Jean Guy Comeau Nelson-Miramichi 900 acres Ecoregion - Eastern Lowlands Ecodistrict - Red Bank, Kouchibouguac
Jean Guy Comeau manages three separate parcels of woodland, totaling around 900 acres near Nelson Miramichi on the south bank of the Southwest Miramichi River. Mr. Comeau has worked in the woods on the Miramichi since the late 1950's. He also owns and operates a salmon fishing camp and works in the Repap Groundwood Mill at Nelson-Miramichi. Mr. Comeau believes that the forest should be managed to maintain a species mix that reflects the species balance that the original Acadian Forest contained. He also suggests that the primary management objective for the forest should be to maintain an ecological balance for all species in the forest, and forest product harvesting should be a secondary objective and be carried out only in a manner that it does not infringe unduly on the primary objective. Comeau's woodlots lie near the border between the Red Bank and Kouchibouquac Eco-districts which lie in the Eastern Lowlands Ecoregion.. The forests of the Redbank eco-district are dominated by black and red spruce, often in combination with balsam fir, and to a lesser degree with jack pine and white pine. Black spruce is most common on the wet flats and is associated with cedar on the wetter slopes. The pines are more common along the dry flats adjacent to the Miramichi River. Red spruce is more common on the moist flats and slopes. Sugar maple, yellow birch and beech forest types are confined to the few hilltops in the area. Following fire or clearcutting, the forests are dominated by red maple, gray birch and white birch. On his hundred acre woodlot at Nowlanville, Mr. Comeau says that his main management goal is to recreate the Acadian forest conditions. He recalls that when he bought the woodlot in 1983, it was falling apart as a result of the spruce budworm infestation. Previous harvest history had been one of heavy harvesting to remove the best quality sawlogs, leaving scattered low value hardwoods and lots of balsam fir filling in the cut over sites. His salvage efforts resulted in nearly 1400 cords, of mostly balsam fir and poplar, being harvested by himself and his family.   Management Philosophy "The harvesting history has turned this woodlot into a Christmas tree farm. It was cut hard and balsam fir came in. After you cut balsam fir, it regenerates itself. I believe that repeating rotations of fir will deplete the soil to the point that after three generations the soil will not be able to support tree growth. For our soils to be productive we need a hardwood and softwood mix, so my goal is to develop the woodlot so that it reflects the species mix of the Acadian forest. This is a long term project, I figure it will take at least three generations to reach my goal. That's more than 150 years. That presents a problem for me, because I plan to live for only 100-125 years so I won't see my goal reached." Mr. Comeau says that his management philosophy means that very little of the work he does on his woodlot qualifies for any assistance program. "What I do with my chainsaw does not fit with the type of silviculture that is required for straight forward fibre management. The way I manage my woodlot costs me. But in the long run I believe my woodlot will be far more productive than where softwood rotations are repeated. I have had foresters on my woodlot, but many times I do not agree with their recommendations, because they want to promote management where fibre is the primary objective."   A Wildlife Story "One stand in particular was just about all fir and was killed by the budworm. We were walking along the road in 1981 or 82, and the forester said to me, Mr. Comeau, you should just run a bulldozer with scarifying through that mess, knock it down and plant it with softwood then you would have something. The more he talked the more of my money he wanted to spend. We would have to buy seedlings. It would have to be sprayed to kill raspberries and shrub and grass at least twice. I don't like the idea of spray because of a number of things. So after he was done talking I said I don't think so, I will let nature handle it and see what happens. The forester didn’t think I was very smart, not taking advantage of his great opportunity. So I watched the area very carefully. I watched the fir stubs fall down and the raspberries grow up. After a few years, I noticed lots of moles and voles in that area, then I saw rabbits once in a while eating away at the grass and the small plants. Then one day I saw a fox sneaking around catching the mice and voles. I watched that fox working around then I heard the cry of a rabbit and I know that the fox got a good meal from my waste land. Then a year or two later I saw the tracks of a doe around the area, she is browsing in the area and raising a fawn. So I kept a sharp eye out and after a few weeks I spotted the doe and her fawn and I watched them. A fawn is like any baby, the easiest meal is it's mother's milk. But the doe, she knows she has to show her baby how to get it's own meal from the forest. I watched the doe lick the plants that are good for fawns, the small tender plants. She just licked them, then the curious fawn would sniff what mama had licked. During this lesson, the fawn would try to nurse, but the doe would move and not let the fawn suckle. Then after a while the fawn started to nibble on the scented foliage. That whole lesson was something to see, right there in that wasteland that I had. As time goes by the area seeds in from the sides and from seeds carried in by wildlife and maybe from dormant seeds that were in the