Spray boosts woodlot yield, committee told

The Nova Scotia forestry industry defended its use of the controversial herbicide Vision as its representatives appeared before the legislative committee on resources Tuesday.

Jonathan Porter, president of the Forest Products Association of Nova Scotia, said the industry would suffer if companies could not spray Vision to reduce the growth of hardwood underbrush on Crown land where it wants to harvest softwood.

"Some of the forest land needs to be managed intensively," he said.

Porter acknowledged that in Nova Scotia, Crown lands are used for other purposes than forestry, including hunting and recreation.

"But on those lands, if we stopped having the ability to use herbicides, it would reduce the amount of wood that can be grown and therefore the amount of wood that can be harvested on those lands," he told the committee.

• From Aug. 24, 2004 - Government to spray controversial herbicide

Saying there is much misinformation circulating about the product, Porter said glyphosate, the active ingredient in Vision, is the same chemical that farmers spray on their fields in the Annapolis Valley.

He also said many of the negative studies on Vision are not peer-reviewed and have been discredited.

Environmental groups and some residents in the Valley have voiced their opposition to the use of the herbicide in some woodlots.

Protests greeted government decisions to allow the chemical to be sprayed on some of its Crown land in 2001 and, more recently, this August.

• From Sept. 9, 2004 - Farmer blames Vision for destroying crop

Earlier this month, farmer Robin Warren said his squash, pumpkin and turnip crop had been contaminated when Vision drifted over from a spraying project in a nearby wooded area.

The chemical is not licensed for use on those crops.

The Environment Department is investigating Warren's complaint.

On Tuesday, the Liberal MLA for the farmer's riding, Stephen McNeil of Annapolis, said there must be better control over how the chemical is applied.

"Nobody, whether it's the industry or government, has been able to put in place a mechanism to deal with complaints by adjacent landowners who are complaining of overspray," McNeil said.