Beginning today, June 11, 2018, this page will provide a list of links to news and some social media posts related to forests and forestry in Nova Scotia, the most recent items at the top, as I access them.
Some will also be listed under Independent Review, and some may also be the subject of a post on the Home Page.
Up to this point I have attempted to provide a post on the home page about every news item; all posts are listed under About this site>All Posts. However, I have found that I am missing more and more as at times I can’t keep up with it all, not-to-mention that outdoor Nova Scotia is just too enticing at times.
The dates cited below are the dates of publication of the news items (not the dates on which I accessed them).
NOTE Sep 19, 2018: due to the Chronicle Herald moving their website to a new platform circa Sep 15, 2018, links that refer to articles in the Chronicle Herald before that date are not currently working. Presumably they will fix that issue.
Nov 14, 2018: There is no sign that the CH will fix and make accessible the old links and now the Chronicle Herald further restricts online access to news and opinions (Post, Nov 10, 2018). In general, from this point on I will not cite Chronicle Herald articles when alternative reports are available. Feb 1, 2019: It seems the Chronicle Herald is again making a lot of material freely available so I am again referencing such items. Thx CH. Too quick, I received this explanation a few hrs later: My Q: “I noticed that the CH is again making a lot of material freely available online (since Jan 23 or earlier). Can you confirm a change in policy? Thx. and Thx CH.” Response: No change in policy: we continue to work on improving the online experience and in doing so, our web developers have made e-paper access available from time to time – this will not be permanent.
View Also:
– Social Media Posts
– All NSFN Posts
– GHGs in the News
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- Dec 12, 2019:
– Province’s agreement with Northern Pulp puts taxpayers at risk, says legal expert
Emma Smith · CBC News. “York University prof says she’s ‘never seen an indemnity agreement quite so one-sided'” - Dec 11, 2019:
– NORTHERN PULP LOBBYISTS AND THE REVOLVING DOOR WITH GOVERNMENT
BY JOAN BAXTER in the Halifax Examiner– 3 South Shore communities want clearcut moratorium
Letter to Minister of Lands and Forestry from Mayor of Lockeport, Dec 10, 2019
Jack Julian · CBC News. View Letter|Listen to Info A.M. audio, concerns about use of forests for recreation, displacement of wildlife, climate change and loss of future wood supply are expressed, also the long time being taken to fully implement the Lahey Recommendations. - Dec 10, 2019
– Wood bridge has 100 year lifespan
Darren Cole for Saltwire
– ‘We don’t want it there’: Sludge from Boat Harbour to be kept on-site
Brendan Ahern in the news (New Glascow) - Dec 9, 2019:
– Saltwire finds one scientist who thinks Northern Pulp’s effluent isn’t toxic Halifax Examiner Morning File. Also view Helga Guderley comments - Dec 7, 2019:
– LETTERS: Northern Pulp mill on minds of Nova Scotians as deadline looms
Three letters in www.thewesternstar.com
– JIM WILLIAMS: Myth-busting Northern Pulp mill pollution
“Northern Pulp’s effluent is not toxic…Jim Williams is a senior research professor at St. Francis Xavier University.” In the Chronicle Herald. Subscription required. - Dec 6, 2019:
– LETTER: Pictou Mill a pillar of economy
Steven Freeman, Bridgewater, “6th generation sawmiller” in the Chronicle Herald. (Also view Pulp Culture: How Nova Scotia’s Faustian bargain with the pulp industry may leave the sawmills in ruins by Linda Pannozzo in Halifax Examiner Mar 10, 2019) - Dec 5, 2019:
– Must Reads: A sampling of the most compelling science based responses to Northern Pulp’s focus report for their proposed effluent treatment facility
Friends of the Northumberland Strait
– N.S. government keeping quiet on some aspects of loans to Northern Pulp
Michael Gorman · CBC News - Dec 4, 2019:
– Fixing the forests – Turning clear-cuts into homesteads a win-win on Hampton Mountain
Lawrence Powell inThe News (New Glascow). “The new [clearcut] property could become that. They’ve already identified some good spots to build homesteads there. People are already interested — the new homesteaders who understand the dividends they receive have nothing to do with stock portfolios but with what nature can offer sustainably if you put in the hard work on her behalf….“A place where they feel like they can do something. That’s one of the biggest issues. Everyone knows what kind of trouble we’re in but everybody feels powerless to do something about it,” he said. “This is the ultimate win-win. The government wins. They get to meet their targets. The people get a purpose that they feel good about. It fosters a community spirit. The environment is improving. And we’re also building a forest inventory that hopefully in the future can be more sustainably managed by our kids and grandkids. It’s a long-term strategy and I don’t see how anybody can lose.””
– Canada under-reporting deforestation and carbon impacts by forestry
Report on www.wildlandsleague.org View Executive Summary. “Findings undermine the claim of ‘near zero deforestation’ in Canada”. Also view: ‘Logging scars’ show impact of deforestation in Canada is worse than we know, research finds IVAN SEMENIUK, in Globe and Mail Dec 3, 2019. “Roads, pits and other ‘logging scars’ have caused underreported environmental damage to forests, with hidden costs for Canada’s carbon footprint, according to researchers who scoured the landscape to see the impact from above”
– Climate Change Is Accelerating, Bringing World ‘Dangerously Close’ to Irreversible Change
By Henry Fountain in NY Times - Dec 2, 2019:
– COP25 may put climate at greater risk by failing to address forests
by Justin Catanoso oin news.mongabay.com “Policy experts warn that global forest conservation is not yet being actively incentivized as part of carbon market discussions, a possible lapse apparently backed by Brazil and the government of Jair Bolsonaro which has declared its plan to develop the Amazon basin — the world’s largest remaining rainforest and vital to sequestering carbon to curb climate change. COP25 also seems unlikely to address the UN biomass carbon accounting loophole, which allows nations to convert obsolete coal plants to burn wood pellets to produce energy, with the carbon emitted counted as “zero emissions” equivalent to solar and wind. Scientists warn that biomass burning, far from being carbon neutral, is actually worse than burning coal.”
