Managing Public Forests for Wildlife

Transcription

1 Ruffed Grouse Society (PEI) Managing Public Forests for Wildlife A Presentation to the Discussion Meetings, Forest Policy Initiative, Public Forest Council March Presented by Jack MacAndrew, RGS Communications Director, PEI Good Evening. My name is Jack MacAndrew The Ruffed Grouse Society of Prince Edward Island is a chapter of a national and international organization whose members have an abiding interest in wildlife and especially in the Ruffed Grouse, as a wonderful symbol of the attraction of the wild that nature holds for us all. We are hunters of the Ruffed Grouse, to be sure : but our interest in this magnificent specimen of nature s handiwork, and in other forms of wildlife, goes far beyond the hunting of them. Indeed, it is the hunt, and not the kill that attracts our membership to the woodland haunts of the Ruffed Grouse and the Woodcock. For our fraternity...there is no excitement to match the heart pounding thrill... the rush of adrenaline... when one of these birds explodes into flight from almost beneath your feet. The Ruffed Grouse Society s abiding purpose is the improvement,management and preservation of habitat so that the Ruffed Grouse will continue to be an integral part of our hunting heritage on Prince Edward Island.

2 Grouse, woodcock and other woodland birds must have young forest as habitat...and much of our forest is young. We endorse habitat management where it is required for these species and others. The techniques of management include the provision of young poplar for brood habitat; nesting habitat of hardwood or mixed forest; feeding stands of mature poplar ; and the provision of conifers for winter cover... These four types of habitat should be included within a 400 meter diameter,and the closer the better to provide the best nesting and brood rearing cover.. We have been active here for about two years, holding workshops on habitat management and bringing together people who want to improve both the status of this marvelous bird ; and our traditional hunting pursuits. We believe with these consultations there is now a real opportunity to examine the way we use our public forest lands; and to embed a holistic approach towards habitat management in forest policy.. There - we have introduced the H word. In the past government forest policies towards public and private land has concentrated on the production of fibre ; and the replacement of harvested forests with plantations - which are not forests at all - but single species tree farms without consideration of nature s need for bio-diversity in animal and plant life. Habitat - has not been a consideration ; except by happenstance. In our consuming arrogance we have considered woodlands to be uninhabited, if the human species was not present. It is a worldwide phenomenon.

3 In Belize, Fortis will flood an uninhabited river valley to produce more electricity.the unpaid price is the destruction of the habitat of the tapir, the scarlet macaw and many other specialized and endangered species of animal life. Here on this Island we turn over hundreds of acres of woodland into golf courses with the excuse that it is only woodland and not of any use to anybody. That would come as news to the life forms making a home in that piece of useless woodland. The reality is that nothing is ever useless in nature. That rotten log quietly decaying after a hundred years of life, is not useless. It is food and shelter to a staggering variety of life forms, and ultimately returns to the soil from which it emerged to enrich that soil for new life. Our forest policies must flow from and reflect the realities of nature, if they are to be credible. They must work within nature s plan if they are to be workable at all. We hear a lot about Bio-diversity these days. It s become part of the new eco - jargon. But there s nothing new about bio-diversity. It is simply... nature s way. It is the way nature works to ensure the survival of plant and animal species. and life on the planet itself. It is the way nature provides habitat for its life forms. It s pretty simple really. For a species to exist it needs shelter and food. That is what habitat provides. That is, until we come along with our industrial values of productivity and efficiency and try to impose them on a natural system of life. Inevitably we destroy life systems.. or try to keep them alive through artificial means. The imposition of industrial values on a natural resource

4 is inevitably a sentence of death to that resource. The judgement of the value of a woodland must be much more inclusive than an estimate of the short term economic value of the board feet to be harvested in a clear-cut. Management of woodlands for Ruffed Grouse creates a diverse forest. That is a woodland with conifer and hardwood species of differing species maturing at different times : with shrubs and bushes and a living forest floor to provide food and shelter for wildlife. Such a forest provides other economic opportunities besides fibre production, as well as values that cannot be counted in the coin of the realm. Such a forest is a place for spiritual renewal ; an opportunity to see, and touch and smell nature; in the memorable phrase of Allan Baker - to ground us. It is in the experience of nature that we see a new reality in ourselves. Such a forest is a place for other economic activity as well: in the harvest of ground hemlock and other useful by-products. In hiking, and skiing and bird watching... and in hunting. We in the Ruffed Grouse Society are hunters. We take great enjoyment in the woodland hunt for the Ruffed Grouse. Any hunter will tell you that it is the hunt.. rather than the kill that attracts us to our pastime. And any good hunter will make sure that no animal or bird is hunted to endangerment or extinction. In fact, hunting has little effect on the grouse population. The Ruffed Grouse population is subject to cyclical downturns here on the Island...but it is neither endangered or extinct. We want to keep it that way.

5 We believe public lands should be open to hunting, with very careful control of licensing in specific areas of good grouse cover. We believe forest management polices embodying a holistic approach ; with wildlife habitat as a primary consideration ; will preserve our forests and our wildlife for the enjoyment and benefit of many generations to come.. We believe nature s way is the only sound, sensible and common sense way to approach forest management ; with equal consideration for the non economic values of the forest ; and the contribution made by woodlands to the preservation of our Island environment ; especially the protection of ground water and the prevention of erosion. It is not an exaggeration to point out - that our woodlands hold the Island together. The Ruffed Grouse is but one species calling the woodland home. But its presence is a signature that a woodland is healthy. The Ruffed Grouse is - the canary of our woodlands. Nature s way links every life form in a chain of life. We break that chain at our peril. Habitat holds that chain together. It is the key to effective management of our woodlands Thank you for this opportunity to appear before you.