Living Snow Fence Pilot Program
This week, City Council unanimously passed a motion that I put forward to pilot a Living Snow Fence Program. The program aims to incentivize and partner with rural landowners to make use of the natural environment with the primary goal of preventing winter winds and drifting snow from creating hazardous driving conditions on our roads. Using living plants, such as trees and shrubs, living snow fences create a physical barrier that acts as a windbreak and allows blowing snow to settle in a designated area. The benefits of living snow fences – which over time increase as the fences grow – will enhance public safety, mitigate road maintenance costs, provide a habitat for wildlife, improve farm crop yields, and create natural carbon sinks.
Earlier this year, I published an article on my website about rural road safety. Data shows that while most collisions happen in urban and suburban areas, the most deadly, serious collisions are more likely to occur on rural roads. Drivers on rural roads are travelling at higher speeds and for longer distances with single lanes surrounded by open land. With our gruelling winter seasons, living snow fences will help contain snow and slow wind speed to improve wintertime road conditions.
According to data from Ontario’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, windbreaks can reduce wind erosion on farms and improve crop yields by up to 15%, meaning that these living snow fences more than offset the reduction of arable land necessary for their installation. Living snow fences would also significantly improve the natural environment and character of rural Ottawa, including sequestering roughly 5.5 tonnes of carbon per km of windbreak.
The program will be designed and structured to compensate landowners for allowing for trees, shrubs, and other natural features to be planted on their property to provide for a living snow fence and natural habitat space. Specific compensation provided to landowners will be set at a rate that is appropriate given the costs of forgoing the land’s productive use.
I would like to recognize the work of the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority as they were instrumental in kickstarting this pilot program. Ottawa’s conservation authorities will administer the program (including grant allocation, planting, and maintaining new features) on behalf of the City.
While the full details of the program are still being formulated, interested landowners can expect to hear more about the pilot later this year.