ground. About fifteen years after the forester said to run the bulldozer through it, the area is now covered with young trees, some of them 20 feet high. All I did was watch it." "While I was scrambling to cut the fir as it fell down I would look at stands and patches and see how it could be cut through and manipulated so that it would be productive. I was also watching other woodlot owners clearcutting their woodlots and then thinning and planting. I thought that in many cases that clearcutting was a short sighted approach. But they were looking at silviculture programs and seeking expert advice, and the experts were also promoting the programs so that is what they ended up doing in a lot of cases. I would bring those same forestry professionals and show them my stand where I wanted to do a different sort of management that did not clearcut the stand. Most of the time the advice I got was to cut down the whole stand because the trees were in poor health and of poor quality, or they were of low value in the market place at the time. I was offended that they wanted me to clearcut, and couldn't see any other alternative. Now I sometimes have a new generation of foresters and sometimes the generation that told me to clearcut come to see my woodlot and they look at the way I practiced forestry and approve some of the silviculture that I did. They excuse the clearcut silviculture by saying that some times woodlot owners did not practice forestry correctly - the way I didn't."   Harvest Approach Although there is small area of pre-commercial thinning (completed early 1980's) at the front of the woodlot, the remainder has simply been harvested in a manner where trees that are healthy are left with an adequate growing space and creating enough ground shade to discourage intolerant species from regenerating. The woodlot has a scattering of white pine, yellow birch, hemlock and spruce which Comeau recognizes as if they were his children. "These are remnants of the Acadian Forest, they are the future here."  Comeau makes special efforts to maintain a good site around the tolerant trees to encourage successful regeneration. Mr. Comeau says that his guiding inspiration for his silviculture is attempting to mimic wildlife habitat. "I observe wildlife. I watch where the animals lay, where they eat and what kind of trails they move on at different times of year. Although I don't understand all the things that I witness with wildlife, I do try to do my part." Portable sawmill on Jean Cuy Comeau's woodlot There are still lots of patches of balsam fir and poplar throughout the woodlot. Jean Guy loves to teach his lesson of the blue fir. When he finds the appropriate spot he challenges visitors to explain the difference between two balsam firs. After studying the trees and encouraging explanations, he recounts, "when I was a boy working with my father, he would point to certain balsam fir trees and say they are blue fir. When we cut down the blue fir they were as white as snow. When we cut the other fir they would be red stained - a lesser quality tree. Many of the fir that survived the budworm are the blue fir. I think they are genetically superior. Those are the fir that I want on my woodlot." "Sometimes my brother cuts wood for me and I explain to him not to cut the blue fir. But he does not understand the difference, all I have to do is look at the stumps and I can see what kind of fir it was. It is a hard job to work for me in the woods because there are a lot of decisions and considerations before a tree is cut. When I am working in the woods I am always looking at the stumps to learn the history of the tree and from that how the stand developed. When I an studying the stumps, I can still hear my sons giggling behind my back, 'There's the old man kneeling over to kiss his tree good-bye.' There is so much that we don't understand about the forest. Our current cumulative knowledge of the forest covers only a small part of 1% of the science that goes on in the forest." Decisions on where and when to harvest trees are made only after careful consideration and many walks through the woodlot at different times of the year. With a casual glance at any of the stands on the woodlot, an experienced woodlot manager or trained forestry person would be able to point out lesser quality trees that could be harvested and there would be no doubt that the area would regenerate within a year or two. Jean Guy's consideration goes deeper. A group of "not so healthy balsam fir" may be nursing some yellow birch seedlings. "Those trees may not look very healthy, but they are still putting on diameter. The volume growth on those old trees along with the seed production for regeneration and wildlife is very important. I will hold on to these, 'not so pretty trees’ as long as I possibly can." While walking he occasionally stops and identifies an area to harvest. He will point out a single tree or point out a path through a group of trees, identifying ones to cut and ones to leave. "I have an old Massey-Ferguson forwarder that is only six feet wide. If I am careful I can get it through the woods and you can hardly see the trail. But it must be done carefully so that the stakes and the wheels don't rub on the trees and scar them. This is why I am the only person who drives the forwarder."   