Disease-resistant seedlings of an endangered tree species are thriving in their first season in a forest in western Quebec, 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 or so, peptic ulcer disease destroyed 80 percent of themsaid Stephen Woodley, president of Chelsea Action for the Environment (ACRE).
“It's deadly to the butternut 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 got 30 volunteers from the conservation service to help us plant these trees and told them these are their babies for the summer. So they go out and water them when it gets dry.”
The young trees are currently in good condition, Woodley said.
A long process of recovery
One source of disease-resistant trees for ACRE has been the Forest Gene Conservation Association (FGCA), one of many groups working to restore the butternut population.
The group has been working on creating orchards made from fungus-resistant trees for two decades, according to CEO Kerry McLaven.
Once a healthy walnut tree is found, its branches can be grafted onto walnut trees, McClaven said. They are then cared for in a nursery before being planted and grown in an orchard.
The work doesn't end there, though: FGCA then nurtures the hybrids so they can produce cancer-resistant seeds, which are then grown into seedlings and transplanted in places like the Hundred Acre Forest.
McLaven says the political, environmental and social aspects of the work have changed over the years she has worked for the organization.
“[It’s] “Partly because of COVID, but also… people really want to be involved in species recovery and want to benefit the environment,” she said.
This growing interest, she said, has prompted them to “do more, collect more seeds, distribute them and start restoring the species.”
While canker has been found throughout Ontario, McLaven noted that there are “other factors” that have also led to the decline of butternut populations.
“Part of it has to do with the land and the development where these tree species are going to be preserved,” she said. “And so all of those factors together make this tree species a threatened species.”
Lack of protection worries some supporters
More needs to be done at the government level to protect the species, said Tony Morris, director of conservation policy and campaigns for Ontario Nature.
“You can't really restore a species [when] “You're allowing exceptions that are destroying their habitat,” Morris said.
Morris cited the fact that butternut is one of the species of trees in Ontario that a developer can cut down or otherwise remove if they contribute to the fund.
The measure, which Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner called a “pay to kill” provision when it was proposed in 2019, quickly drew opposition from environmental groups. It was later passed in 2021.
“The problem with this fund is that it is not tied to the species affected, and there is no requirement that the fund be used to compensate for damage where it occurs,” Morris said.
At the time, the province said the butternut was endangered due to a cancer disease, and if developers simply planted more nuts, it wouldn't help the species recover.
As for ACRE, the organization plans to plant 20 more walnut trees in Wakefield this fall, along with other native and endangered plants.