The Ferguson Tree Centre outside of Kemptville will have to destroy more than three million trees because of the provincial government’s cancellation of the 50 Million Tree Program, Ed Patchell, chief executive officer, said Friday.

Patchell said the trees were planted to handle the nursery’s commitment to the program over the next three years. But with the Ford government’s decision last month to axe the tree program, the centre will be forced to kill them, Patchell said.

Trees can only be kept for a certain period of time – once they grow to a certain size or age they become unmanageable, he said.

“But also, you can’t go and spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on maintaining something that you don’t have a client for,” Patchell added.

The government’s tree program represented about 40 per cent of the annual revenue to the non-profit nursery, which uses its returns to promote good forestry, conservation and recreation in North Grenville, he said.

Patchell added the centre aimed to produce 800,000 to one million seedlings a year for the program, which, at 58 cents apiece for the cheapest, represents an annual loss of between $464,000 and $540,000.

The Ferguson Tree Centre is the second largest producer in Ontario for the 50 Million Tree Program, he said.

Patchell added it is too soon to tell whether the government’s chopping of the tree program will result in layoffs at Ferguson, but he indicated that something has to give: The centre will need to find other sources of revenue, or it won’t be able to afford to keep staff.

“We have to go and look at what crops we have in the ground, we have look at staffing and we have to look at what we have to do to survive in the future,” he said. “We’re not going to continue growing stock that we don’t have clients for.”

Patchell added the end of the program very likely would mean job cuts at conservation authorities, which partner in the tree planting, and private tree-planting companies.

For now, the centre is busy with the start of the planting season, and it doesn’t have time to worry about the future, said Patchell.

He said the government’s announcement came at the start of the centre’s busiest time of year, and originally it was effective immediately. But the government backed off after realizing the centre’s contract contains a 90-day cancellation clause, meaning that this year’s planting will go ahead as scheduled.

The 50 Million Tree Program was started in 2008 and has so far planted more than half its goal of reaching 50 million trees by 2025. It cost taxpayers $4.7 million last year.

Patchell described the government’s decision, announced the day after the April 11 provincial budget, as short-sighted. It will lead to more erosion in flood zones, poor air quality, warmer lakes because of the lack of shade and less habitat for wildlife.

“It’s ignoring the societal value of tree-planting and of taking care of the environment,” Patchell said. “Trees clean the air and maintain the water for all of Ontario – for everybody.”

Patchell compared the Ontario government’s action with the City of New York, which spends billions to maintain the woodlots north of the city. Unlike the Ford government, NYC sees the value of maintaining the air and water quality for its residents, he said.

The government seems to think that tree-planting benefits only rural areas, but it fails to recognize that such big cities as Toronto and Ottawa benefit too, he said.

wlowrie@postmedia.com