Stop Spraying New Brunswick’s Action Page

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SUBJECT: BAN ALL HERBICIDE SPRAYING OF OUR PUBLIC FORESTS IN NEW BRUNSWICK

“Food sources are gone after spraying. Wildlife dies off due to this. It is a massive loss of food, diversity, cover and habitat. I've gone hunting and there is no life after they sprayed. Sprayed plantations are not forests.”
 (Luc Albert, New Brunswick resident)

Our public forests are in trouble. Citizens of all ages who live in our rural communities, hunters and fishers, foragers, bird watchers, ATVers and snowmobilers, and hikers and campers have witnessed over the last several decades the loss of wildlife, fish, and birds in our forests.

Clearcutting and herbicide spraying of our public forests destroys forest habitat for animals and fish. Heavy machinery disrupts soil and fine roots during clearcutting. The loss of our mixed forests is directly related to the loss of wildlife, fish, and birds that depend on intact forest ecosystems.

PROTECT OUR WILDLIFE

New Brunswickers are making their voices heard about this habitat loss. During the 2020 provincial election, every political party in New Brunswick — with the exception of the PC party — promised elimination or a phase-out of glyphosate and similar herbicide spraying on Crown forests, which make up 50% of New Brunswick’s forest land base.

Forest birds are a key indicator that our forest habitat is in trouble. These birds are the “canary in the coal mine” for New Brunswick’s forests. In 2022, peer-reviewed research was published using satellite data to examine forest change alongside bird population loss over several decades. Dr. Matthew Betts concluded that intense forest management during the CREATE OUR JOBS period (1985–2020), including extensive clearcutting and monoculture plantations, is driving habitat loss for the 54 most common forest bird species.

The net decline of these 54 species is estimated at 33–104 million birds over the last 35 years.

Deer are another “canary in the coal mine” for forest health. New Brunswick’s deer population has fallen to roughly one quarter of what it was 30 years ago — declining from approximately 270,000 to 74,000 animals. Data comparing New Brunswick, Maine, and Québec show that deer harvest numbers in New Brunswick have dropped to 15% of 1985 levels, while numbers are up 300% in Québec and have remained stable in Maine.

Compounding this decline, the number of wintering deer yards was cut in half in 2012 and again in 2014. Today, deer yards in New Brunswick are roughly one quarter of what they once were.

Québec stopped forest herbicide spraying in 2001 because its elected representatives listened to citizens. While developing its forest strategy, Québec conducted three extensive rounds of public consultation between 1988 and 1997. For more than two decades, Québec has successfully managed public forests without herbicides, relying instead on manual silviculture.

Québec’s ecosystem-based forestry model includes an auction system (also used in Maine), planting larger seedlings, and careful logging around advanced growth (CLAAG, or CPRS in French). Both the economy and the environment benefit from this approach. Québec also achieves significantly higher job creation per 100,000 hectares of forest than New Brunswick.

The combination of manual silviculture and selective cutting reduces overall carbon dioxide loss during forest growth and harvest. Healthy mixed forests also provide an important natural defence against wildfires around rural communities and city suburbs. Hardwood and broadleaf trees such as aspen and birch have higher moisture content than softwood conifers, resulting in lower-intensity fires and greater protection for homes and businesses.

QUESTION 1: WILL YOU PUBLICLY SPEAK UP FOR A BAN ON ALL HERBICIDE SPRAYING ON OUR PUBLIC FORESTS AND NB POWER CORRIDORS?

QUESTION 2: WILL YOU WORK TO CONVINCE YOUR PARTY THAT NOT ISSUING FOREST HERBICIDE SPRAY LICENSES IN 2026 MUST BE A PRIORITY?

Thank you for your attention to this important issue. I look forward to your response to my two questions.

Email your Federal Member of Parliament

Ask Your Municipal Council to Discuss Forest Herbicide Spraying

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Subject: Request for Council Discussion on Forest Herbicide Spraying

Dear Mayor and Council,

I am writing as a resident to ask that Council consider placing forest herbicide spraying on a future council agenda for discussion.

While forestry is regulated provincially, these spraying programs can affect municipal watersheds, wildlife habitat, and public and environmental health. This is also a climate and wildfire concern. Forest herbicide spraying is used to promote dense conifer plantations by removing competing vegetation, which can increase flammability and fire intensity, putting more carbon, habitat, and community safety at risk.

Recent retractions of key glyphosate “safety” papers raise serious concerns about how risk has been communicated and reinforce the need for greater precaution and transparency. After decades of chemical herbicide spraying in forestry, it is time for governments to stop treating this as an “acceptable risk,” especially where drinking water and community safety are at stake.

In Ontario, municipalities have stepped up. Dozens of councils have passed or supported resolutions calling for an end to forest spraying and have urged provincial and federal governments to take action. These municipal actions are building momentum for change and showing that local governments can help lead.

A summary of Ontario municipal actions, resolutions, and supporting materials can be found here:
https://stopthespraycanada.ca/municipalities

A sample council resolution for you is available here:
https://stopthespraycanada.ca/council

Municipalities do not need to turn a blind eye simply because spraying may occur outside municipal boundaries. Even placing this issue on the agenda for public discussion would be a meaningful first step, and a clear signal that our community takes clean water, forest health, and Indigenous rights seriously.

I respectfully ask that Council review this issue and consider how our community can add its voice.

Thank you for your time and for your service to our community.

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