By Nina Newington
SUMMARY
 New forest road at Goldsmith Lake, October 2022 Forest lost to roads is NOT included in the harvest removal tallies. To justify the sacrifice of biodiversity in the 10% of Crown land to be consigned to High Production Forestry under the Forest Triad, the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and Renewables (DNRR) tells us that “90% of Crown and protected areas land will always be committed to the two zones that prioritize biodiversity”. The Conservation zone (aka protected areas) does protect biodiversity but is biodiversity really prioritized in the 1 million hectares currently assigned to the Ecological Matrix? Both government and industry resort to an ecological rule of thumb, stating that “Two-thirds of the forest will be left standing” in areas subject to ‘ecological’ harvest prescriptions. Closer examination reveals that all but two of the prescriptions generated by the new Silvicultural Guide to the Ecological Matrix result in the removal of at least 50% of the forest. This article examines the shady accounting used to conceal this fact, with specific reference to the variety of harvest plans approved for 462 hectares around Goldsmith Lake in Annapolis County in 2022. |
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