Wildlife Habitat Poplar accounts for a large component of the woodlot stocking. In some instances there are strong efforts to reduce it's abundance. Yet Jean Guy has great respect for a patch of very mature poplar growing close to the main woodlot road. "A forester might look at these old poplars and say cut them and let some new trees grow. But these poplar and the heavy spruce and balsam fir regeneration right here are a very important habitat for grouse. They like to eat from the poplar and then when it is cold and wet and when the winter wind blows hard, the grouse go deep into the young softwood for shelter." Comeau also points to roots and debris bulldozed to the side of the road when it was constructed. "This is kind of inconspicuous, but it is also important habitat for grouse. These piles of earth are on the north side of the road, so the sun shines on them and they will thaw out and dry up early in the spring. The grouse will come along looking for a place for a dust bath and they will also want some grit for their crop. They have it all right here, and early too. I also help out the grouse by making sure they have good big drumming logs, close to escape shelter. I always have some grouse on my woodlot." Jean Guy ran trap lines for many years when he was younger and he still likes to hunt game and fish. But better than taking game, he seems to take much greater enjoyment knowing that his woodlots have variety of habitat components for a very wide variety of wildlife. On his woodlots, he is able to identify evidence and tracks of most of the native wildlife common to the Maritimes. One of his wildlife concerns is the scarcity of large mass producing trees on the woodlot. He points out that there are not any mature Beech trees and the large old spruce that traditionally have big cone crops are rare at present. This lack of mast and cones make it hard for squirrels and other small mammals and some birds to find their living. It is for this reason that Jean Guy affectionately protects Witch Hazel on his woodlot, so that there is an alternate food. Apple trees are one species of non Acadian Forest trees that he also protects and tends on the woodlot because they produce fruit that is eaten by many species. Woodlot Visitors Humans are welcome on the Comeau woodlots as long as they enjoy themselves and respect the forest, not damaging anything or leaving anything behind more then their footprints. "I mow the roads so that the dew on the grass doesn't get the walkers legs wet. I want people here to see and enjoy this forest. I also have a bench near my wife Leta's favourite part of the woodlot, so we can sit and enjoy it there. The bench faces a stand that is predominately mixed hardwoods. When the leaves change colour and begin to fall, the leaves get deep on the road. She says when she walks through them it reminds her of when she was a little girl and she walked through the coloured leaves on her way to school." While walking through the woodlot in early March, with a heavy wet snow falling, it's weight bends the white birch saplings across the road so that our path is a long meander of S-turns. Mr. Comeau stops and observes the silent beauty. "Now isn't that beautiful, all the snow and these arched trees. This is what a woodlot is! This of course is not good forestry. I should have all these saplings cut back so that the road is always clear. They are only white birch, so they are not much good for anything, except for their beauty on a day like today." The woodlot has hosted a wide variety of invited guests ranging from elementary school classes to pulp and paper and government officials- even a senate committee. "We even had Frank Mahavolich here with a group of senators studying forestry across Canada. We were very proud and excited to have him here. My wife and I sat on a little bench in the autumn colours, and fed Frank Mahovolich biscuits and molasses. I was very proud of my woodlot that day."   Keeping all the Parts Mr. Comeau does not have a written management plan for his 600 acre block of woodland. "I don't necessarily go in for the woodlot management programs offered through the Marketing Board. My main focus on this piece of ground is Moose habitat and wildlife corridors - what the forest is really about. What I do with my chainsaw does not fit with the type of silviculture that is required for straight forward fibre management. If there is one thing to summarize the way that I view woodlot management it is to keep all the parts and don't eliminate anything from the forest. I figure that if I have all the pieces that were in the Acadian Forest including a lot of wildlife then I figure I am pretty close." Mr. Comeau defends his choices for managing his woodlot, but offers that he has been privileged with a life that has allowed him exceptional opportunities to enjoy his woodland. "Not everyone has the opportunities to manage their woodlot as I have. I have a good job and a steady pay check at the mill, so I don't have to rely on my woodlots to make a living. If I was making my living, or even a large part of my living solely from my woodlots, they would look a lot different, I would have to focus a lot harder on fibre production for sure. I have been blessed with the opportunity to manage my woodlot so that it supports a wide variety of wildlife species and in turn the entire ecosystem including the River. The woodlots have given me a lot of enjoyment. They have also supported my children's education giving them a fantastic work and learning experience and helping a few of them with tuition. One thing that I have neglected is writing down a description of what I have done in the different stands. It is important that in the future there is some kind of explanation of what I have done, and how it fit into my plan. It may be interesting in the future to see how things went along through the years."   Jean Guy Comeau speaks about Low Impact Forestry, listen to the audio here