Old Hardwood Forest
– old growth forests (“A jurisdiction that loses its old forests becomes an ecological North Korea”) &
– the inconsistency between a private woodlot owner having to get a license to harvest a single deer on his own woodlot because DNR wants to manage the deer population, yet is able to “cut all timber (save for a strip along the brook and a few symbolic “wildlife clumps”) and remove all vegetative matter from the harvested area, regardless of slope or soil conditions or the inevitable effects on wildlife.”
“I’m not saying I want to see private harvesting regulated, but the government should not pretend that its impossible” says Lindsay. He goes on to say that “the preferred approach would be to use the available levers and incentives to improve industrial-scale harvest practices.”
However, Lindsay notes, “DNR is now slamming on the brakes” on a change in direction initiated 5 years ago, albeit imperfect, while claiming that “all harvest treatments are aligned with the nature-based requirements of Nova Scotia’s lands”. Responds Lindsay, “This happened in the last 5 years? I don’t think so”. He concludes: “if we want citizens to stop raging about clearcutting, maybe we need to be more honest about the condition of our forests.”
View the Full editorial
There are many news items, topical articles and a pretty even coverage of different perspectives on forests and forestry in the print-only magazine. The Atlantic Forestry Review is published six times per year “for independent woodlot owners in the four provinces of Atlantic Canada”.