UPDATE Sep 30, 2019
I am told that Information Morning reported last week that the WestFor license had been renewed for 1 year. (Also Northern Pulp, GNTI – which increased, and PHP, both for 1 year).
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We haven’t heard anything from McNeil & Co. about renewal of the WestFor License which runs out on Oct 1, 2019. (We didn’t hear about the current 1-year interim license until well after it had been issued, coincidentally or not on the same day that the New NAFTA was agreed upon.)
Anyway, we should be concerned, as the folks in Shelburne Co. are.
From the Sierra Club:
On September 30th, the license to harvest forests at the Walls Brook site in Shelburne County, Nova Scotia will expire.
Last July we, along with experienced bird watchers, Ecology Action Centre and the People for Ecological Forestry in Southwest Nova Scotia alerted the Nova Scotia Minister of Lands and Forestry, the federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change, and the Canadian Wildlife Service that we had seen breeding migratory birds on the site.
If the forest had been cut with those birds, nests and fledglings present, it would be a clear violation of the Migratory Birds Convention Act. As we wrote in our letter and report, “We have strong reason to believe that the imminent clearcut planned for the Walls Brook site will result in violations of section 6 of the Migratory Birds Regulations, made under the MBCA.”
Fortunately, the forest has not been harvested – yet.
But we also have not received a clear response to our letter from the federal and provincial governments. We do not know how they intend to observe the Migratory Birds Convention Act, and whether the forests will be protected over the long-term.
Please send your letter now to ensure this forest and the wildlife who live there are protected.
Thank you for taking action and and thank you for sending your letter below!
Gretchen Ftizgerald – National Programs Director
Go to This Page to fill out a form to go to Nova Scotia Minister of Lands and Forestry Iain Rankin, ccFederal Minster of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna
Some related NSFN posts
– While we wait for the government to respond to the Independent Review, what agreement is in place with WestFor?
October 4, 2018
– CBC interviews reveal WestFor got a one year renewal on its access to Nova Scotia’s Western Crown Lands on Oct 1, 2018
November 7, 2018
– FYI: Nova Scotia L&F/WestFor Agreement FOIPOPed
December 29, 2018
– A WestFor 5 year plan emerges in Shelburne
January 5, 2019