– JIM VIBERT: Nova Scotia government’s credibility on the line with Northern Pulp decision
Jim Vibert in the Chronicle Herald (subscription required for full access) “The Nova Scotia government has been adamant all along that “the science” will determine whether it approves Northern Pulp’s plan to treat the mill’s chemical brew on-site and then pour the wastewater into the Northumberland Strait. Well, unless the science is alchemy, astrology or perhaps political, the Pictou County pulp mill’s plan won’t pass…” - Nov 29, 2019:
– Northern Pulp says it’s ‘confident’ in science of focus report
By P&PC Staff . Pulp and Paper Canada. “Northern Pulp and its parent company Paper Excellence have released a statement regarding submissions made by five federal departments during a public consultation process that express concern about the mill’s recently submitted focus report/”
– Comment on “The global tree restoration potential”
Andrew K. Skidmore et al., Science 29 Nov 2019:Vol. 366, Issue 6469 DOI: 10.1126/science.aaz0111 “Abstract: Bastin et al. (Reports, 5 July 2019, p. 76) claim that 205 gigatonnes of carbon can be globally sequestered by restoring 0.9 billion hectares of forest and woodland canopy cover. Reinterpreting the data from Bastin et al., we show that the global land area actually required to sequester human-emitted CO2 is at least a factor of 3 higher, representing an unrealistically large area.” And view a Response - Nov 27, 2019:
– ‘We clearly have concerns,’ Wilkinson says of Northern Pulp proposal
CBC News
– Planet tipping towards global climate disaster, warn scientists
On Aljazeera “More than half of the tipping points that could lead to long-term irreversible changes on Earth and threaten civilisation have been activated, a study has warned…The scientists, including Emeritus Professor Will Steffen from the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra, argued in an article published in the journal Nature that the nine tipping points could act like a row of dominoes.” - Nov 26, 2019:
– New federal environment minister postpones Northern Pulp decision
By Taryn GrantStar Halifax
– Nova Scotia’s provincial parks had strong 2019 season
Cape Breton Post
– UN report reveals how hard it will be to meet climate change targets
By Adam Vaughan in New Scientist. “The United Nations has warned world leaders must cut greenhouse gas emissions by a staggering 7.6 per cent every year for the next decade to meet the most ambitious goal of the Paris climate deal, or suffer the impacts of greater global warming.”
– In New Brunswick, opposing forestry industry practices can be dangerous for your career
By Gil Shochat and Sylvie Fournier “Longtime critic of glyphosate spraying filed a wrongful-dismissal suit against his forestry college last week” CBC News - Nov 25, 2019:
Initial Evaluation of Potential Water Quality issues related to Development of the Cobequid Highlands Project and recommendations for Additional Studies
Ann Maest. Videoed presentation posted on YouTube by Cliff Seruntine on Nov 25, 2019. View Report, dated July 4, 2018
– Feds pan Northern Pulp focus report as ‘cumbersome’ and ‘insufficient’ Michael Gorman · CBC News “5 federal agencies replied during public comment period on proposed treatment plant” - Nov 22, 2019:
– As P.E.I. looks to heat more buildings with wood, MLAs question environmental benefits
Kerry Campbell · CBC News “Opposition energy critic Stephen Howard says ‘the data should come first'”
– Indigenous land claim stretching back to Halifax Explosion settled
Harry Sullivan in Truro News “The proposed agreement…is to settle a land claim related to the loss in 1919 – following the Halifax Explosion – of three parcels of land totaling 508 hectares, known as the Ingrams River, Sambro and Ship Harbour reserves. “When they got displaced, our community members were displaced and the two reserves (in Indian Brook and Millbrook) were created,” Gloade said. “They surrendered those three parcels of land and wanted to exchange them for land closer to HRM. That was never honoured by the government of Canada and that’s why it was called the invalid surrender of 1919.”
– LETTER: Northern Pulp got sweetheart deal
Glenn Ells, Canning (former Liberal cabinet minister) in the Chronicle Herald “When I was appointed minister of the environment in 1978, it was quite a shock to learn that over half my budget was going to the Pictou County pulp mill to operate the facilities that supplied water and accepted untreated effluent…” - Nov 21, 2019:
– NORTHERN PULP’S “POLITICAL GAME”
Joan Baxter in the Halifax Examiner (full article available, Thx H.E/J.B.//Regardless, it’s well worth the $10/mo to support high quality ad-free investigative journalism)”It’s decision time for the nova scotia government. It will either approve a pipeline for pumping mill effluent into the northumberland strait, or won’t. And it will either extend the Boat Harbour act, or won’t. Those affected by the mill operation are laying out their case and preparing next moves.”
– Forest herbicide contributing to wildfires
CBC News “Many Canadian forests are managed through the use of the herbicide glyphosate — which has now been linked to forest fires. The herbicide shapes the way forests grow, which can maximize profits — but not without unforeseen costs.”
– Bad math at Lands & Forestry
by Jennifer Henderson for the Halifax Examiner (Nov 21, 2019) - Nov 20, 2019:
– Environmentalists say logging companies are rushing clearcuts near Lake Deception before new forest regulations come into effect by Jennifer Henderson for the Halifax Examiner “Environmental groups are pushing back against three proposed cuts in a rural area near Lake Deception north of Shelburne. The cuts are on Crown land allocated to 13 companies in the WestFor group, which includes Northern Pulp, Louisiana Pacific, Ledwidge Lumber, and Harry Freeman & Sons. These “variable retention” cuts (a forest industry euphemism for…” - Nov 19, 2019:
– Concerned groups urge Nova Scotia to reject Northern Pulp’s plan to pump effluent into strait
KEITH DOUCETTE Canadian Press in the Globe and Mail - Nov 18, 2019:
MINING FOR (PUBLIC) DOLLARS
Joan Baxter in the Halifax Examiner. ” The Mining Association of Nova Scotia (MANS) has created a new organization called the minerals research association of nova scotia (MRANS)) with the aim of leveraging still more provincial grants to further enrich global mining companies — and their local operatives. - Nov 17, 2019:
– Northern Pulp, affiliate company owe province more than $85 million
Aaron Beswick in the Chronicle Herald Northern Pulp and an associated company owe the province more than $85 million. While the company and the Nova Scotia government have acknowledged the existence of outstanding debts to the taxpayer, neither have been willing to disclose the amounts. The Chronicle Herald received the details on the interest-bearing loans via a Freedom of…(Subscription required); some further details in the Halifax Examiner (Nov 18) including that “At least one of the loans to Northern Pulp — $75 million for the purchase of 475,000 acres of timberland in the province in 2010 — doesn’t come due until 2040. So who knows how or when that will be repaid?” - Nov 15, 2019:
– Annapolis County summit takes aim at climate crisis
Lawrence Powell in www.saltwire.com/ - Nov 14, 2019:
– A Nova Scotia teen is suing the federal government in the name of the environment
by Ki Rolle in the Coast “Ira Reinhart-Smith and 14 other youth say their lives are at risk due to dangerous climate change, and want the government to step in to help.”
