SNC Offers Free Woodlot Advisory Service to Local Landowners
Are you a landowner with at least 10 acres of woodlot property?
Thanks to support from the United Counties of Prescott and Russell and Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, South Nation Conservation (SNC) offers its Woodlot Advisory Service (WAS) to residents who own at least 10 acres of forest.
This woodlot program includes a site visit by a trained forestry professional, a preliminary site evaluation and map, and suggestions on woodlot management; all at no-cost, a service available in English and French.
Landowners may also be eligible to receive up to a $500 grant towards the creation of a Forest Management Plan for property tax benefits
In 2018, SNC conducted 46 visits to private forests and awarded 40 grants to local woodlot owners through this program; 2,363 acres of privately-owned forests are now being sustainably managed across the Conservation Authority’s 4,384 square-kilometer jurisdiction in Eastern Ontario.
“Forests provide many important ecological, economic, social and cultural benefits to humans and the environment,” explains John Mesman, SNC’s Communication Lead.
Last year SNC also published a report on “Protecting and Increasing Forest Cover in the South Nation Conservation Jurisdiction” following two years of review and consultation with local stakeholder working groups.
Recommendations from the report include enhancing the Woodlot Advisory Service and increasing subsidies for planting sites along farm fields and watercourses; SNC received over 147,500 subsidized tree orders for this year’s spring planting season, bringing the total amount of trees planted by SNC to 3.2 million since 1990.
“We hope people will continue to take advantage of our programs that protect the local environment and enhance forest cover in the region.”
FOR MORE INFO: Kelsey Smith, SNC Stewardship and Outreach Assistant, 1-877-984-2948 ext. 313, ksmith@nation.on.ca.
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