Government of Canada Investing in Sustainable Forest Management Research in Quebec's Eastern Townships

SAINT-BENOÎT-DU-LAC, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - Jan. 24, 2011) - An agreement between Natural Resources Canada and the Fiducie de recherche sur la forêt des Cantons-de-l'Est will help expand our understanding of forest conservation, restoration and production in the Eastern Townships.

The Fiducie, which promotes sustainable forest management by supporting research projects in forestry, will receive a total of $75,000. The Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of Natural Resources, made the announcement with Dr. Benoit Truax, trustee and executive director of the Fiducie, Marcel Lebœuf, actor, lecturer and also a trustee, and Dr. Daniel Gagnon, Fiducie trustee and a professor at the Université du Québec à Montréal.

"The results of this research will help to further our understanding and improve the management of Quebec's forests," said Minister Paradis. "Planning for sustainability will allow our forest industry to thrive while maintaining the health and diversity of forest ecosystems."

"We are very pleased with this support. It will allow us to intensify our research and knowledge transfer on every aspect of forest management in a populated setting," said Dr. Benoit Truax. "Over the last 20 years, we have planted more than 20,000 trees in species restoration and biomass production sites. These sites are now used by all of our stakeholders as benchmarks for forest assessment."

With the knowledge transfer gained from this project, forest owners will benefit from the small-scale application of an ecosystem management system that supports the planting of fast-growing tree species and species best suited for the restoration of degraded forests. The agreement between Natural Resources Canada and the Fiducie was signed on July 13, 2010, and the final report is expected in March 2011.

FOR BROADCAST USE:

Natural Resources Minister Christian Paradis has announced a Government of Canada contribution of $75,000 to the Fiducie de recherche sur la forêt des Cantons-de-l'Est for research to help improve sustainable forest management in Quebec's Eastern Townships.

NRCan's news releases and backgrounders are available at www.nrcan.gc.ca/media.