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Critical Chance to Save Woodland Caribou in Ontario

Feature story - December 15, 2009
The woodland caribou in Ontario’s Boreal forest is threatened with extinction because of the long history of forest destruction allowed by the Ontario government in the southern Boreal forest, the enormous area of the province where most logging, especially clearcutting, takes place.

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Destroyed caribou habitat (English River Forest)

Now, there is a rare opportunity to pressure the Ontario government to save the woodland caribou.

The Ontario government is changing the rules about where and how forestry takes place. Done well, more of the remaining undisturbed areas of the Boreal Forest and the wildlife that depends on it would be protected and economic development would improve for struggling forestry communities.

Ontario needs to take bold action

The entire system of pricing and allocation of wood in Ontario is under review. Two options face the government:

  1. Bold reform that supports a forest economy based on conservation. This would bring economic growth and protect the environment at the same time, with a focus on value-added products and the most jobs for every tree cut. By protecting and sustainably managing the Boreal Forest, Ontario would get new access to green markets, and would keep the business of companies like Rona and Kimberly-Clark that are increasingly engaged in reducing the environmental impact of their forest products. Ontario lost a major forest products customer this year when Kimberly-Clark's former supplier refused to meet the company's new environmental policy. Kimberly-Clark ended its purchases - valued at approximately US$227 million - and took its business elsewhere. To keep companies in Ontario and keep the forest economy healthy, the province has to resolve controversies like the destruction of critical caribou habitat.
  2. The status quo, or worse. Companies will cut more and more trees further away from existing mills, causing more fragmentation of the forest and destruction of wildlife habitat. All this, while getting less and less value for the trees and seeing jobs decrease. The government is even talking about burning trees from the Boreal Forest to generate electricity!

Once in a generation chance to change forestry

These forestry reforms are a once in a generation chance to turn Ontario's forest economy in the right direction. The current situation - destruction of threatened caribou habitat and other intact forest areas while more and more jobs are lost - can't continue.

The government needs to:

  • Remove critical woodland caribou habitat from the commercial forest before deciding where new logging tenures will be;
  • Prioritize value-added manufacturing to get the most jobs for every tree cut;
  • Make sure small businesses and community-owned mills have first access to wood to keep jobs local and support communities; and
  • Make sure revenue and jobs from logging are shared with First Nations communities whose traditional territories companies are operating on.

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