Forests up for discussion at public forum

As local concerns are being raised about the state of Alberta’s forests, the Nature Conservancy of Canada is hosting an event to talk about their future in the province and across Canada.

The public forum, which will be held Thursday in Calgary, is part of a cross- country speaker series called Why Forests Matter.

“They’re a series of talks the Nature Conservancy of Canada is doing with TD Bank,” said Dan Kraus, national director of conservation program development with the Nature Conservancy of Canada. “TD has been supporting forest conservation through NCC since 2012.”

The partnership, he said, has led to the protection of nearly 16,000 hectares of forest across the country. Kraus, who’s a conservation scientist, said the two organizations also wanted to share the importance of forests through a series of talks across the country.

“Of all of the habitats we have in Canada, we certainly have important coastal areas and grasslands, but forests are the habitat that unite all Canadians,” he said. “It’s the only habitat that occurs in all provinces and territories. It’s important for our economy, really important for our identity — a third of Canada is covered by forest and those forests are important in terms of the recreation values they provide, the biodiversity they provide.”

They’re also important for cleaning air, removing pollution and holding back water to prevent flooding.

The event takes place from 6: 30 to 8: 30 p. m. Thursday at Markin McPhail Centre, 88 Canada Olympic Dr.