Wary of federal meddling, Norfolk council turns down conservation plan

Mistrust of Ottawa kept Norfolk council from putting county-owned forests on a federal registry of protected lands.

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The federal government is working to conserve 30 per cent of Canada’s land and water by 2030 as part of a broader effort to counter climate change and biodiversity loss.

Norfolk is within the Carolinian life zone, an important migratory bird route that is also home to roughly a quarter of Canada’s species at risk. Municipally owned forests and wetlands are good candidates for inclusion in Canada’s Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), Sarah Emons of the Long Point Biosphere Region told council recently.

“Here in Norfolk County, we have extremely high biodiversity that needs preserving,” said Emons, conservation director with the non-profit charity.

Norfolk’s 25 per cent forest cover is the highest among southwestern Ontario municipalities, which is “definitely a point of pride,” Emons said.

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Roughly 85 per cent of Norfolk’s forests are privately owned.

Forestry supervisor Adam Biddle recommended adding 38 municipal properties totaling more than 2,225 acres of Carolinian forest to the federal database of protected lands, which helps Ottawa track Canada’s progress toward the 30 per cent conservation target.

“We have a lot of NGOs locally that their main mandate is to protect these forests,” Biddle told councillors.

“So this program is really just looking to capture some of that, because those (forests) aren’t in the federal database currently.”

Emons said the biosphere would handle the application process and Norfolk could become eligible for funding to responsibly manage the protected lands.

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Ottawa has already chipped in to restore 40 acres of municipal forest that was “severely degraded” by invasive species, Emons noted, while federal funding helped the county assess and identify forests with the “highest natural heritage” for inclusion in the database.

But some councilors worry Ottawa may decide to limit future uses of municipal forests added to the registry.

“I think we’re doing a great job of protecting our forests as is,” said Coun. Linda Vandendriessche.

“I do have concerns when we start talking about how the federal government has input into this. I fear what comes next. Governments change, people change, and all of a sudden you have an extra restriction that’s thrown on.”

Biddle and Emons said they have been assured “many times” Ottawa has no plans to interfere in municipal land-use decisions.

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Joining the database “does not place any additional burden or restriction on the property,” Biddle added.

To qualify for inclusion, there must be a “low chance” the property in question will be developed or sold, and it must already be “managed in a way that is not harming biodiversity,” Emons said.

Future councils looking to sell or develop land on the database can have the property delisted at any time, she added.

“That’s the rules today,” Coun. Chris Van Paassen countered.

“But once they know where it is, and once it’s registered, they can change the rules and say now you can’t do forest management.”

Coun. Tom Masschaele tried to downplay fears of future meddling from Ottawa.

“This is only an accounting exercise,” he told advisors.

“I don’t see any real risk at this moment in simply attaching ourselves to this database and hopefully taking advantage of some funding opportunities.”

But the motion to endorse adding municipally owned forest to the federal database failed in a 5-4 vote.

JP Antonacci is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter based at the Hamilton Spectator. The initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.

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