Barking up wrong tree

Dear sir:
In recent months, the forest industry in Canada has become the target of campaigns by environmental groups such as Greenpeace, ForestEthics, and the Wildlands League.
All of these campaigns have a common theme—they are designed to get public support and apply political pressure to reduce harvest levels and set aside additional parks and protected areas.
Abitibi-Consolidated has been accused of “destroying” the forests it manages, and of having “the worst record of any logging company operating in Ontario.”
If you believe the environmentalist literature, there are no controls on forestry operations in Ontario and “the mills call the shots.”
For the record, a recent independent study of global forestry practices at Yale University concluded that “Canada is undeniably among the world’s most environmentally-progressive producers,” and that forest companies in Canada operate with the most stringent forestry regulations in the world.
The United Nations has identified that the deforestation rate in Canada is zero, which means we are regenerating our forests in a responsible manner.
All of the public forests entrusted to Abitibi-Consolidated have been certified to the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) sustainable forestry management standard by independent auditors. The Ministry of Natural Resources is responsible for ensuring we manage our licensed areas sustainably.
Abitibi-Consolidated has been working co-operatively with MNR foresters and biologists to develop forest management plans that are sustainable, taking a variety of environmental, social, and economic factors into account.
Forest management in Ontario is done in an open, inclusive manner, with input from the public, local citizens’ committees, aboriginal communities, and environmental groups. The planning system does not allow the mill to “call the shots.”
In the most recent Independent Forest Audit of the Crossroute Forest, the auditors concluded that “The company [Abitibi-Consolidated] and MNR have demonstrated a commitment to community and environmental awareness and a high standard of forest management. They both have provided effective leadership in the planning and operations of the forest for which they hold stewardship.”
A similar demonstrated commitment to sustainable forest management also has been identified in audits of forests managed by Abitibi-Consolidated across the province.
These are hardly the type of findings you would expect from a company accused of “destroying and looting” the forests.
Calls for further protection and bans on logging only will further decimate the Northern Ontario economy, which already is reeling from a series of mill closures over the past few years. Almost everybody knows someone who has been affected.
The frustrating thing about this smear campaign is that the quality of our forest management is second-to-none. Greenpeace should be pushing for sustainable forest management—it is the right thing to do. But the Canadian forest industry should not be the target of this campaign.
The focus should be on countries that allow widespread deforestation and illegal logging to occur. These are the same countries that we currently are competing against in a global marketplace.
With their current campaign, Greenpeace is barking up the wrong tree.
Sincerely,
Steve Watson
Regional Forester
Abitibi-Consolidated
Company of Canada