It’s good to know somebody in Canada is reading The Herald. On March 29 I wrote about how ecologists and others are concerned about the extraction of peat moss, a common soil additive used in home and professional gardening products. http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/07/03/29/100hg_5hgdebra001.cfm

It’s a big issue internationally, particularly in the United Kingdom, where few peatlands are left, and in Canada, a world-leader of peat moss production.

In the story, I quoted from a policy statement prepared by the UK Royal Horticultural Society, which is concerned about the effects of global peat extraction on wildlife habitats. They’re so concerned they’ve pledged to transfer 90 percent of their growing media into peat alternatives by 2010.

The Royal Horticultural Society is a respected, non-profit organization with a heavy emphasis on promoting accurate scientific knowledge. You can read the full statement here: http://www.rhs.org.uk/Learning/research/documents/c_and_e_peat.pdf

Today I received a letter from the Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association. Not surprisingly, my column concerned them. You can read the letter below.

I’m sure the peat moss producers are doing what they can to find ways to restore peatlands: After all, their livelihoods depend on it. Their livelihoods also depend on you using lots of products with peat additives.

This is an issue every gardener needs to be aware of. Read everything and decide for yourself.

Here’s that letter:

Healthier Growth, Naturally

Une Croissance Plus Saine, Naturellement

Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association

2208-13 Mission Avenue, St. Albert, AB, Canada, T8N 1H6, Phone: (780) 460-8280 Fax: (780) 459-0939

Email: cspma@peatmoss.com, Website: www.peatmoss.com

April 5, 2007

Ms. Debra Smith

Reporter

The Daily Herald Company

PO Box 930

Everett, WA 98206

Dear Ms. Smith:

I read with concern your article in the March 29 th edition of the Everett Herald entitled, “Debate over peat moss keeps growing,” in which you make several statements that I would like to comment on.

You stated that scientists say the loss of peatlands will do irreparable damage. Damage to what? The restoration program that we have developed returns peatlands to functioning ecosystems which support the native peatland plants, birds and insects that have been displaced during harvesting. It is a wrong to call this “irreparable”.

In your article you state that scientists say that it is not as easy or as fast to restore peatlands as harvesters say it is. We have never said that it was easy. By 2003, our industry in Canada had spent over $3 million in research to find the best ways to restore peatlands. We are now in the 5 th year of a ten-year Research Chair in Peatland Management the cost of which will be at least $4.5 million more when it is complete.

My experience has been that those scientists who are doubters have never visited a bog that has been restored. Less than a year ago, Dr. Markus Thormann of the Canadian Forest Service, a government agency under which peatlands are included, visited the experimental site at the Bois des Bel bog in Québec. After viewing the work there he stated for the record, that he was very surprised and pleased with the results. “Before I saw this I would have said you cannot restore a harvested peatland,” he said. “But now I am a believer.” This is the response we get from scientists from all over the world. I wish you had an opportunity to see it for yourself.

Much of your information comes from the Royal Horticultural Society’s website and policy statement. The situation in the UK is far different from that in Canada. By the time the peat industry in the UK realized that restoration was an option, there were few peatlands left in their natural state. In Canada, we have a vast resource and we are restoring peatlands. Before a peatland in Canada would be considered for development, there are rigorous procedures that must be followed. If a peatland is unique to a region, it will not be harvested.

The Industrial Research Chair on Peatland Management is doing more than trying to restore peatlands that the industry has harvested. We are also trying to grow sphagnum – in other words, Sphagnum farming. Canada is collaborating with German and Finnish scientists to find ways to produce regrown Sphagnum fibre that will some day replace a significant amount of the Sphagnum peat that now goes into the top quality growing media. We too would like to cut down on the amount of peatlands we disturb but until that day, we will continue to restore those where harvesting has finished.

You state that scientists think peat moss extraction contributes to global warming. Dr. Eve Gorham of the University of Minnesota is a leading peatland scientist in the United States. He concluded a study on greenhouse gases, excerpts of which you will find on page 20 and 21 of the Issues Paper, Canadian Peat Harvesting and the Environment, published by the North American Conservation Council Committee (you will find this on our website http://www.peatmoss.com/pdf/Issuepap2.pdf). In it he states that his study “noted that the release of methane from undrained peatlands has a greater impact than the combined total impact from areas used for peat combustion and other drainage. The current level of development of peatlands in Canada, for horticultural peat production or other applications, does not appear to impact significantly on the National greenhouse gases emissions.”

In conclusion, I want you to know that our industry is not opposed to finding substitutes for peat.

Today many of our members have products that combine peat with coir or with recycled or composted products.

You can find other important information on our website:

Peatland Restoration Guide

http://www.peatmoss.com/pm-restguide.php

Wise use of peatlands – DVD

http://www.peatmoss.com/pm-peatdvd.php

Preservation and Reclamation Policy

http://www.peatmoss.com/pm-prrec.php

Please contact me at 780-460-8280 if you have any questions.

Yours truly,

Gerry Hood