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Planning a Permaculture Orchard

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Planning a Permaculture Orchard Wisdom in the Woods Planning a permaculture orchard Kirsten Benot, with daughter Kateryna, looks on as Mark Shepard assesses an open area of property for the new Restoration Agriculture demonstration project on the Prairie Heritage Farm near Gimli. The project will group different species of fruit- and nut- bearing trees together in a polyculture orchard. For more on this story, see pages 6 and 7. Bitterly cold winter unlikely to impact spread of forest pests By Sheilla Jones The polar vortex that brought record-breaking cold mortality, since the insects begin reducing their cold temperatures to much of North America this winter may tolerance.” have warmed hopes for a chill on the spread of forest Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories pests. But experts say that the bitter cold may have had all recorded sustained severe cold in January, with little impact on the emerald ash borer, mountain pine sustained lows ranging from -37C to -28C. beetle and elm bark beetle. But it takes more than cold temperatures to kill larvae “It takes substantially colder temperatures to cause overwintering under the bark of trees. substantial insect mortality in the middle of winter,” said “The actual temperatures,” said Bannerman, “that these Jordan Bannerman, an instructor in entomology at the insects experience are higher than ambient temperatures University of Manitoba. “Cold weather in the fall or which can be misleading. It takes sustained cold to drop winter can have a larger impact. A warm spell in early the temperatures under the bark. Factors like the amount spring followed by a cold snap may also cause increased Continued on page 10 WAM 2014 AGM • New wood mass calculator, p 2 Wooded lands: New directions • WAM meets with Bezan on conservation, p 3 Saturday, March 22, 2014 • Barkman new MFA Resource Officer, p 5 See pages 8 and 9 January/February 2014 1 New wood volume calculator available on-line Woodlot Association of Manitoba The Canadian Forest Service is making it just a little Board of Directors 2013/2014 easier for woodlot owners to figure out how much wood they have in tree stands. President: Irene de Graaf, Narol, (204) 661-2068 CFS is providing an on-line calculator for computing [email protected] wood volume using taper models for everything from Secretary-Treasurer: lodgepole pines to quaking aspens. Allan Webb, Stonewall (204) 467-8648 To use the calculator, you need to know only the [email protected] measurement of the diameter of a standing tree at breast- height (1.3 metres above ground) and the tree species. Past President: Len Riding, St. Malo Providing a figure for the height of the tree will produce Directors: a more accurate calculation, but it is not required. •Mike James, Winnipeg, Beaconia Researchers who developed the on-line calculator are •Bob Austman, Beausejour using tree taper data collected from the Canadian •Tom Dykstra, Balmoral ENFOR program and some provinces to create a •Bruce MacLeod, Winnipeg national taper model for most commercial tree species in •Louise Matthewson, Gimli Canada. The calculator is available on the Natural Resources •Clint Pinder, Stony Mountain Canada website at https://apps-scf- •Chris Matthewson, Oakbank cfs.rncan.gc.ca/calc/en/volume-calculateur-calculator. The Manitoba Woodlot is published six times annually as a service to the membership of the Woodlot Association of Manitoba (WAM). MFA seedling sales offer WAM seeks to promote an understanding of sustainable new species woodlot management, increase income and employment potential for the woodlot sector, promote the use of woodlot With at last a break in this cold spell we’ve been products in the place of non-renewable and imported experiencing these past three months, thoughts turn to products, and develop human resources in woodlot our long-awaited spring. Thinking ahead to the management. months—and warmer temperatures—to come, now is a WAM represents the interests of our members within the perfect opportunity to get your order in for nursery stock Canadian Federation of Woodlot Owners (CFWO). The for this coming spring. CFWO makes those interests known to forestry ministers at The Manitoba Forestry Association (MFA) annual both levels of government. seedling and tree sales program “Setting Down New Roots” continues to accept orders for the Spring of 2014. WAM also has a representative to the Manitoba Model This year we introduced a number of new species such Forest, another organization that promotes sustainable as Villosa Lilac, Meyers Spruce, Hybrid Poplar and management of Manitoba’s wooded areas. Hybrid Willow (all rooted stock), with some larger plug WAM is a non-profit organization led by a volunteer Board stock (grown in larger cavity plugs with greater root of Directors, which meets monthly. Our Annual General mass and increased caliper) as well, to assist you with Meeting (AGM) is held each year before the end of March your tree planting projects. and is open to all members in good standing. Currently, we are sold out of a number of species such as Scots Pine, Colorado Spruce, Balsam Fir, and the THE MANITOBA WOODLOT Villosa Lilac, and we are now starting to run low on a Editor: Sheilla Jones number of others in various plug sizes. Email: [email protected] For more information about species availability and Website: woodlotmanitoba.com pricing, please check out our online store at http://www.thinktrees.org/cms.Catalog.aspx or feel free Woodlot Association of Manitoba to call the MFA at 204-453-3182 to find out more or to 900 Corydon Ave., Winnipeg, MB R3M 0Y4 place your order. Happy Planting! 