U.S. Forest Service and Canadian Forest Service of Natural Resources Canada officials convened last week for the first forest health summit between the two countries to discuss issues of common concern such as invasive species.
“The borders that separate the United States and Canada don’t segregate threats to our natural resources,” said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “The countries share common environmental concerns. It is critical that we continue to collaborate and address current and future land management challenges as partners.”
The overall goal of the summit was to explore and develop a co-operative vision and plan for actions to address forest health challenges. The Forest Service has a long history of working with Canadian researchers and land managers, but until now collaborations have typically occurred among individual researchers working on specific projects.
“This summit is an important first step toward the creation of a Canada-U.S. forest science agenda,” said the Honorable Joe Oliver, Minister of Natural Resources Canada. “By identifying issues on which we can work together, we aim to maximize the value of the critical work that scientists and researchers are doing on both sides of the border to ensure the health of our forests and forest sector.”