Liberal MLA worried there aren't enough trees to support post-Fiona reforestation

A Liberal MLA says he's happy to see the province's commitment to replanting trees after post-tropical storm Fiona, but he's concerned about how the government will provide all the trees needed to do the job.

On Monday, government announced it's looking to grow the 2 Billion Trees Programby 30 per cent which amounts to 1.3 milliontrees planted each year to help restore damaged forests.

The provincial government is contributing $1 million to expand the J. Frank Gaudet Tree Nursery in Charlottetown P.E.I.'s largest tree seedling production facility. The funding includes costs for trees, planting tools, equipment rentals and professional tree planting services.

Liberal MLA Robert Henderson raised the issue in the P.E.I. Legislature Tuesday and said he's spoken to forestry contractors and technicians who are having a hard time getting seedlings to plant.

"One contractor says they've been cut back 100,000 seedlings a year, west of Kensington," Henderson said.

"I also talked with a forestry technician in Western P.E.I. and he says he has requests from landowners for 40,000 trees that he can't access from the department, simply can't get the trees," Henderson said.

He asked P.E.I.'s minister of environment, energy and climate action where the trees to supplement the new planting goal are coming from andhow government will deliver on its plan.

Looking into off-Island seedlings

Steven Myers said anyone in the forestry industry will know how much demand there is for seedlings and replanting resources since Fiona.

"Forty per cent of our forest was knocked down, so we have tree requests all across Prince Edward Island. You could find a forester anywhere on Prince Edward Island that will tell you the exact same story," Myers said.

He said P.E.I. can only grow as many seedlings as the nursery space on the Island allows and the province is currently looking to expand that capacity and part of the funding announced Monday will go toward that work.

"When we increase our capacity to grow trees, that's going to make a large impact and that's a permanent fixture that we'll have.We'll have a new greenhouse that's bigger than our current one," he said.

He's also asked the department to explore the idea ofbringing in seedlings from other provinces.

"Is there an off-Island source that we can take in that won't interfere with the natural species we have here on the Island? I'm waiting to hear back on what that could look like, if that could be a possibility."

Myerssaid he recognizes there is a lot of damage Fiona left behind and much work needs to be done to replace the trees P.E.I. has lost and the department is committed to getting that work done.

He said he will go back to the department to find out exactly where those new seedlings are to be planted to make sure all areas in need of replanting are taken care of.