Ancient, old-growth trees inside the sprawling wilderness of Algonquin Park are in danger of being wiped out by loggers because the area hasn't been properly mapped by the Ontario government, a new study to be released today suggests.
Researchers with a non-profit educational group called Ancient Forest Exploration and Research say they found many old-growth trees, some of which have been growing for 375 years, inside the areas where logging is permitted.
"These are really old trees. They started growing, some of them, while Samuel de Champlain was still alive," said Mike Henry, a forest ecologist who co-wrote the report.
The survey also found that hemlock trees more than two centuries old had been cut down in the past few years, and uncovered a large block of old-growth forest that's "allocated for logging in the current management plan," Mr. Henry said.
The study suggests the stands of yellow birch, American beech and red oak forest inside the park have declined in size in recent years -- stands of white pine have declined by 88 per cent, the report says.
Mr. Henry said the time has come for a proper inventory of Algonquin's forest resources, some of which have never been surveyed. "No one has really considered some of these other species."Toronto Globe and Mail
