to come out, and that darn policy 213.


David Amos
Content Deactivated

Reply to Greg Miller
I expect nothing from Mikey and have never been disappointed




John Pokiok
Let me give you report on forest state. It's all shawen as far as you can see in any direction. Than it's sprayed by helicopters and planes there you have it. Deer is only thriving in urban centers where planes don't spray because they have nothing to eat in planted deserts of one type of tree. There you have it's free report and easily verified by just taking a ride to a country side.


Ron parker
Reply to John Pokiok
You nailed it!


G. Timothy Walton
Reply to John Pokiok
Who needs forests? Other than the logging trucks that have been illegally using our road the past couple of years, that is.


David Amos
Reply to Ron parker
Everybody knows




Rosco holt
Most NBers know why reports on state of the province's forest is missing.


David Amos
Reply to Rosco holt
Of course





Elizabeth Thimlar
Drive along the country roads and you can see the state of our forests. The Big companies want to get it all cut before someone with nerve will tell the truth!


G. Timothy Walton
Reply to Elizabeth Thimlar
There are those pesky land claims to all the big chunks of Crown land and forestry corporation tracts...


David Amos
Reply to Elizabeth Thimlar
I have been telling it for nearly 20 years
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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