I have reviewed the Seed…

I have reviewed the Seed Transfer Policy and will be submitting many comments within the draft document - emailed to Peter D Henry of MNRF. I have concerns that this policy, while a good draft, concerns a critical and complex subject, and is not sufficiently supported by a broader MNRF policy re forest gene conservation under climate change including resilience of individual species, changes in site conditions, insects and diseases and actual seed production and viability. Forest managers will need much support to interpret and use it strategically and MNRF must be prepared to communicate it, facilitate its use, track its use and then adjust the policy. Actions guided by this policy could take decades to effectively assess and data management is key. Feedback from the forest managers is critical. MNRF forest staff across the province from local staff to researchers need to be trained to help those forest managers fully understand genetic adaptation and climate change, to be able to facilitate this policy's use, and then monitor and evaluate its effectiveness.