Virtual 2023 Forest Health Showcase

Join us for an afternoon of informative speakers and forest health discussion at this free event. The event is taking place virtually on Wednesday, February 15, from 1:00 to 4:00 pm and is co-hosted by Forests Ontario, Natural Resources Canada, and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.

For information about the event, agenda, and to register, please visit: https://forestsontario.ca/en/event/forest-health-showcase-2023

A highlight will be a presentation on what landowners may consider in managing for long term forest health threatened by beech bark disease and the beech thickets that can develop.

The talk from 1:40-2:10 p.m. "Preparing for the Aftermath Forest: Managing Beech Regeneration in the Face of Beech Bark Disease" may be of particular interest to chapter members with property near the Muskoka Watershed.

The MECP has provided significant funding for projects for the Muskoka Watershed. Waterfront property owners and academics are concerned about watershed quality (in particular calcium deficiencies) and 3 major flood years within the last 10 years causing huge financial impacts.

The focus of these projects have been on the water itself, but there was recognition that the health of the water is very much influenced by the upland forests. In 2022 they found a number of sites in Muskoka totaling 75 hectares of area and Brinkman did a brush saw treatment. This coming spring, they will do a supplemental plant of a variety of species – about 30,000 seedlings. Register and tune-in for the Forest Health Showcase to learn more.