ROUND um REPORT RELEASED:

The primary question on many people's mind's is whether the government will listen to and implement the recommendations provided by the sixteen members of the Round Table on Resource Land Use and stewardship. The report, Cultivating Island Solutions, is very readable and contains a wealth of information on our Island and its various resources from woods to agriculture to water and wildlife. One of the many tidbits of information is a rating system developed by Ron DeHann for assessing tolerable soil erosion rates (3 tons per acre) off fields that are ploughed up and down the slope. Did you know that in a conventional three year potato rotation, the maximum distance that should be ploughed up and down the slope on a 5% grade (5 ft rise in 100 ft horizontal distance) is only 175 ft? A two year rotation drops this to 150ft). This system allows landowners to readily assess their crop rotation practices and determine where addition soil conservation may be required.

There are 87 recommendations provided in the report on areas ranging from protection of ground and surface water to soils sustainability and from the management of Crown Lands to providing education. It is well worth reading! It can be obtained free from Island Information Services at 368-4000. We hope that as many members as possible will contact their MLAs and express their feelings about the recommendations it includes. Your voices, combined with those of other Islanders, will determine the fate of proposed amendments to the Environmental Protection Act and many policy decisions of the current government. This is perhaps the best opportunity to improve the stewardship of our resources in this century.

Mr. Todd Dupuis, one of the members of the Round Table, will speak on the report at the November meeting.' We hope that you will join the Society for this discussion.

Table 1: Maximum Slope Length That Can be Farmed Up and Down the Slope (feet) Grade (7») Rotation and Management Practice 2 3 4 5 6 8 10 12

2 Yr. Potato & Grain grew) Conventional ‘fillage‘

2 Yr. Potato & Grain(u.s.) Residue Managed (30%)“ or.

800 420 150

Winter Cover ‘ 1000 700 230 130 3 Yr. Potato, Grain (u.s.) &Hay Conventional Tillage 1000 800 360 175 100

2 Yr. Potato & Grain (u.s.) Residue Managed (30%)

+Winter Cover 1000 800 400 180 120 3 Yr. Potato, Grain(u.s.) a Hay

Residue Managed (30%).9:

Winter Cover 1000 1000 630 200 170

3 Yr. Potato, Grain (u.s.) ail-lay Residue Managed (30%) 4- Winter Cover 1000 1000 800 410 260 120

1. Grain (u.s.) - Under seeded grain

2. Conventional Tillage - Fall molmoard plow; Spring disc and narrow

3. Residue Managed (30%) - 30% of sudace covered with residue from previous crop meas- ured after the potato crop has been planted

4. Winter Cover - Following potato harvest. soil protected with well established cover crop or mulched at minimum rate of 1.5 tons/ acre