Canada: Ontario's iconic maple trees being killed off by invading beetles
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-Pastor-Dale-Morgan-
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Jan 11, 2012, 5:27:08 AM1/11/12
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Plagues,
Pestilences and Diseases
Canada: Ontario's iconic maple trees being killed off by
invading beetles
By Lee Greenberg, Postmedia News January 10, 2012
Ontario's government is not doing enough to protect its maple
trees, which face a growing threat from Asian longhorn beetles,
said environmental commissioner Gord Miller.
TORONTO — Ontario's government is not doing enough to protect its
maple trees, which face a growing threat from Asian longhorn
beetles, said environmental commissioner Gord Miller.
Miller said authorities were able to contain the longhorn beetle
when it first showed up in the Greater Toronto Area in 2003. "But
it's escaped and it's in the forests of New York State and
threatens to migrate up here and attack our maple forests," he
said Tuesday.
The maple tree is but one example of how biodiversity in the
province faces threats from habitat degradation, climate change,
overexploitation, pollution and invasive species, expert say.
Polar bears, Jefferson salamanders and snapping turtles are
several species struggling to adapt, he said.
On Tuesday, Miller called on the province to release a plan to
enhance biodiversity. The government's last such plan expired in
2010. The Liberal government has failed to renew it.
At the same time, Canada has signed on to an international
commitment known as the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.
"Much of our economic activity and our quality of life is
dependent on our biodiversity," he said, giving the example of
bees that are essential in crop pollination. "It's the basis of
agriculture, the fishing industry, and the quality of life through
clean air and clean water. These are major things that matter."
Certain agricultural crops, such as fruits and alfalfa, will fail
if bees disappear, Miller said. The province is already losing its
ash trees as a result of the emerald ash borer, a beetle from
Asia. Ontario's forestry industry could be dealt a further blow
if, as predicted, climate change renders northern Ontario
inhospitable to spruce trees within the next 80 years.
Miller is strongly urging the government to take action on
biodiversity. He said the international community, in the wake of
Canada's Kyoto climb down, now looks at the country with "arched
eyebrows."