Disease-resistant seedlings of an endangered tree species are doing well in their first season in a western Quebec forest, according to the conservation group that planted them.
Walnut trees are native to Canada and can be found in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick. But over the past 30 years, cancer has wiped out 80 per cent of them, said Stephen Woodley, president of Action Chelsea for the Respect of the Environment (ACRE).
“It’s deadly to walnuts in this region. That’s why it’s endangered,” said Woodley, who helped plant the first batch of seedlings in May at Hundred Acre Wood in Wakefield, Que.
“We sent 30 conservation volunteers to help us plant these trees and told them they were their children for the summer. And they go out and water them whenever it gets dry.”
According to Woodley, the young trees are currently in good condition.
Long recovery process
One source of disease-resistant trees that ACRE uses is the Forest Gene Conservation Association (FGCA), one of many groups working to rebuild walnut populations.
The group has been working for two decades to create orchards with trees that are resistant to the fungus, said CEO Kerry McLaven.
Once a healthy walnut tree is found, its branches can be grafted onto walnuts, McClaven said. They are then nurtured in a nursery, then planted and cared for in an orchard.
But the work doesn’t stop there: FGCA then works with hybrids to produce cancer-resistant seeds, which are then transplanted to places like the Hundred Acre Wood.
McLaven says that over the years of her involvement with the organization, the political, environmental and social aspects of its work have changed.
“[It’s] partly because of COVID, but also … people really want to get involved in species recovery and they want to do good for the environment,” she said.
This growing interest encouraged them to “do more, get more seeds, plant them and start rebuilding the species,” she added.
While the disease can be seen throughout Ontario, McLaven said there are “other factors” contributing to the decline in walnut populations.
“Some of it has to do with the land and development where these tree species will be maintained,” she said. “All of these factors combine to make this tree species an endangered species.”
Lack of security worries some defenders
More government action is needed to protect the species, according to Tony Morris, director of environmental policy and campaigns at Ontario Nature.
“You can’t really recreate a genre” [when] “You are making exceptions that are destroying their habitat,” Morris said.
Morris cited the fact that walnut is one of the species of trees in Ontario that a developer can cut down or remove, provided it pays money into a fund.
The measure — which was dubbed “pay-to-kill” legislation by Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner when it was proposed in 2019 — quickly drew opposition from environmental groups before being passed in 2021.
“The problem with this fund is that it is not linked to the species that are being damaged and there is no requirement that it be used to compensate for damage where it has occurred,” Morris said.
At the time, provincial officials said the species was threatened with extinction due to a disease called pemphigus canker, and if developers simply had to plant more trees, it would not help the species recover.
ACRE plans to plant 20 more walnut trees in Wakefield this autumn – alongside other native and threatened plant species.
