Rooting for the Future
Did you know that climate change will affect the types of trees we can plant in years to come?
Trees that grow in Ontario today may not flourish 20 or 30 years from now. Based on findings from our “Adapting Forestry Programs for Climate Change” report, we are calling for more purposeful planting and forest management. A closer eye and hands-on approach is also needed to maintain our forests.
Trees and forests play a large role in mitigating climate change through sequestration, shading, and providing wildlife habitat. In the wake of increased development, our goal is to expand and enhance the tree canopy using properly selected trees. The important part to keep in mind however is that the trees selected today may not necessarily be the trees that are required in the future. Being diligent and responsive to changing our tree selection will help to restore and protect water quality in our lakes and streams for years to come.
Shake up in the Salt Industry
Winter road salt is quickly becoming one of the biggest environmental concerns in Lake Simcoe, with the majority of salt entering our waterways from roadways and commercial parking lots.
This year, our staff created two technical bulletins to provide helpful tips to municipal staff in two areas of salt management: Parking Lot Guidelines and Sand versus Salt. Both bulletins address the salt issue at a municipal level and provide research, tactics and easy-to-use policy guidelines for municipalities to implement.
In addition, we formed the Freshwater Roundtable. Major stakeholders, including representatives from commercial property owners, government, the insurance industry, snow and ice contractors and conservation authorities were invited to participate. The first meeting is scheduled to take place in January 2019. The immediate goals of the Freshwater Roundtable will be to identify the barriers to adopting effective winter maintenance practices in the commercial sector and to begin creating a joint strategy on how to advocate for policy and legislative changes. Look forward to more on this in 2019.
