Satellite images tell the tale of where Fiona took biggest toll on P.E.I. forests

P.E.I. government officials now say about 13 per cent of the Island's forested area was affected by the extreme high winds that accompanied post-tropical storm Fiona in September 2022.

"Affected" by Fiona in this case represents forested land where at least 70 per cent of trees were blown down, MLAs on the province's environment committee were told Thursday.

The eastern part of the province was left with 18 per cent of its forested land affected, compared to 12 per cent in central P.E.I. and only five per cent in the western part of the province. 

"It doesn't mean that every stick of wood in that area is blown down, but those are the most heavily affected areas," said Kate MacQuarrie, the director of Forests, Fish and Wildlife for the Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action.

The difference is most obvious when broken down into smaller regions, MacQuarrie told MLAs. 

About 28.9 per cent of forested area on P.E.I.'s North Shore had at least seven in every 10 trees blow down, while the percentage in East Prince was only 1.6 per cent. 

The new data comes from analysis of 16 high-definition satellite images of the Island that the province commissioned after Fiona swept over the Maritimes. 

Forestry officials have used the data to start planning how to compensate for the loss of trees, which represent not just wildlife habitat and carbon capturing for the province, but dollars and cents for P.E.I.'s estimated 16,000 woodlot owners.

MacQuarrie said salvage efforts on publicly owned land has begun with areas with a high degree of softwood blowdown, with an eye to reducing possible wildfire fodder as well as recovering some value for the wood. 

So far, contractors have gone through about 244 hectares of public land, at a net cost to the province of $340,000 once salvaged wood has been sold. 

The department has no breakdown in terms of how much salvage has occurred on private land, other than 460 hectares for which the province has provided incentives for salvage.

The incentives average $1,140 per hectare. MacQuarrie noted that at that cost, it would take $39 million in funding to salvage all the private land that is classified as "affected by Fiona."

"The actual decisions are up to individual private woodlot owners in terms of what they want to do on their own lands," she told MLAs. "So some areas will be salvaged. Some areas' woodlot owners will choose not to for various reasons.

Replanting the land is another matter.