– ‘They felt like little ice balls’: Baby turtles saved from freezing to death
Paul Palmeter · CBC News - Nov 13, 2019:
–DALE SMITH: Why Nova Scotia desperately needs a land ethic
On www.saltwire.com/ “A land ethic essentially is a moral code that recognizes humans must live in harmony with the land base that supports us” - Nov 12, 2019:
– Where will we plant those two billion trees to fight the climate crisis?
Aaron Beswick on saltwire.com
– Hope, fear characterize final countdown to Boat Harbour closure for Pictou Landing First Nation
By Taryn GrantStar Halifax - Nov 10, 2019
– A dozen local scientists sign global climate emergency letter
Victoria Walton in Halifax today. ” The letter was signed by 11,224 scientists from around the world, including 10 affiliated with Dalhousie University in Halifax, and one from Saint Mary’s University. An ecologist from the Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forestry was also on the list. In total, there were over 400 Canadian signatories. - Nov 7, 2019:
– Forest fire numbers in Nova Scotia this year were the lowest since the 1940s
Ian Fairclough in Chronicle Herald
– Bat population in Nova Scotia seems to be slowly recovering after being decimated by fungus
Ian Fairclough in Chronicle Herald - Nov 6, 2019:
– ‘My future is in jeopardy,’ says 15-year-old climate activist from N.S
Info AM (CBC) “Ira Reinhart-Smith from Caledonia is one of more than a dozen Canadian youth who recently filed a lawsuit against the federal government claiming that officials are failing to act on climate change.” - Nov 4, 2019:
– Remote Nova Scotia lodge that hosted celebrities now available to right buyer
Elizabeth McMillan · CBC News “”This a place in the woods, and a lake and a few buildings,” she says. “That’s not what it is. You feel it when you’ve stayed here for a few days. People tell me you feel different. You come out different because you must look into yourself and others or nature. You can’t be hooked up to anything because there’s no reception and there’s no TV.”
– LETTER: Nova Scotia forest collapse looming
Soren Bondrup-Nielsen in the Chronicle Herald - Oct 31, 2019:
– Saving the forest and the trees: Charity buys woman’s old-growth Acadian forest (N.B.)
Tori Weldon · CBC News “CFI on carbon offsetting: this means that we have to keep trees standing on that property”
– Nature’s own sustainable timber harvest rate
Bruce Ellingsen in https://watershedsentinel.ca . “….See a trend? In nature, a consumptive rate between 15 and 22 per cent of the annual incremental growth of the consumed has been demonstrated. Considering these examples and the fact that timber harvesting is not a “closed loop system” where nutrients remain within the ecosystem, the average harvest taken, over any five years, from the Cortes community forest should be limited to 15 per cent of the Mean Annual Incremental growth (MAI – a measure of the average yearly growth of the timber in the community forest).” - Oct 30, 2019:
– Cleaning up old mines could be costly, says Nova Scotia’s auditor general
Andrew Rankin in the Chronicle Herald (full text currently available) - Oct 28, 2019:
– LETTER: Nova Scotia forestry out of control
Bob Bancroft in the Chronicle Herald
– Teens tell Nova Scotia government climate targets aren’t good enough
By Taryn GrantStar Halifax. View related Post on NSFN - Oct 26, 2019:
– What you need to know about gold mining in Nova Scotia
Francis Willick for CBC “The province’s gold mining industry is booming. But some warn there could be a high price to pay” - Oct 25, 2019:
– Old-growth trees cut down to build Highway 103 access road, says group
Emma Smith, Phlis McGregor · CBC News - Oct 24, 2019:
– Unravelling B.C.’s landmark legislation on Indigenous rights
By Carol Linnitt in The Narwhal
– Questions about a road through valuable woodland(audio)
CBC Info AM “Some people who are trying to save a wilderness area are shocked and horrified. They’ve discovered a substantial new road through what they say is valuable land” and “Phlis MacGregor interviews Mike Lancaster and Nick Horne of the St. Margaret’s Bay Stewardship Association, about a “new road” bulldozed through an Old Growth Forest in the new Ingram River Wilderness Area — an area that was supposed to be “no harvest” until after a biodiversity assessment. Very very disturbing. The Minister of Lands & Forestry says that this harvest was carried out by Westfor as part of the Hwy 103 twinning — some kind of right of way road (or something), and that ministry staff visited the site and determined that it was not “Old Growth” (their opinion).Amazing how there is *ALWAYS* an *EXCUSE* for these catastrophic attacks on Old Growth stands. “-BW - Oct 23, 2019:
– Eagle has landed for Port Morien wildlife group
Eagle has landed for Port Morien wildlife group Sharon Montgomery-Dupe in Chronicle Herald. “We’koqma’q Chief Rod Googoo said as far as he knows this will be the first time an entire eagle is blessed by the Mi’kmaq for a non-native association in Nova Scotia and probably the Atlantic region…This is an example of native and non-native communities working together on conservation and wildlife projects, which is a wonderful story in itself, he said.”
