Ottawa Forests Advisory Committee

Annual Report for 2003

The mandate of the Ottawa Forests Advisory Committee (OFAC) is to provide advice and guidance to Ottawa City Council through the Environmental Services Committee that will help safeguard the environment of the city through the use of trees and tree cover, and provide input into tree and forest-related policies and budgets. The committee also encourages and supports the promotion of public awareness of the City's trees and forests and citizens' knowledge of the role of trees in protecting and enhancing the quality of life.

Over the past year, OFAC has promoted a new way of thinking, planning and development that will lead to the conservation of one of our greatest natural assets - our trees and forests. In this, OFAC's second annual report, we outline the progress we made toward achieving the goals outlined in our 2002-03 multi-year workplan, presented to you in October 2002.

Public interest in Ottawa's urban and rural forests remained high in 2003 with continued concern about the tree-cutting incident in Kanata, and other parts of the city, other development activities that involved the cutting of trees and the wording of the city's Official Plan. OFAC has worked and will continue to work with the City on the development and implementation of the Environmental Strategy, a Forest Strategy and a Greenspace Master Plan, the latter two of which are vital components of both the Official Plan and Environmental Strategy. These documents are intended to provide the a strategic framework for the preservation of trees and forest cover to improve air quality, meet municipal Kyoto targets, and enhance the visual, social and ecological environment of the City.

The importance of greenspace and forest cover was a strong message registered by citizens during the consultation on the Official Plan and Growth Management Plans in general. This is consistent with a 2001 survey regarding attitudes towards trees and forests: seven in ten Ontario urbanites report regular (monthly or more frequent) visits to treed or natural areas within their cities and almost nine in ten residents think trees are very important in helping to improve air quality (Draft report, Attitudes of urban residents toward urban forests and woodlands issues, Environics Research Group, August 2001).

Trees and forests provide many benefits - properly chosen and sited, they reduce heating and cooling costs and reduce noise levels, they provide social and aesthetic benefits and they increase property values - a city with a healthy forest is a healthy city. Our tree-lined streets and forested urban and rural areas are features that draw people to Ottawa and make it a wonderful place to live. The next challenge for the City will be to implement the intent of the Official Plan, especially those statements regarding protection of the environment, the importance of trees to the landscape and people, and the need to maintain and even to increase greenspace and treed lands.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: OFAC'S LONG-TERM GOALS

In November 2001, the OFAC submitted its workplan for the year 2001-2002. The 2001-2002 workplan identified three long-term goals:

1. A comprehensive Ottawa Forests Plan;
2. Tree and vegetative cover for the city which is appropriate in species mix and varied according to location; and
3. Dynamic and effective partnerships for the development and conservation of Ottawa forests and tree cover.

In 2002-2003 OFAC continued to work toward these goals dividing its workplan activities into four themes:

1. Planning and Policies (the Official Plan and its supplementary documents)
2. Inventory (the city's tree and forest resource base);
3. Management Prescriptions; and
4. Tools for Implementation.

OFAC's priority was to provide the policy advice that will lead to the development of the Forest Strategy.

1. Planning and Policies: We dedicated a great deal of time to reviewing drafts of the Official Plan, focusing on the importance of trees to the plan (in this we were aided by a groundswell of public concern over trees and greenspace issues).

   OFAC submitted a written enquiry on the city's progress in preparing a tree bylaw and appropriate restitution following the Kanata Tree Massacre, and we subsequently participated in the writing of the proposed Good Forestry Practices (woodlands preservation) bylaw. OFAC members sat on management and public advisory committees dealing with the Kanata Special Study Area and the new Riverside South community, where we are proposing innovative ways to proceed with development while still protecting our tree and forest resources.

   OFAC commented on the 2003 City budget and made presentations to Standing Committees on the need to maintain the Environmental Resources Area Acquisition Program and provide sufficient funding to purchase environmentally important lands when the opportunity arises. OFAC has provided and will continue to provide input to and comments on the Environmental Strategy and its supporting plans.

