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Niagara Falls
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Parks Canada removing hazardous trees at NOTL historic sites

Parks Canada’s work to remove hazardous trees at Niagara-on-the-Lake historical sites will begin this month and continue into the summer.

No official start date has been confirmed, but work will begin this month, Rae Kingdon, public relations and communications officer of the Southwestern Ontario Field Unit of Parks Canada said in an email response.

Work will take place at the Commons, the Barracks and Fort George National Historic sites, which will remain open during the operations. Areas being worked on will be closed while work is completed. An information bulletin released by Parks Canada on April 1, said that visitors are advised to exercise caution and respect all closures.

None of the trees to be removed fall under the species at risk classification, the bulletin said.

Inspections of trails and parking areas at each site were performed by Parks Canada staff, who identified the hazardous trees that are now scheduled to be trimmed or removed. All Parks Canada projects are subject to environmental assessments to ensure appropriate ecological protection measures are in place, Kingdon said.

The hazardous trees are unhealthy and/or dying, with weakened branches causing potential risk to public safety. Kingdon said many of those trees are ash species that have succumbed to the Emerald Ash Borer.

A revegetation plan is in place which states each tree removed will be replaced by a native species in the spring. While no final decision has been made about specific trees to be replanted, Kingdon said there are several species appropriate, such as native oak.

“Where possible, locally sourced trees will be used. Traditionally this area was oak savannah, a type of vegetation community that would have historically be found here,” she said.

The tree removal is scheduled for outside of the nesting season to mitigate impacts on migratory birds and wildlife.

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