– LETTER: Pulp must come from somewhere. Will closing Northern Pulp make a difference? By Tom Maher, Dartmouth, in Chronicle Herald - Oct 22, 2019:
–Arctic tundra emits more carbon in winter than plants can absorb in summer: study
THE CANADIAN PRESS in https://www.campbellrivermirror.com “Phd candidate at Dalhousie University one of 75 co-authors of new paper in Nature Climate Change…The finding means the extensive belt of tundra around the globe — a vast reserve of carbon that dwarfs what’s held in the atmosphere — is becoming a source of greenhouse gas emissions responsible for climate change. “There’s a net loss,” said Dalhousie University’s Jocelyn Egan, one of 75 co-authors of a paper published in Nature Climate Change. “In a given year, more carbon is being lost than what is being taken in. It is happening already.”” - Oct 21, 2019:
– Co-op making a go of it in Middle River forest products
By Aaron Beswick in Cape Breton Post
– OPINION: Let’s conserve and restore our unique forests
Josh Noseworthy on www.saltwire.com. “Over the past 400 years, like many forests around the world, the Acadian forest has also experienced severe burning, unsustainable logging and conversion to agriculture. Sadly, less than five per cent of original Acadian forest remains, mainly restricted to small nature reserves and hard-to-reach areas like ravines. Although we have lost much of the rich Acadian forest that once blanketed the Maritimes, in the last few decades we have learned a great deal about its ecology and how to restore it, and those lessons are available to everyone. NCC has written the Acadian Forest Restoration Manual to support landowners throughout the Maritimes who would like to restore their land.” Also published in the Chronicle Herald oct 18, 2019 under the title JOSH NOSEWORTHY: Our future may depend on restoring the Acadian forest - Oct 18, 2019:
– A’Se’k – Boat Harbour: A Site of Centuries’ Long Mi’kmaw Resistance
By Colin Osmond on www.activehistory.ca
– N.S. names committee members to advise on ecological forest management
The Canadian Press on CBC News. Also view L&F Press Release
– Nature Trust fills in the “gap” of the Blue Mountain – Birch Cove Lakes Wilderness
Halifax Examiner Morning File - Oct 15, 2019:
– Tomorrow, a ship carrying wood chips from Sheet Harbour will arrive in Rizhao, China. That’s terrible news for Nova Scotia’s forests
LINDA PANNOZZO in Halifax Examiner (subscription required for access to full article) “According to Marine Tracker — and apparently unbeknownst to the provincial government — Nova Scotia is now exporting wood chips to China, something that’s new for 2019. The “wood chips carrier,” the FP Wakaba, loaded up with chips and left the port in Sheet Harbour Nova Scotia at the end of August. With a transit time of about 50 days, and travelling a total distance of more…” - Oct 14, 2019:
–OUTDOOR WORLD: 2019 hunting season should be a good one Don MacLean in ngnews.ca “I was interested to see that archery and muzzleloader licences increased in the province from 12,351 in 2017 to a high of 13,493 last season.” - Oct 13, 2019:
– Gold fever is coming to Halifax
Joan baxter in the Halifax Examiner (subscription required for access to full article).”MINERAL EXPLORATION COMPANIES HAVE STAKED CLAIMS NEXT TO THE HALIFAX AND DARTMOUTH LAKES THAT ARE THE SOURCE OF OUR DRINKING WATER”
– Central Nova: Country star seeks to unseat Liberal incumbent in Tory stronghold
Michael MacDonald The Canadian Press on CTV News “For his part, Canyon initially said he didn’t have enough information about Northern Pulp to make an informed comment. But on Wednesday, speaking at an all-candidates debate in Merigomish, he said wouldn’t consider a deadline extension unless the Pictou Landing First Nation approved.”<br< - Oct 12, 2019:
–How do you clean up a contaminated 150-year-old gold mine?
Frances Willick · CBC News - Oct 11, 2019:
WENDY ELLIOTT: Not more clearcutting – please!
Wendy Elliott www.novanewsnow.com. “It’s now seven years after the cut was made and the little trees are barely creeping back. I go out and stare at the massive scar created for the staging area. Since I’m walking through woods belonging to me on the way, I know what forest undisturbed for 50 years after a much less complete cutting – with power saws – by farmers with horses and small tractors looks like. What does it look like? Still pretty wretched.No one now growing up in Nova Scotia knows what a real forest is or should look like, the forest we once had.” - Oct 10, 2019:
–There needs to be a desire to change Jim Harpell in Truro Daily News commenting on signs :”Nova Scotia NEEDS forestry”. It should read NS needs Forests” says Jim. Screen capture of text at right – Project to heat N.S. public buildings with wood delayed by a year
Click on image for larger version
Michael Gorman · CBC News - Oct 6, 2019:
– Protesters arrested in Halifax and Toronto as climate action hits major Canadian cities
Susan Bradley · CBC News - Oct 4, 2019:
– CHRIS MILLER: A closer look at Nova Scotia’s newest protected lands
Chronicle Herald
– Hundreds march in Pictou Landing in support of Northern Pulp deadline
Brooklyn Currie · CBC News
– Forestry forum tries to find solutions to a struggling industry
Lee Wilson on APTN News. Travails of forest industry in B.C.
– What’s the difference between all these laminated timbers?
Lloyd Alter on Treehugger.com - Oct 3, 2019:
Northern Pulp report on effluent pipe proposal forecasts no significant impacts
THE CANADIAN PRESS on CTV News
Also view: Focus Report for the Northern Pulp Replacement Effluent Treatment Facility released to the public, written comments invited 3Oct2019 (NSFN)
– CHRIS MILLER: A closer look at Nova Scotia’s newest protected lands
Chris Miller in Chronicle Herald (Full text available) - Oct 2, 2019:
– Northern Pulp mill front and centre in Central Nova election race
Paul Withers · CBC News
– Northern Pulp files response to questions from Nova Scotia Department of Environment
Aaron Beswick in Chronicle Herald (Full text available)
– PAUL SCHNEIDEREIT: From bugs to birds, humans hammering biosphere
Chronicle Herald (Full text available) - Oct 1, 2019:
– Power play in Port Hawkesbury
Nancy King in the Chronicle Herald (full text currently available without subscription)
– New protected areas announced for Nova Scotia
Aaron Beswick in the Chronicle Herald (full text currently available without subscription)
– Group wants court to force Nova Scotia to act on endangered species
Francis Campbell in the Chronicle Herald (full text currently available without subscription) - Sep 30, 2019:
– New and Expanded Protected Areas Around Province
NS Environment “Quick Facts- the 17 designated sites total about 7,400 hectares. They include four wilderness areas, 10 nature reserves, and three provincial parks; – the 10 sites to be designated soon total about 7,000 hectares. They include six wilderness areas, two nature reserves and two provincial parks; – together, these will bring the provincial protection total to about 12.73 per cent or 704,000 hectares” - Sep 27, 2019:
– ‘Let’s hope everyone hears us’: Students take climate strikes to the streets of N.S.
