Forest Enhancement Program News Today

The Prince Edward Island government announced new funding on Thursday to help small forestry business and woodlot owners clear trees that were cut down following post-tropical storm Fiona last fall that may pose a fire risk to nearby urban areas and infrastructure.

P.E.I.'s six-month-old forestry commission has released its recommendations on the province's biomass sector, which turns plant material including waste wood and wood chips into energy.

Forestry contractors say it is going to take years to clean up the trees blown down during post-tropical storm Fiona. Warm weather, high diesel prices and plummeting prices for lumber are adding headaches to an already challenging job.

In the wake of Hurricane Fiona’s unprecedented impacts, the Emergency Forestry Task Force has made eleven recommendations to address the immediate needs of private woodlot owners and the forest industry. “We know woodlot owners need help in the salvage of downed wood after the hurricane in order to reduce fire risk and determine the best end use for the salvaged wood.

It was an early morning start for Barry Caulier and his co-worker John Costello as they got to work planting tree seedlings in a field on Fortune Cove Road on