Those in Chatham-Kent’s agriculture sector are voicing their concerns with the municipality’s proposed woodlot preservation bylaw.
A 120-day moratorium on clear-cutting went into effect at the end of April, but Jim Brackett with the Chatham-Kent Landowners says they’re worried about whether this the last step or just the first.
“If you control cutting trees, we’re concerned about the value of the land, it’s hard to let an acre not be productive,” Brackett says. “We’re concerned that if this bylaw goes through, the next bylaw might be on how you work the land, how you fertilize, how you use herbicides and many other things.”
The Kent Federation of Agriculture says the proposal negatively impacts the property rights of all rural landowners in the municipality. Spokesman Louis Roesch says from an environmental standpoint, saving trees doesn’t necessarily improve air quality.
“Corn and soybeans will take more carbon sequestration, they produce more oxygen, photosynthesis, than a bush will.”
The tree-cutting moratorium doesn’t apply to parcels of land under five acres.
The municipality is launching a community consultation process with an online survey open to public comment until July 9th.
A report is expected back to council at the end of August.