Emma Davie · CBC News - Sep 25, 2019:
– Extreme sea level events ‘will hit once a year by 2050’
Damian Carrington Environment editor in The Guardian “Climate report says intense storms and loss of marine life are already inevitable” - Sep 24, 2019:
– Emergency declared – Annapolis County to engage citizens as impacts of deteriorating climate unfold
Lawrence Powell in www.annapoliscountyspectator.ca Congratulations Annapolis County Folks!!!! - Sep 23, 2019:
– Report calls for business expansion at Nova Scotia tree nursery
Tom Ayers · CBC News “Strathlorne Forest Nursery underutilized, says consultant’s report”
– Climate change: 800 years tracked using oak tree rings
By Steffan Messenger for BBC News - Sep 20, 2019:
– During Climate Week, Companies Must Focus on Canada’s Boreal
Shelley Vinyard for NRDC “As part of Climate Week, we must turn our attention to the role American companies play in fueling the destruction of these forests, and we cannot overlook Canada’s intact boreal forest as a key part of the solution to the climate emergency.” The article explores connections between toilet paper and forest degradation. – Nova Scotia asking for input on carbon credit opportunities
Stuart Peddle in www.trurodaily.com
– Dorian causes damage to woodlot operations, trail systems in Cumberland County Darrell Cole in /www.trurodaily.com - Sep 17, 2019:
– Nova Scotia had secret pact with Northern Pulp to share environmental assessment costs
Aaron Beswick for Chronicle Herald. “The province made a secret agreement with Northern Pulp to pay part of the cost of producing its environmental assessment documents. Furthermore, it contractually forbade Northern Pulp from revealing any details of the agreement to the taxpayer.” Subscription required for access to full article.
– Court upholds ruling requiring consultation with Nova Scotia First Nation on pulp mill
By Keith Doucette for The Canadian News on CTV News - Sep 16, 2019:
– Group steps up pressure on politicians to close Boat Harbour on time
Jean Laroche · CBC News
– Province silent on implementing Lahey report without Northern Pulp
Aaron Beswick in Chronicle Herald - Sep 11, 2019:
– Atlantic grids, forestry, coastlines need rethink in era of intense storms: experts
The Canadian Press cited on winnipeg.citynews.ca. “Anthony Taylor, a forest ecologist scientist with Natural Resources Canada, wrote in a recent peer-reviewed paper that climate change is expected to increase the frequency of severe hurricanes. He says promoting more mixed forests with hardwoods would reduce the rate of destruction caused by the storms.”
– Atlantic Canada’s power grids, shore defences need major changes: experts
BY MICHAEL TUTTON THE CANADIAN PRESS on Global News – - Sep 9, 2019:
– Hurricane Dorian
Wikipedia “On September 7, 2019, at 5 p.m. EDT, Nova Scotia started to experience hurricane-force winds. By 7 p.m. EDT, the eye of the storm passed over Halifax while tropical storm conditions were being felt in Prince Edward Island. As of September 8, approximately 402,103 customers in Nova Scotia lost power. Flooding was reported, roofs were torn off buildings, and a crane also collapsed onto a building being constructed.[190] Rainfall totals as of 9 PM was highest in Baccaro Point at 131 mm (5.2 in) and Kentville at 110 mm (4.3 in). 71.3 mm (2.81 in) was reported in Halifax, Nova Scotia’s largest city.” - Sep 5, 2019:
– Nova Scotia not told of Ottawa’s new plan for Northern Pulp review: McNeil
Aaron Beswick in Truro News - Sep 3, 2019:
– Why business owners feel stymied by mass forestry operations in northern N.B.
Shane Fowler · CBC News - Aug 31, 2019:
– Mineral exploration companies in N.S. not always playing by the rules
Frances Willick · CBC News - Noted on Aug 30, 2019:
– Sustainable Prosperity Act: consultation
NS Government “We’re working on new legislation to help us to advance our goals of a healthy environment and long-term prosperity for Nova Scotians. We’re inviting Nova Scotians to share their feedback. The deadline to participate is 27 September” - Aug 29, 2019:
– Turtle rescue group founder says government blocking efforts to help at-risk species
CTV Atlantic - Aug 28, 2019:
– Canadians asked to find ash trees in a bid to preserve the species
Michael MacDonald, THE CANADIAN PRESS on CTV News - Aug 27, 2019:
– Province of Nova Scotia asks for public input on environmental bill
The Chronicle Herald
– Forest centre aims to plant seeds of Lahey report on private woodlots
Michael Gorman · CBC News - – Aug 22, 2019:
Rain showers not always enough to end burn ban, fire crews say
Ian Fairclough for Chronicle Herald “A forest fire on the shore of Panuke Lake in Halifax County is now contained, but Lands and Forestry officials say people shouldn’t be fooled by the scattered and often relatively brief rain showers that have come over the province recently.” - Aug 19, 2019:
– Battle over N.S. mill’s future reflects wider Canadian debate: filmmaker
Michael Tutton, THE CANADIAN PRESS on ctvnews.ca
– A world first: Annapolis Valley certified as ‘Smart and Sustainable Rural Region’
Kirk Starratt for Anna. Co. Spectator - Aug 16, 2019:
– COMMENTARY: Foster innovation in traditional industries Rob Badcock in Chronicle Herald – Province announces another summer of glyphosate spraying for rural Nova Scotia
Robert Devet in NS Advocate - Aug 14, 2019:
– CFIA says no meat from latest infected deer herds has entered Canada’s food supply
Sarah Rieger · CBC News Citing Kat Lanteigne, executive director of BloodWatch: “While no human cases of CWD have been confirmed, scientists note that while low, the risk is not zero — and it is evolving. Evidence suggests that CWD conversion is more adaptive than bovine spongiform encephalopathy [mad cow disease], and following efficient transfer to a second species of non-human primates, Health Canada advised that ‘CWD has the potential to infect humans”.. “Thousands of CWD-infected animals are being consumed by hunters and their families across North America every year. Even a single transfer to a person — proving that humans are susceptible — would bring catastrophic consequences with limited options.” - Aug 13, 2019:
– Clearcuts around Mount Carleton an eyesore to hikers, a teaching exhibit to industry
Shane Fowler for CBC News “Clearcuts as far as the eye can see greet tourists at Mount Carleton Provincial Park..According to forest company representatives, the logging operations around Mount Carleton provide a look at “a working forest” and showcase how important the industry is to the province…Legere said clearcuts are designed to simulate natural occurrences, such as budworm infestation and forest fires, and are necessary to sustain forests.”
