Dufferin’s proposed new Forest Conservation bylaw would provide for minor exemptions to clear-cut woodlands as part of farm operations, but it would require that the cleared area be put into agricultural use within three years.

The bylaw, drafted by lawyer Signe Leisk of Cassels Brock, is meant to give the county more control but Garry Hunter, the consultant for North Dufferin Community and Agricultural Taskforce (NDACT), disagrees.

“I strongly disagree with Leisk that this proposed Bylaw provides the County with greater ability to control the clear-cut and destruction of woodlands or woodlots than the existing By-law,” Mr. Hunter says in a letter to County CAO Linda Dean and made available by him for publication.

NDACT has maintained that the existing bylaw would be effective, but has opined that the county has not been enforcing it. Mr. Hunter reiterates that opinion in his letter: “The existing By-law, although this provision was seldom enforced, required (a permit for clear-cutting),” he says.

The draft proposed bylaw and related correspondence were the only items on the Museum Board’s agenda last night.

If passed, the bylaw would define “woodlands” as greater than one hectare and, generally, containing 1,000 trees of any size. It would define “woodlots” as half that acreage and number of trees.

The county’s legislated authority is only for forest areas of more than one hectare, but the draft provides for the lower tier municipalities to give it authority over the “woodlots.”

Owners of forested tracts under the county’s authority would not be permitted to reduce the number of trees per hectare such as to remove them from the definitions.

This inclusion might have been in response to questions posed by NDACT several months ago, in which the group asked if cutting a swath through a woodlot would have the effect of creating two separate woodlots, each of which would be a less than one hectare.

Ms. Leisk appears to have gone to extremes to make certain that nothing in the bylaw could be misconstrued, even to the extent of defining such as “farmer,” “permit,” and other such seemingly simple words.

Even so, Forest manager Caroline Mach found a weakness in one section of the draft, with respect to a requirement for a farmer to obtain a permit for clear-cutting. This is expected to be amended such that all clear-cutting would require a permit.

The draft bylaw includes no-limit penalties with a $500 minimum for contravention.