THE full impact of Storm Ciarán on the Island’s trees and habitats is yet to be understood, the Environment Minister has said.
Deputy Jonathan Renouf added that “we don’t have anything close to a reasonable estimate” of the number of trees felled after hurricane-strength winds battered the Island last week.
Speaking to the JEP, he said that public and stakeholder consultation would take place as to which trees would be replanted and in what locations as he develops a “recovery programme”.
Since last Thursday, a massive clean-up operation mobilising the Island’s tree surgeons has been under way – but sections of roads, footpaths and entire areas such as the Railway Walk and Val de la Mare reservoir remain closed owing to the number of fallen trees.
Deputy Renouf said: “It’s very clear that the storm has had an absolutely devastating impact on the Island’s trees and woodlands. We are still assessing how many trees have been lost and what type of habitats have been worst affected, and that will go on for quite a while. But we already know that it is devastating in terms of the impact on the tree landscape.”
He continued: “We want to see what kind of losses we’ve suffered in terms of species. For example, whether these are pines, broadleaf woodlands, mature trees, younger trees. We need to understand the types of losses we’ve experienced and whether there are particular concentrations in particular areas, or particular animals living in those areas.
“We will want to think about how we come back from this. It’s very early to be having those thoughts, but the idea that we should have a recovery programme is a good one. It’s not just about the number of trees we plant, but we want the approach to be thoughtful. We can’t just plunge in, but we need to think about the types of trees, where we’re planting those, what kind of woodland habitats we want to create in the Island.
“There’s an opportunity to have public conversation on this, and I will be asking the public and stakeholders.”
He continued: “This has shown just how passionately people feel about trees and how much they mean to people and contribute to what Jersey is.”
