Written by Gina Pannunzio for The Egret – Volume 35 – Issue 3

Each year National Forest Week (NFW) is celebrated across Canada by many individuals and diverse governmental and non-governmental organizations. During NFW, Canadians are invited to learn more about Canada’s forest heritage and to raise awareness about this valuable and renewable resource. Forests are fundamental to our economy, culture, traditions and history – and to our future. Communities, families and individuals depend on forests for their livelihood and way of life (Canadian Institute of Forestry).

Healthy forest systems are essential for healthy communities. Forests provide many ecological services such as filtering pollutants from the air, filter storm water, prevent erosion, mitigate drought, provide shade, are habitat for wildlife, aid in pollination dispersal, provide aesthetic, recreation and amenity benefits and of course more. Many of us who grew up in Windsor-Essex, know a Carolinian forest well. We can connect our place in the region to the wooded areas we spent time in and the species we admire and are drawn to. Unfortunately these forested ecosystems face challenges such as land conversion, development, mismanagement, invasive species and more.

The initial forest loss in the Windsor-Essex region was dramatic, as a result of European settlement, and incentives given to clear land for agriculture. Habitat fragmentation is very obvious when driving down country roads, or looking at our area from satellite images. In the 2018 Watershed Report Card published by the Essex Region Conservation Authority, forest conditions for the region’s watersheds ranked as a D or an F. These low scores were due to more stringent measurement standards, not because of a loss of forest habitat. These measurements are set across the province, and it is difficult to achieve a higher score on this scale within Windsor-Essex’s highly agriculturally based landscape. Through landscape wide restoration efforts, the initial forest cover measured in 1973 was less than 4%. Today, Windsor-Essex sits around 6% forest cover which includes terrestrial and wooded swamps swamp woodlots, approximately 9,918ha.

It is true, our region fared much worse in forest cover in the past. Through natural succession, active restoration and the application of environmental policies prohibiting or prescribing no negative impacts from development within significant natural areas has been very effective in increasing natural coverage within our region. There is certainly a long way to go to have a fully functional, robust, well-connected natural heritage system. One tool that is used by the Essex Region Conservation Authority is the Essex Region Natural Heritage System Strategy or ERNHSS that is a draft blueprint of what we would like to see across the landscape. Restoration targets within ERNHSS focus on habitat consolidation, connectivity and buffering as well as reducing edge effects on existing forests, and increasing interior woodland habitat.

Despite the statistics, there is still hope. During National Forest Week there are quite a few things people can do to engage in the conversation about Windsor-Essex’s forests, get involved in upcoming events and obviously go for a walk in the woods. There are numerous public places that are great for walking and checking out mature Carolinian favourites such as trails at Point Pelee National Park, Kopegaron Woods, McAuliffe Woods, Devonwood and Maidstone Conservation Areas and any within the greater Ojibway Prairie Complex.

It is critically important to continue implementing and participating in tree planting, restoration and water quality improvement projects in the region. These efforts help to reconnect remnant forests by reducing habitat fragmentation, establishing corridors that provide habitat and safety for traveling wildlife, buffer plantings for tributaries that intersect forests, planting new trees on recently established or existing trails, backyard tree planting efforts, school yard greening programs, stormwater management green space plantings and more. In a recently published report, The Economic Value of Tree Planting in Southern Ontario report from Forests Ontario identified the total number of trees planted in Southern Ontario between 2008 and 2018 is 24,431,852 or 15 thousand hectares. These trees account for an estimated $82.7 million annual ecosystem service benefits.

Check out the events section of this month’s Egret for upcoming tree/forest related opportunities! There will continue to be opportunities as long as people in the region express their interests and concerns for the future of Windsor-Essex forests.

Resources

Canadian Institute of Forestry (2019). National Forest Week. https://www.cif-ifc.org/national-forest-week/

Essex Region Conservation Authority (2013). Essex Region Natural Heritage Systems Strategy. https://essexregionconservation.ca/resources/reports/essex-region-natural-heritage-systems-strategy/

Essex Region Conservation Authority (2018). Watershed Report Card. https://essexregionconservation.ca/watershed-health/water-quality/

Forests Ontario (2019). The Economic Value of Tree Planting in Southern Ontario. https://www.forestsontario.ca/planting/resources/the-economic-value-of-tree-planting-in-southern-ontario/