2 The Manitoba Woodlot WAM directors talk conservation strategy with Bezan Undeterred by stormy winter weather, WAM directors across the country,” said Bob. met with Manitoba MP James Bezan to talk about the Allan then listed the wide range of ecological goods input of private woodland owners into drafting a national and services that are provided to society at large from conservation plan. woodlot owners. WAM directors Allan Webb Both Allan and Bob noted the and Bob Austman met for an From the draft National importance of providing input hour with Bezan and his Conservation Strategy: into the National Conservation constituency assistant for an Strategy from a woodlot owner’s hour at Bezan’s Selkirk perspective. Bob stated that “it constituency office on Recommendation 6: The could be a win-win situation for February 17. Bezan sits on a Committee recommends that the Canada and woodlot owners to parliamentary Environment Government become engaged in a nation- Committee responsible for of Canada work with all levels of wide tree-planting program, drafting Canada’s National along with other partners, such Conservation Strategy. government, industry and private as the transportation industry Allan and Bob, with James, conservation organizations to and others who emit large started off the meeting talking implement a nation-wide, incentive- quantities of carbon into the about the importance of the based ecological goods and services atmosphere.” CFWO (Canadian Federation James agreed, noting that there of Woodlot Owners), and program for the privately-owned hasn’t been much traction in presented him with a copy of agricultural and forestry landscapes. carbon-trading schemes in the the organization's mission stock market world, and nothing statement and organizational Recommendation 9: That the of much significance has been structure. He was quite Government of Canada continue to gained from “going down that surprised to hear that roughly road”. 15% of Canada’s wood supply build on the success of private land Bob noted that the draft to industrial mills comes from conservation programs such as the strategy has two private land. Habitat Stewardship Program for recommendations in particular The conversation then Species at Risk and the Ecological that CFWO and WAM could turned to Canada’s National help achieve (Recommendations Conservation Strategy which Gifts Program. 6 and 9). is a ‘work in progress’. Bob The meeting ended with an pointed out that there were agreement that James would many non-government pass this information on to the environmental agencies at the Environment Minister Leona table for discussion and input into the plan, but no one to Aglukkaq, with the recommendation that the CFWO or represent the interests of private woodlot owners. WAM be invited to further discussions when they resume “Involvement of private landowner groups could be a in Ottawa in the spring. key component to the successful roll-out of a national Other groups at the table for the National Conservation strategy, and that could bring a higher profile for the Strategy include Ducks Unlimited, agriculture producers, importance of sustainable woodlot management right and Nature Conservancy of Canada. Notice to Members Please note that if you have not renewed your WAM membership for 2014, this is the last issue of The Manitoba Woodlot that will be mailed to you. To continue to receive the newsletter and to benefit from membership in the only organization in Manitoba representing the interests of private woodland owners, you can fill out the membership form on page 11 or you can go on-line to renew at woodlotmanitoba.com/about-us/membership. January/February 2014 3 4 The Manitoba Woodlot Barkman new MFA resource officer I am the new Resource Extension Officer with the Manitoba Forestry Association, and I’d like to introduce myself. I grew up in southeastern Manitoba, went to high school in Ottawa, and completed university with a forestry degree in Thunder Bay in 2003. Since then, I have held various forestry positions with industry, consultants, contractors, and the provincial government. My experience includes involvement in tree planting, trail and harvest block layout, forest inventory, as well as pest, disease, and thinning surveys.
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