The Cadre + 24 March 1998 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     Solving PEI's biggest environmental problem 
     
     Province will consider legislation for buffer zone 
     
    
   
   
    
     BY CINDY CAMERON 
     
    
   
   
    
     Most tourists visiting our 
     
     province do not suspect that 
     
     the wonderful red soil which 
     
     they admire is the cause of 
     
     PEI’s largest environmental 
     
     problem. 
     
    

    
     Local conservationists 
     
     have been concerned about 
     
     soil erosion and excess sedi- 
     
     mentation in waterways for 
     
     many years. Provincial gov- 
     
     ernment is finally listening to 
     
     their concerns, and will be con- 
     
     sideringa legislation that would 
     
     help protect waterways from 
     
     soil erosion. Many feel that 
     
     their commitment, however, 
     
     may not be strong enough. 
     
    

    
     In 1996, the Government 
     
     of Prince Edward Island cre- 
     
     ated the Round Table on Re- 
     
     source Land Use and Stew- 
     
     ardship, whose members were 
     
     representative ofall prevailing 
     
     interests, from agriculture and 
     
     forestry to environmental con- 
     
     servationists. In their report, 
     
     the Round Table recommends 
     
     that legislation be amended to 
     
     establish mandatory riparian 
     
     buffer zones adjacent to all 
     
     waterways. 
     
    

    
     “The (Round Table) re- 
     
     port is one of the best reports 
     
     I have ever seen written,” said 
     
     UPEI Professor Daryl 
     
     Guignion. It contains a con- 
     
     sensus of interests which are 
     
     often in opposition. Many farm- 
     
     ers oppose buffer zones since 
     
     they may cut into land now 
     
     used in production. Smaller 
     
     crop yields mean less profit. 
     
     Still, the issue cannot be ig- 
     
     nored. ‘ 
     
    

    
     “Soil conservation is one 
     
     of the key problems facing the 
     
     planet right now,” Guignion 
     
     said. Legislation regarding 
     
     buffer zones has become one 
     
     of the most contentious issues 
     
     regarding land use on PEI. 
     
    

    
     A riparian buffer zone is 
     
     an area of vegetation adjacent 
     
     to streams and lakes. Ideally, 
     
     according to the United States 
     
     Department of Agriculture, the 
     
    
   
   
    
     zone should be between 10 
     
     and 30 metres wide, and con- 
     
     sist of grass, managed (selec- 
     
     tively harvested) forest, and 
     
     mature forest. These areas 
     
     stabilize stream banks and de- 
     
     crease sediment runoff, thus 
     
     preventing excess sediment 
     
     from entering waterways. The 
     
     buffer zones also act asa filter 
     
     for absorbing materials which 
     
     can be harmful: nitrates from 
     
     fertilizers, pesticides, and bac- 
     
     teria from manure. 
     
    

    
     According to UPEI’s Dr. 
     
     Donna Giberson, the lack of 
     
     buffer zones can be deadly for 
     
     many species. 
     
    

    
     “Many fish lay theireggs 
     
     in the gravel [at the bottom of 
     
     streams],” Giberson said. “If 
     
     sediment covers the gravel, 
     
     then no oxygen can reach the 
     
     eggs and the fish eggs 
     
     smother.” 
     
    

    
     According to the PEI 
     
     Atlantic Salmon Federation, 
     
     studies onthe Westand Wilmot 
     
     river systems show a direct 
     
     correlation between egg mor- 
     
     tality and sedimentation; with 
     
     greater percentages of land 
     
     involved in agricultural use, the 
     
     survival of fisheggs decreases. 
     
     Sediment can also smother the 
     
     aquatic insects that many fish 
     
     feed on, leaving a gap in the 
     
     aquatic food chain. 
     
    

    
     Giberson also explains 
     
     that excess nitrates, which 
     
     seep into waterways in ferti- 
     
     lizer runoff, can result in in- 
     
     creased growth of algae. 
     
     When the algae dies at the end 
     
     of the season, the decomposi- 
     
     tion uses oxygen. Again, fish 
     
     and eggs are deprived of this 
     
     necessary oxygen. 
     
    

    
     Currently, there isno leg- 
     
     islation to effectively prevent 
     
     this type of pollution. While 
     
     provincial and federal laws 
     
     prevent people from dumping 
     
     harmful substances into wa- 
     
     terways, the issue of sediment 
     
     is not addressed. 
     
    

    
     “One of the biggest prob- 
     
    
   
   
    
     lems [with excess sediment] is 
     
     that it is almost impossible to 
     
     prove,” Giberson said. This 
     
     type of pollution is labelled non- 
     
     point source pollution. 
     
    

    
     “You cannot prove 
     
     where it came from, therefore 
     
     enforcement becomes very 
     
     difficult,” she added. 
     
    

    
     If farmers and land own- 
     
    
   
   
    
     ers were required to have a 
     
     buffer zone between their op- 
     
     erations, whether farming, 
     
     forestry or construction, the 
     
     problem would be greatly re- 
     
     duced. 
     
    

    
     But despite the consen- 
     
     sus report of the Round Table, 
     
     the Standing Committee on 
     
     Agriculture, Forestry and the 
     
    
   
   
    
     Environment intervened to 
     
     address government concerns. 
     
     In their report, they advocate 
     
     practices which many feel are 
     
     harmful to the effectiveness 
     
     of the buffer zone, including 
     
     clear cutting to the river edge. 
     
    

    
     Guignion merely wants 
     
    
   
   
    
     (continued on pg 8, see 
     
    
   
   
    
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