NEWS RELEASE
HURONIA WOODLOT OWNERS ASSOCIATION
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The Huronia Woodlot Owners Association recently held their 43rd White Pine Award meeting, and the 2023 recipient is Oro-Medonte resident Sandy Agnew.
Agnew is a Certified Engineering Technician, a graduate of Niagara College's Ecosystem Restoration program and a Managed Forest Plan Approver. He has been involved in ecological restoration for over 35 years with such groups as Black Creek Project of Toronto, Trout Unlimited Canada and the Severn Sound Environmental Association.
He is a former councillor in Oro-Medonte Township and former member of the Lake Simcoe and Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authorities boards and the Couchiching Conservancy land trust board.
Agnew holds memberships and has held Board positions in numerous environmental groups including the Ontario Society for Ecological Restoration, the Ontario Woodlot Association (Huronia Chapter), Forests Ontario and Ontario Nature.
Upon accepting his award, Agnew responded that he has known many of the earlier recipients and has always held them up as “stewardship heroes” and is very proud to be acknowledged in this manner.
The White Pine Award is given to a deserving person to recognize and celebrate their dedication to good forestry practices.
Agnew has written 124 Forest Management Plans for woodlot owners through the Ontario Managed Forest Tax Incentive Program (MFTIP), and has operated his own habitat restoration company called EcoMedic.
The guest speaker for this meeting was David Hawke, a well-known naturalist and writer, who spoke of the lumbering history of the Copeland Forest. From 1792 to 1978 this 4,400-acre tract of forested land was at the forefront of lumber production. A series of family dynasties were both made rich and devastated by the ebb and flow of lumber demands around both World Wars.
In 1978 the sole surviving member, John Copeland, sold the property to the Ontario government to be used as a resources management area.
Should anyone like to learn more about forest stewardship please contact the Huronia Woodland Owners Association (www.huroniawoodlandowners.ca) or the Ontario Woodlot Association (www.ontariowoodlot.com).
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