– Joan Baxter: I don’t think we are short of good journalists at all
By Robert Devet in the NS Advocate ” The biggest shock for me has been this wall of media relations people that governments have thrown up in front of the media. I no longer have the right to speak to somebody who is actually capable of answering fairly technical or scientific questions. Now I deal with media relations people that never really answer your question.” - Aug 12, 2019:
– Ellen Page documentary on environmental racism in Nova Scotia to screen at TIFF
By Aya Al-Hakim Global News - Aug 11, 2019:
–For some N.S. woodlot owners, end of controversial pulp mill not seen as disaster
By Michael TuttonThe Canadian Press in The Star - Aug 9, 2019:
– Is glyphosate spraying just the symptom of a larger problem
Aaron Beswick in the Chronicle Herald (subscription required) “On Friday the provincial Environment Department approved spraying on 954 hectares of privately owned woodland with Visionmax, a herbicide with glyphosate (also used in RoundUp) as an active ingredient. The areas to be sprayed are spread over 37 properties around northern Nova Scotia.” For detailed NSE info, see NSE/Pesticide Approvals
– Premier not budging on Northern Pulp despite jobs plea
Andrew Rankin for the Chronicle Herald - Aug 8, 2019:
–A message from Chief Andrea Paul: The forever argument of economy and jobs In Nova Scotia Advocate. (See also: Boat Harbour victim impact statement: a story of deception and broken promises by R. Devet in NS Advocate May 11, 2019) - Aug 7, 2019:
– Co-operative logging: North Nova balances interests of forest owners, loggers, mills
By Maria Church in https://www.woodbusiness.ca/ . Equitable and sensitive forestry in NS, a good news story. Also view North Nova Facebook Page
– Union-funded study says closure of pulp mill would destroy Nova Scotia forestry industry
By Taryn GrantStar Halifax
– Northern Pulp and Unifor: Wishing pesky fishers, Mi’kmaq and environmentalists away is not a solution
By RobertDevet in NS Advocate. “Unifor’s solution is to demand that Northern Pulp be allowed to start work on the treatment plant now, even though the environmental assessment of its proposal, which includes a highly controversial discharge into the Northumberland Strait, is still pending and many questions remain. There you have it. Problem solved. Except, of course it isn’t.”
– Co-operative logging: North Nova balances interests of forest owners, loggers, mills
By Maria Church forwww.woodbusiness.ca - Aug 3, 2019:
– Taxpayers foot almost $8m in forest management fees to Port Hawkesbury Paper
Aaron Beswick for Chronicle Herald. Subscription required. “Nova Scotians paid Port Hawkesbury Paper $7,948,767.59 to manage 520,000 hectares of Crown land in 2018. We were paid back $1.7 million in stumpage fees. The Chronicle Herald found the numbers in public accounts documents released by the province that detail payments to corporations and individuals by government.” - Aug 2, 2019:
– Gretchen Fitzgerald: Cut, cut, cut – On clearcutting and the Migratory Birds Convention Act
Gretchen Fitzgerald in NS Advocate
– Boat Harbour: How to clean up a toxic soup
Jennifer Henderson for the halifax Examiner (Subscription required for access to full article) “This is what environmental racism looks like: Lunenburg council wants Boat Harbour clean-up delayed” - July 30, 2019:
– Bird Trouble
Zack Metcalfe for the Pictou Advocate - July 25, 2019:
– Green Party, People’s Alliance call for inquiry into firing of 2 forestry instructors
CBC News (N.B.) “In the beginning of July, wildlife biologist Rod Cumberland was fired for conduct the college said was damaging to its reputation. However, Cumberland and former colleague Gerry Redmond believed Cumberland’s expression of his professional views on glyphosate was at the root of his dismissal. Days later, Redmond, a former director of the college who publicly defended Cumberland, was told his services teaching classes and workshops would no longer be needed.”
– Nova Scotia to spend $48M cleaning up 2 former gold mines
Michael Gorman · CBC News
– JIM VIBERT: Nova Scotia government bullish on gold mines
Jim Vibert for www.theguardian.pe.ca. “”The province only collects a royalty of one per cent on the net profits from a gold mine.” - July 23, 2019:
– Shelburne County clear-cuts would violate Migratory Bird Act
by Timothy Gillespie July 23, 2019 in South Coast Today
– Expanded forestry cut buffer requested by Municipality of Digby along Acacia Valley Trails
The Digby Courier. “..local residents are concerned that forestry cutting could impact the beauty of the popular trails” - July 21, 2019:
– “Hands off our protected areas, and lay off our Crown land”
Joan Baxter in the Halifax Examiner. “The proposed Inverness airport will either encroach on or be very near to the Masons Mountain Nature Reserve, a protected nature reserve. It’s not the kind of place one wants to have commercial jets “screaming in and out,” says the Raymond Plourde, the Ecology Action Centre’s wilderness coordinator.” - July 18, 2019:
– A man who makes his living in the woods of Southwest Nova Scotia says we should be cutting trees one at a time
CBC InfAM. “A call to ban clear cuts. Ken Gray is dedicated to selective harvesting says clear cut forests are not growing back fast enough and we’re going to run out of wood in 25 years.” - July 16, 2019;
– Repeating History
Zaxk Metcalfe in Halifax Magazine. “Experts condemn celar-cutting but Nova Scotia’s politicians continue to tiptoe around the issue”
– The Archaeology of Loss
Linda Pannozzo in the Halifax Examiner now out from paywall “How industrial logging in the Mu’kmaq heartland is destroying a lot more than trees”
– A trillion trees – Medway forest co-op manager not scared by the ‘afforestation’ numbers in report
Lawrence Powell in the Annapolis Co. Spectator
– A tour of a Shelburne county logging road (Audio)
Info AM “A man from Jordan Falls says the clear cuts in his area must stop. He took Information Morning’s Phlis McGregor on a tour through logging roads between Kejimkujik and the Town of Shelburne.”
– Bear Necessities – Living with the bears no hardship for animal-loving West Dalhousie woman
Lawrence Powell in the Annapolis Co. Spectator - July 13, 2019:
– Old-growth forest should be returned to 30% of original level, researchers say
By Clare Hennig CBC News (B.C.)
– Scientist ‘shocked’ by results of strategy to halt spruce budworm infestation
CBC News (New Brunswick) “Successful early intervention strategy extended in New Brunswick for another 4 years”
– Why Halifax is cataloguing up to 30,000 trees on the peninsula Frances Willick · CBC News “City’s urban forestry guru says pilot project could be expanded to whole municipality” - July 10, 2019
– ‘The trees are dying’: Climate change affecting a Mi’kmaq tradition says canoe maker
Angel Moore APTN News “Todd Labrador, a canoe maker in Nova Scotia says climate change is affecting his family’s traditional practice.” - July 9, 2019
– Sound Off: Is the Boat Harbour Act about to be amended? (video) CBC News - July 8, 2019
– Nova Scotia’s Roots and Boots Forest School Society connects children with natural world Joey Fitzpatrick in Chronicle Herald - July 6, 2019
– Silence on the Tobique: Founder cancels fiddle festival to protest clearcuts
Harry Forestell · CBC News
– Spot an endangered mainland moose? Here’s why you should report it
Alex Cooke · CBC News - July 5, 2019
– Farmers sue Monsanto, Bayer over use of Roundup pesticide
Nicole Munro in Chronicle Herald. “Two Canadian farmers have filed a class-action suit in Nova Scotia Supreme Court against Monsanto and Bayer over the use of Roundup.”
