Ontario plans another decade of clearcuts in Grassy Narrows
Ontario has released draft plans for another decade of clearcut logging in Grassy Narrows. The plans are open for public comment until October 31.
Click here to comment in opposition to the plan.
Ontario is currently in the final stages of planning for another decade of clearcut logging on Grassy Narrows Territory against the will of the community.
Clearcut logging in the boreal forest watersheds has been scientifically shown to elevate mercury levels in local fish above the World Health Organization limit for safe human consumption. If implemented, these logging plans will further prolong and exacerbate the mercury tragedy in Grassy Narrows.
The draft Forest Management Plan for the Whiskey Jack Forest is currently posted for public comments until October 31. Logging under the plan is scheduled to begin in April 2014.
Most of the area that Ontario calls the "Whiskey Jack Forest Management Unit" is Grassy Narrows Territory. Grassy Narrows has rejected this plan.
The full information including the text for the Whiskey Jack FMP is downloadable here:
The map under operations, summary/index is most informative and shows where the cuts are planned. Many of the clearcuts are over 500 football fields in size, and many come as close as 2 football fields to Grassy Narrows' river system. Other cuts are planned within a few kilometers of the reserve, next to the sacred Keys Lake, on Grassy Narrows traplines and medicing harvesting areas, and at the Slant Lake blockade site.
Full informtion on the approval process for the plan is her:
A factsheet on how logging raises mercury levels in fish is downloadable here:
A general fact sheet on the mercury problem in Grassy Narrows can be downloaded here:
