Canadian Kraft Paper (CKP) plans to restart herbicide spraying operations near Flin Flon.
The company, based in The Pas, will spray the herbicide glyphosate in multiple areas where CKP conducted logging operations in the past.
Spraying is scheduled from August 15 to the end of September in multiple parts of northern Manitoba, including areas near Cranberry Portage, Sherridon and Thompson.
According to Andrew Forward, woodlands manager for CKP, spraying glysophate promotes softwood tree growth – pine, spruce, fir and others – by killing dominant hardwoods and broadleaf shrubs.
“It’s a herbicide. It kills plants with leaves. That’s what it does and that’s why we use it,” said Forward.
“In the areas we spray, those are areas where hardwood has established some dominance. The softwood is still there, but it is being outcompeted, so we will apply herbicide to kill the hardwood and broadleaf shrubs to allow the softwood to be dominant at the site.”
Last year’s herbicide campaign was debated after photos surfaced showing spraying sites near Kisseynew Lake. The photos, taken by Flin Flon resident Rod Harrower, showed locations formerly covered in vegetation left.
Forward said the barren appearance is a sign the program is working as intended.
“If it’s a site that’s familiar to you...it would be remarkable, the difference in the site. It’s a very effective herbicide and it kills those trees,” said Forward.
“If you were driving by, that’s exactly what you would see – a lot of standing, dead hardwood and you’d think, ‘God, what happened here?’ What happened there is exactly what we planned to happen.”
Forward said within three to five years the same broadleaf shrubs killed by the spraying will return, but the softwood trees the company is licensed to process will grow taller, having access to more nutrients and sunlight.
Harrower has not yet returned to any of last year’s spraying sites, but said that in the past, forestry companies used mechanical means to scarify land and ready it for tree growth.
“They used to break open the shells of spruce trees – spread them out and poke them open, like what a fire did,” he said.
“They used to use a skidder or a cat and they’d drag a big bar with chains around and it does the same thing. That’s what they used to do.”
Some residents have expressed fear that glyphosate could leach into lakes and waterways, poisoning water and fish.
A study from the European Chemicals Agency showed glyphosate might be toxic to aquatic life. Forward said CKP has strict guidelines on glyphosate use to avoid severe ecological harm.
“With any chemical, you use it in accordance with the instructions on the label. What that means is, in the quantities of concentration that you’re expected to use, there are very clear rules about the amount of wind that can be present, the relative humidity at the time of application, the temperature, the time of year. We’re very controlled in that fashion,” said Forward.
“The impact of something going wrong with the general population or even the environment is small. We never aim for that and we always plan that, in the event of that happening, it is immediately mitigated or resolved. That’s never happened for us, but there are plans in place should that happen.”
Anyone with concerns regarding the spraying campaign can notify the Environmental Approval branch of Manitoba Sustainable Development in Winnipeg.