– EDITORIAL: Senseless biomassacre
The Chronicle Herald
– Toilet paper is getting less sustainable, researchers warn
Rebecca Smithers on www.theguardian.com “Major brands are using less recycled paper, meaning more trees cut down unnecessarily” - – N.S. utility destroys nest of migratory bird while clearing trees Michael Tutton for The Canadian Press on www.squamishchief.com
- July 4, 2019
– As Boat Harbour closure looms, premier hopeful about Northern Pulp’s fate
Michael Gorman · CBC News. ” “If [Northern Pulp] can provide something that makes sense, that they can present to the community, that they can present to government that gets a permit, then I believe I have a responsibility to look at all possibilities as the premier.”…the government is focused on diversifying markets, he said, pointing to recently-announced pilot projects to use wood to heat six public buildings.” - July 3, 2019
– Fired college instructor’s views on glyphosate at root of dismissal, says former colleague
CBC News - – Bridging the Divide in Forestry, Op-ed
Nova Scotia L&F Press Release, statement by Minister Rankin - June 28, 2019
– Keji Seaside to be closed over long weekend due to increased bear activity Meghan Groff in Halifax Today - June 26, 2019
– Forester campaigns to preserve one of Nova Scotia’s last patches of old-growth forest
CBC News
– Iain Rankin promises big changes in forestry management, but the province is moving slowly
BY JENNIFER HENDERSON for Halifax Examiner (subscription required) - June 25, 2019:
– Province looks to wood as heat source for public buildings
Michael Gorman · CBC News
– Forestry insiders consulted by Nova Scotia on plan to reduce clear-cutting
By Taryn Grant Star Halifax - June 24, 2019:
– Forest Manifesto – Ecology group seeks community input, protection of wildlife, ecosystems, and biodiversity
Lawrence Powell in the Annapolis County Spectator - June 17, 2019:
– COMMENTARY: Effective forestry reform must transcend Lahey’s recommendations
Dale Smith in the Chronicle Herald - June 14, 2019:
– The Archaeology of Loss
LINDA PANNOZZO in the Halifax Examiner Subscription required ($10/mo) “HOW INDUSTRIAL LOGGING IN THE MI’KMAQ HEARTLAND IS DESTROYING A LOT MORE THAN TREES”
–Controversial harvest plan for Annapolis County forest put on hold
Alex Cooke · CBC News - June 12, 2109:
– How a Grade 9 class is fighting a planned clearcut in Shelburne County
CBC News · Posted: Jun 11, 2019 - June 10, 2019:
Shelburne students fight to stop clear cutting
CBC Info AM “Students at Shelburne High School are launching a campaign to ask Nova Scotia’s premier to stop a clear cut in their county. We speak with a student and Iain Rankin Minister of Lands and Forestry.
– Progress on Lahey Report recommendations, Part I (Audio)
Information Morning – Cape Breton. Bob Seymour and Peter Duinker are interviewed. Duinker cites a Research Plan - June 8, 2019
– READER’S CORNER: Clearcutting proceeds apace while feedback farce continues
Helga Giderley in Chromicle Herald - June 7, 2019:
– –Call to end logging during migratory bird nesting season (audio)
CBC Info AM. “Christine Curry says no logging should be allowed during migratory bird nesting season; the birds should be protected by the Migratory Bird Convention Act.” Environmental Lawyer Jamie Simpson is also interviewed about why the Migratory Birds Act is not being adhered to by forestry operations in NS.
– Naturalists comb Nova Scotia woods for birds in bid to halt loggers
THE CANADIAN PRESS ON CTV NEWS
– Call to end logging during migratory bird nesting season (audio)
CBC Info AM. “Christine Curry says no logging should be allowed during migratory bird nesting season; the birds should be protected by the Migratory Bird Convention Act.” Environmental Lawyer Jamie Simpson is also interviewed. - June 6, 2019:
– Students at Shelburne Regional High School lobby Premier McNeil to stop clearcut at Allendale
Press Release.. Also in www.southcoasttoday.ca - June 3, 2019
– ‘Beautiful form of reconciliation’: Couple to return ancestral burial land to Pictou Landing First Nation
Adam MacInnis in NG News - May 31, 2019:
– Healthy Forest Coalition sends letter to MLAs - May 30, 2019:
How a Grade 9 class is fighting a planned clearcut in Shelburne County
– Nova Scotia gold mine proposal threatens pristine wilderness area: Nature Trust
Keith Doucette and Michael Tutton, The Canadian Press on CTV News “A proposed gold mine in Nova Scotia’s Guysborough County is being questioned by a conservancy organization concerned about the operation’s proximity to a “biodiversity hot spot.”
– Forestry minister promises ‘dramatic reduction’ in clear cutting
Michael Gorman · CBC News “Iain Rankin expects Nova Scotia’s new forest management guide to be complete by early December” - May 29, 2019:
–Checkpoints considered for Cape Breton fall moose hunt
Wendy Martin · CBC News “Mi’kmaq, government officials say checkpoints would provide more accurate number of animals killed” - May 24, 2019:
– Big Win For Biodiversity on the St. Mary’s — Welcome News Amidst Growing Global Crisis
NS Nature Trust Blog ‘Four of the new sites protected areas are located on the St. Mary’s River, north of Sherbrooke, Guysborough County. Together the new conservation lands add 540 acres to almost 800 acres already protected as part of our long-term land assemblage initiative on the river.”
– Man ejected from Atlantic Gold public meeting shocked by ‘violence’
Frances Willick · CBC News “John Perkins denies causing disturbance at public meeting into proposed gold mine near Sherbrooke, N.S.”
