To the Editor,
I was recently working in the area when my customer reminded me of a rumour that was started around eight years ago, that the government was planning restrictions on clear-cutting. I am pretty sure it was started by Québec clear cutters, looking to drum up business, and boy, did it ever. Some farmers said, ‘Nobody is going to tell me what to do’, and many decided to clear-cut before the plan came to be, but it never did and never will.
A lot of forests were destroyed over the next two years, trees being trees–they couldn’t fight back, couldn’t run, couldn’t hide, so they died, by the thousands.
South Nation Conservation is the organization in charge of collecting information on forestry coverage. This survey is done every six years; the last survey was in 2014. At that time, healthy land needed 30 per cent forestry coverage as a minimum, and at that time, Casselman had 4.6 per cent coverage.
Over the last five years, I’ve been checking with the South Nation Conservation for when the new numbers would be coming out, and for the past five years I have been told “in a couple of months”.
I don’t think I’m asking too much, but I really think it’s important to stay on top of the coverage and protection of our land, the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the lives we live.
I’m not blaming anyone for where we stand right now, I just want to know. You should care, too.
Andy Perreault,
Vankleek Hill