   OFAC provided advice on tree- and forest-related issues during the review of over 40 property development and zoning change applications ranging in size from single lots where a few trees were important to the streetscape to large subdivisions covering almost a whole concession. OFAC notes where it might be possible to incorporate tree-friendly planning into new developments and suggests that non-native tree and shrubs be used instead of exotics (a list of development reviews is held by the committee coordinator). Most of the reviews involved a site visit by an OFAC member followed by a written or oral report to the city planner.

2. Inventory (Resource Base): OFAC members assisted in the creation of a street tree inventory in one of the former municipalities that now forms part of Ottawa and circulated draft Heritage tree guidelines to the Urban Forest Network for Canada-wide comment.
3. Management Prescriptions: OFAC continued the development of a master list of trees and shrubs native to the Ottawa area (to assist in maintaining Ottawa's native tree and shrub biodiversity) by expanding the range of information from that found in previous drafts; an OFAC member sits on the Technical Advisory Committee of the city's Natural Spaces in Urban Places study.

   To improve the management of our urban and rural forests, two OFAC members are actively working with city staff and the public in the management of two of our largest rural forests - Marlborough and Torbolton. In the case of Marlborough Forest, OFAC developed a recommendation to: allow the use of ATVs in certain parts of the forest during the spring and summer of 2003, use the opportunity to provide additional "eyes and ears" to police other forest users and report on effectiveness in September. In Torbolton Forest, an OFAC member is the scientific authority on a city study of rare plants.

   OFAC is in the preliminary phase of an investigation of how the Local Improvement Act might be used to facilitate the purchase of lands valued by local communities.

   OFAC members also provided comment to the city on a wide range of city initiatives such as the Downtown Urban Design Study, the Public Participation Policy, the Mission and Values workshop, and was a grateful recipient of assistance, arranged by the city's Policy and Projects Management team, from the Ottawa Facilitation community to hold a Strategic Planning session. OFAC members also benefited from the city's Advisory Committee Board and Training workshop.

4. Tools for Implementation: OFAC held a public forum in October 2002 and another in October 2003. These forums were well attended (35-40 in 2002 and over 50 in 2003). The 2002 forum sought input from a broad range of the public on trees and forests issues for the Official Plan. The 2003 forum featured an internationally respected speaker from the US Forestry Service who specializes in environmental aspects of urban forests with sessions on rural development preserving trees, using trees to improve the urban environment and tree-friendly landscaping. Forum participants attended a guided tour of Petrie Island in the afternoon, hosted by the Friends of Petrie Island.

   OFAC's website, www.ottawaforests.ca is run on a volunteer basis by one of our members. It provides a range of information about local trees and forests and a wide range of links to tree- and forest-related organizations and communities in Canada and around the world. Recent features have included publicity about a local tree-planting project, information about Asian Long-horned beetle, and entries in OFAC's Tell us about your favourite tree contest. The web site supplements information provided by the city and has hotlinks that direct viewers to the city Forestry Services website for information on the city's tree planting program and tree-care information.

   OFAC members provide information on trees to community newspapers and initiated a front-page feature in the "Homes" section of The Ottawa Citizen in September.

   OFAC maintains regular contact and shares information with professional forestry-related organisations such as the Canadian Institute of Forestry - Ottawa Valley Section, Eastern Ontario Model Forest, Canadian Urban Forestry Network, Ottawa Field-Naturalists Club, Bog-to-Bog, Friends of the Jock River, and Greenspace Alliance of Canada's Capital.

   OFAC provided comment via a workshop organized by the NCC on the Future of Canada's Capital and written comment on the drafts of Canada's National Forest Strategy. OFAC also held community outreach/dialogue meetings on rural/suburban issues. OFAC has provided comments to the Transportation, Utilities and Public Works department on the Maintenance Quality Standards for Parks, Sports Fields and Trees.