A pamphlet announcing the Woodland Owner of the Year Award arrived in my mailbox yesterday, and finally gave me some good news about forestry in NS to celebrate.
The online announcement is here
The 2019 award goes to Spence Managed Forest of Ellershouse, West Hants County which won the Central Region Award, and in turn the Provincial Award,
The Spences are third generation woodland owners of a beautiful and diverse 2000-acre property that has top tier management help from Jim Bremner (a South Central WOYA winner for 1995) and Jason Casey.
Located in Ellershouse, the property is made up of diverse forest type and age classes. From late succession Pine, tolerant hardwood, Hemlock, to young plantations. This well managed and heavily invested property is a showcase for responsible and sustainable management. Long shared with outdoor enthusiasts, recreational values have co-existed successfully with forestry operations for decades, resulting in a continued multiple values management regime. Various silviculture treatments have been applied on the woodland and they include appropriate selection harvest methods, commercial thinning, and pre-commercial thinning. A recent partial harvesting (2018) adjacent to the very popular Dawson Brook Falls is a good example of the owner’s ability to balance social, environmental, and economic goals.
There is a field day at the Spence forest on Sep 28, 2019.
Also celebrated are the winners for the Eastern (Terry Cameron) and Western Regions (Cindy and Sherm Enbree)
Terry Cameron of Antigonish County…has been working full time on his 240-acre uneven age hardwood woodland for the past two years.
Terry gained his woodland knowledge while working as a silviculture foreman through the 80s and 90s; and he was ahead of his time promoting uneven-aged management well before it was common practice.
Surrounded by protected crown land; Terry has sustainability in mind when working on his woodlot. Treatments carried out to date include selection harvesting, pre-commercial thinning, crop tree release, and some crop tree pruning just to mention but a few.
He welcomes hikers, bikers and other outdoor recreationalists to enjoy the trails through his property.
Terry has plans to start harvesting maple syrup and expand some of his trails.
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The Embrees are third generation stewards of 430-acres with a strong focus on the future with sustainable goals for wildlife, forestry, and education at the forefront.
The Embree family have implemented a micro-triad method on their woodland. They have carried out various treatments on their woodland including pre-commercial thinning, commercial thinning, tree planting and have been working with various woodland owner organizations and partners in the western region.
A smaller area is for their Christmas Tree U- Pick Farm established in 1973 and educational trails. Cindy and Sherm host many schools and local groups to share their love about sustainable woodland management. Their back 150 acres facing Johnston’s Pond has been set aside for conservation and is home to a variety of wildlife, migratory birds and rare lichens.
Wow. ‘Wish we could see this kind of forestry on the logged Crown lands.