Environment, Energy and ForestryHOME / FORESTS, FISH AND WILDLIFE DIVISION - PROGRAMS AND SERVICES / 2006 Forest Policy Moving to Restore a Balance in Island Forests Minister’s Message
It gives me great pleasure to present a new Forest Policy to the people of
Hundreds of Islanders attended these meetings to offer their ideas and suggestions for the future of our public and private forests. These people were landowners, conservationists, harvesters and processors, hunters and trappers, recreational forest users, and others who care about Island forests. Regardless of their background, all were passionate about forests and eager to share their vision and concerns for the future. The new Forest Policy is based on this input. It states government’s belief that public investments should result in public good and that forests need to be seen as more than a source of timber. The policy supports the landowner’s right to make their own harvest and management decisions and acknowledges that public forest lands must always set the standard for stewardship and conservation. Government will continue to support tree planting but within a framework which supports many different ways of managing forest land. The policy also seeks to encourage the role of value-added and non-timber forest products in our economy, as well as the role of education in promoting healthy and productive forests. I would like to recognize the pivotal role of the Public Forest Council in the development of this new Forest Policy. Assisted by facilitator Jean-Paul Arsenault, council members – Dr. Ian MacQuarrie (Chairman) of Hazelgrove, and private sector representatives, Gerald MacDonald from Monticello, Lily Baker from Beach Point, Jim Cook from Belle River and Carol Livingstone from West Point – spent countless hours meeting with the public and the forest community and developing their recommendations based on the input and ideas they received. Their report, Woodlands Hold the Island Together, played a central role in the development of this Forest Policy which, I believe, reflects the realities facing our forest sector today and also takes into account trends which will influence our forests in years to come. Sincerely,
Honourable Jamie Ballem | ||||||
Prince Edward Island.
Minister of Environment, Energy and Forestry