FORT FRANCES—There may not have been a large turnout at the Adventure Inn here for last week’s review of the proposed insect pest management program to control the jack pine budworm infestation, but Ministry of Natural Resources area supervisor Jeff Wiume sees that, perhaps, as a vote of trust.
However, he urges any district residents who have an interest in the defoliation to contact the MNR offices in either Kenora, Dryden, Atikokan, or Fort Frances as comments and submissions about the program will be accepted until Feb. 20.
“There’s a 30-day period for public to look at [the] proposed plan,” Wiume stressed. “So people can come and have a look at what our plan looks like, what we’re proposing, and ask questions.
“It’s a good opportunity for the public to increase their knowledge of what’s happening in Northwestern Ontario in terms of the jack pine budworm and what the options are for treating it.”
Wiume noted the plan includes harvesting trees in some areas and aerial spraying of the insecticide Bacillus Thuringiensis (Bt) in others.
“And there’s some areas where we probably won’t do anything—we’ll just let the jack pine budworm run its course,” he added.
Last year, 105,000 hectares of forest in Rainy River District was sprayed with Bt and post-assessment data showed it was successful in slowing the population explosion of the insect.
The insecticide is meant to keep the trees healthy for one additional year—in the hopes nature will run its course.
“We do see all the signs of a natural collapse,” Wiume said, noting while the area of expected defoliation in 2007 is larger than last year (450,000 hectares as opposed to 280,000), the most severe will be seen in the Kenora and Dryden areas.
“We’re hoping this summer is the summer where there is a natural collapse,” he added. “The anticipated defoliation in Kenora and Dryden is greater than what we anticipate in Fort Frances this summer.”
Even so, Wiume indicated some people may be interested in the effects of the jack pine budworm since an infestation can significantly reduce wood supply, alter habitats for plants and animals, increase fire hazards, and impact aesthetics.
“There was a lot of people concerned, in all of our open houses, about the chance of fire because of dead and dying forests,” Wiume said, adding Dryden had about 60 people at the information session there.
Others were held last week in Nestor Falls, Atikokan, Kenora, Dryden, and Ignace.
A similar session also was held last year in these same communities, as well as in Fort Frances, but Wiume said it’s difficult to compare the attendance since the proposed Forest Management Plan was highlighted simultaneously.
Local resident Mark McKelvie, who works in the bush, was one of the 15 people who attended the information session at the Adventure Inn here.
“I saw the effects last summer and I wanted to get more information because I’d be able to forward my concerns better,” he noted, adding he wasn’t aware of the information session last year.
“One site caught my eye and I thought what are we going to do,” he continued. “The trees just looked sick . . . and I thought I might be able to notice something that was overlooked.”
McKelvie was pleased with the displays of maps and information and enjoyed the one-on-one approach, speaking to different representatives about the plan.
“I like that you’re not in a crowd because you can ask questions,” he stressed. “All my questions have definitely been answered.”
But despite the smaller-than-expected turnout, Wiume said he saw a lot of support for the plan to do something about the jack pine budworm.
Once the 30-day public review period is over, Wiume said the next step is to finalize the plan and make a presentation to the regional director.
Once the regional director approves the plan, it goes back to the public for another review.
“There’s going to be additional notification go out if we get approval for spray programs,” Wiume noted. “It will go out by mail and in the newspaper, and we’ll have to post all the blocks that are going to be sprayed with signs.
“And the date of spray with be posted, so that’s another public communication piece.”
If the use of insecticide is accepted, the spraying will begin around early June.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
