The Essex Region Conservation Authority is worried about cuts to a provincial tree planting program.
The province is cancelling the '50 million trees program' which has helped to plant up to 500,000 seedlings in Windsor and Essex County since 2011.
ERCA offers the program by giving landowners an incentive to plant trees, therefore increasing the area's forest cover.
Right now, Windsor-Essex has only 8.5% tree coverage while the goal is 12%, a goal which has become more difficult to achieve.
"We plant about 50,000 trees per year with support from this program," says ERCA's General Manager Richard Wyma. "Our regional goal is still at 12% and that is lower than a lot of targets that Environment Canada and other partners say you need to have as a minimum standard to have a sustainable community."
Wyma says the cut to the program isn't just about trees as there are numerous benefits from tree planting.
"It is not just about natural areas, it is not just about tree plantings, it is about climate change and mitigation for flooding, it is about habitat for species, it is about creating a place that ultimately people want to live in," he says. "Green space, open space, natural areas, these are really important for our region."
The program's annual budget was about $4.7 million and Forests Ontario was told it was being cancelled as a way to cut provincial costs.
Since 2011, ERCA has received funding of about $620,000 through the program.