Mass tree cutting in Thamesville draws outrage – BlackburnNews.com

By Paul Pedro February 14, 2021 6:00am

The Ministry of Environment has ordered a landowner in Thamesville to stop cutting down trees on a property that may have multiple plant and animal species at risk after receiving several complaints.

Local environmentalists, including CK Woodlot Preservation said the tree clearing on Spence Line is hurting tree cover in the area, which they added is already very low compared to other municipalities across Ontario. They said there is species at risk in that woodlot and the land clearing is killing their habitat.

A ministry spokesperson said environmental enforcement officers visited the site and issued a verbal stop order under the Endangered Species Act to allow the ministry time to determine if any laws were broken.

The land is owned by Luiken and Hilary Huisman but Hilary said she had no time for a comment when contacted by Blackburn News.

CK Woodlot Preservation said Chatham-Kent has the lowest tree coverage in all of Southern Ontario at 3.5 per cent and dropping. The World Health Organization recommends a tree coverage of 10 per cent for a healthy community. The woodlot conservation group is contemplating a lawsuit against elected municipal officials, citing negligence regarding the issue of deforestation. They calculate approximately 200 acres of forest has been lost between 2009 and 2016 in a small part of Eastern Chatham-Kent, North of the 401.

How could any counselor say in good faith that more study is needed? We can see with our own eyes that the Natural Heritage Implementation Strategy (NHIS) has not conserved a single acre of forest. Forests are not replaced by tree plantations! posted CK Woodlot Preservation on its Facebook page.

Chatham-Kent does not currently have a forest conservation bylaw. Chatham-Kent General Manager of Community Development Bruce McAllister said that the municipality is one of the few remaining municipalities that does not currently have a regulatory tree management bylaw or site alteration bylaw of some type. However, he added collaboration continues with the the Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority (LTVCA) and willing landowners to increase forest, wetland and native prairie cover in Chatham-Kent.

The LTVCA said it doesnt regulate woodlands and the woodlot in question is out of its jurisdiction.

The LTVCA has no legal authority or means to prevent or stop the clearing of this woodlot, said Jason Wintermute of the Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority. It is not occurring in a regulated area, so no permit is required from us. The Conservation Authorities Act legislation doesnt apply to this type of activity.

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Mass tree cutting in Thamesville draws outrage - BlackburnNews.com