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Counties losing greenspace to development
GREGG CHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
lity, to the large areas encompassed by the boundaries of either the City of Clarence- Rockland and Russell Township. Also eachmunicipality varies in its indi- vidual community profile from those like The Nation or Alfred-Plantagenet Township, which are rural for the most part and have large expanses of farmland sitting side-by- side with native forests, to municipalities like the Town of Hawkesbury or the Village of Casselman, which are urban for themost part, and thenmunicipalities like Clarence- Rockland and Russell Township, which have a wide mix of both urban and rural areas within their borders. For now the aim of the report is to make all those participating in the report aware of the situation. Prévost noted that the report’s findings, and possible options to deal with the situation, will be a primary discussion subject during upcoming meetings of the UCPR planning and forestry advisory com- mittee, and also for other agencies like SNC. Prévost added that one thing to try to avoid is assigning blame in any discussions of how to address the forest cover situation. «It’s a hot subject,» said Prévost, «and a delicate one as well.»
Parts of Prescott-Russell are looking a bit less green these days. The forest cover is getting a bit thinner in some parts of the United Counties of Prescott-Russell (UCPR) and that is due to continuing economic development, either through commercial and residential expan- sion in some of the villages and towns or more clearcutting of woodlands to make room for new farmland and pasturage. A recent report to the counties council indica- ted that the problem is that natural refores- tation is not keeping up with the treecutting so Prescott-Russell’s forest cover has taken a significant slide below the recommended Environment Canada standard for sustai- nable greenspace. «We’re not saying that all clearcutting is bad,» said Louis Prévost, UCPR planning and forestry director, during a phone interview. «What we need is to achieve some sort of balance.» Prévost presented counties council du- ring its Nov. 10 session with a PowePoint summary of a forest cover study done for the UCPR last year.The study was a partnership between the UCPR, the South Nation and Raisin River Conservation Authorities (SNC and RRC), the United Counties of Stormont- Dundas-Glengarry (UCSDG) and Ontario Natural Resources. The study examined
forest cover concerns for the entire Five Counties region, including both the South Nation and Raisin River watersheds. Prévost’ presentation focused on the portion of the study dealing with Prescott-Russell. In 2008 Prescott-Russell’s forest cover was almost 30 per cent of the total area for the region. That fits the Environment Canada standard for sustainable greenspace. As of last year, the forest cover percentage for the UCPR in total was 24.82 per cent, almost a five per cent drop.
Determining where the most significant reductions in forest cover are is difficult to say because each of the eight member muni- cipalities in the UCPR vary in actual size from the Village of Casselman sitting by itself within the bounds ofThe NationMunicipa-
Medical clinic honoured
Health service resolution The United Counties of Prescott-Russell (UCPR) council will join the Eastern Ontario Wardens Caucus (EOWC) in helping Ontario’s doctors lobby the provincial government for a change to its policy regarding family health groups. The Ontario Medical Association (OMA) wants the province to reverse its decision to limit the number of family physicians who can join family health networks and organisations. The OMA also wants the province to guarantee full-funding of health services in Ontario to meet the demands of both the province’s growing population and also the increasing size of its senior citizens sector. – Gregg Chamberlain
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Doctors and staff at the Clarence-Rockland Family Health Team office received recognition for their efforts to make the local medical clinic the best it can be for the community.The Ontario College of Family Physicians (OCFP) named the clinic for the Best Family Practice of the Year award.The OCFP noted that the clinic staffmanages a fully bilingual facility to provide both preventive and acute care treatment in an area where French is the primary language for a majority of the residents, and where the nearest hospital may be a 30-minute drive.
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uté à mieux entendre ceux qu’elle aime
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