– From high overhead, a sobering look at a moose population in deep trouble
Phlis McGregor · CBC News “Aerial survey results obtained by CBC show a steep decline of the endangered mainland moose in Nova Scotia” - May 23, 2019:
–‘Stop the Chop’ – Extinction Rebellion on standby to halt Corbett Lake Crown forest harvest
Lawrence Powell in www.annapoliscountyspectator.ca
– Climate forest proposed – Annapolis County wants chance to develop new ecologically managed economic model
Lawrence Powell in www.annapoliscountyspectator.ca ” Annapolis County wants the province to hand over a swath of Crown forest south of Bridgetown so the municipality can develop and manage a climate forest and demonstrate that a new economic model based on ecological forestry management can increase local jobs, community recreation, and tourism.
They passed the motion May 21 and have drafted a letter to Department of Lands and Forestry Minister Iain Rankin with the request. Currently WestFor has the option to harvest the forest in question and some of that work began last year.” - May 22, 2019:
Cumberland County asked not to support extension of Boat Harbour Act
On www.cumberlandnewsnow.com. “Says Pictou County First Nations have suffered a legacy of ‘environmental racism’…After the presentation, county council passed a motion to send a letter to the provincial government, but the letter does not ask for an extension to the Boat Harbour Act. Instead, the letter points out that the Cumberland County forest industry is worth $25 to $30 million in annual revenues and employs 500 people in the county, and concludes by asking ‘the Government of Nova Scotia to support a prosperous and sustainable forest industry.” - May 18, 2019:
– Press Release: Action to protect the Corbett – Dalhousie Lake forest
Nova Scotia Advocate “Westfor have announced on CBC that they are planning to cut the Corbett-Dalhousie Lake forest any day now. Through non-violent direct action, Extinction Rebellion Forest Protectors intend to protect this forest…” - May 17, 2019:
– Worrying about mainland moose (audio)
nformation Morning – NS with Louise Renault, Portia Clark “Nova Scotia’s largest land animal is in big trouble. Recent surveys indicate there are likely very few moose left. Information Morning’s Phis McGregor has more.” - May 16, 2019:
Editorial: On the road to economic ruin?
Amherst News - May 15, 2019:
– People from Labrador, Florida and Nova Scotia rally at Emera shareholders meeting in Halifax
R Devet in NS Advocate - May 14, 2019:
– Efforts continue to rejuvenate American marten population in Cape Breton
Sharon Montgomery-Dupe in Cape Breton Post - May 9, 2019:
– How Nova Scotia can move forward from 300 years of coal and fossil fuel extraction
By Laura Cutmore in The Coast “When the options are decarbonize or die, a just transition is necessary”
– Cumberland foresters respond to clearcutting concerns
Dave Mathieson in Amherst News - May 7, 2019:
– The exploitation of Nova Scotia must cease
Ray Bates in porthawkesburyreporter.com
– Spring flooding – let’s get our story right
Council of Canadians ” …we now lead the planet in the degradation of previously untouched forests”
– Council receives pushback on Northern Pulp support
Grant McDaniel in Port Hawkesbury Reporter
– Defending the Northumberland Strait and the communities that depend on it
Scott Neigh on rabble.ca
– Truckers to conduct rally alongside Hwy 104 near Truro in support of pulp mill
Harry Sullivan for Truro Daily News. “As many as 100 truckers are expected to park their rigs on both sides of Highway 104 near Truro Thursday afternoon.”
– Climate change and clearcutting on minds of Shelburne students and community members during walkout
Kathy Johnson for thecoastguard.ca - May 6, 2019:
– UN Report: Nature’s Dangerous Decline ‘Unprecedented’; Species Extinction Rates ‘Accelerating’
www.un.org. Also view Globe and Mail item by Ivan Semeniuk: One million species facing extinction, posing a risk to human well-being: UN report
– Report says Nova Scotia not doing enough to protect biodiversity
Michael Gorman · CBC News - May 4, 2019:
– Is the carbon tax a good idea?
Alan Walter in Cumberland News - May 3, 2019:
– Students across Maritimes march to join Youth Strike 4 Climate
CTV news
– Biomass industry film to be screened in Baddeck
Cape Breton Post. “The screening of “Burned” will take place Tuesday, May 14, at 7 p.m. at Inverary Resort” - May 2, 2019:
Ottawa withholding Northern Pulp assessment order until after federal election
Aaron Beswick in the Chronicle Herald. Subscription required for access to full article. “The public will not be allowed to know whether a federal environmental assessment was recommended for Northern Pulp’s proposed effluent treatment plant before it is a moot point.” - May 1, 2019:
– Ray Bates: Stop the exploitation of our resources by uncaring corporations
Ray Bates in the Nova Scotia Advocate - Apr 30, 2019:
– Shelburne students planning walkout to raise awareness of clearcutting, climate change issues
by Kathy Johnson in the Shelboure County Coast Guard
– Annapolis County residents want ‘Old Growth’ Corbett Lake Crown forest left alone
Lawrence Powell In Annapolis Co. Spectator - Apr 29, 2019:
– UN biodiversity conference to lay groundwork for Nature rescue plan
AFP for Egypt Independent “Diplomats from 130 nations gathered in Paris on Monday to validate a grim UN assessment of the state of Nature and lay the groundwork for a rescue plan for life on Earth. The destruction of Nature threatens humanity “at least as much as human-induced climate change,” UN biodiversity chief Robert Watson said as the five-day meeting began.”
– U.S. investigating whether N.B.’s cheap property taxes on forests break trade rules
By Robert Jones, CBC News - Apr 27, 2019:
– Forestry Professionals Look For Answers From PC Leader At Bridgewater Luncheon
http://www.cjls.com/ “Houston says government wasn’t thinking about what closing Northern Pulp could mean to the industry but he doesn’t feel they are entirely at fault. “Government is responsible for setting the standard and companies are responsible for meeting the standard. The company had an obligation to understand those and to meet that standard. So, that fact that they filed an application that didn’t meet the standard, that has to be on their shoulders.” Houston says the province could’ve done a better job monitoring Northern Pulp to ensure they were meeting their objectives. - Apr 24, 2019
– Isle Haute National Wildlife Area
Environment and Climate Change Canada “The Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada is transferring administrative management of Isle Haute to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). ECCC proposes to protect this island and its sensitive ecosystem as a National Wildlife Area.”. View also Island amid world’s highest tides to become wildlife reserve (CBC Radio)
–Gordon Wilson replaces Margaret Miller as Nova Scotia environment minister
Keith Doucette, THE CANADIAN PRESS on CTV News. “The former forest technician was asked by reporters whether he considers himself an environmentalist. “I consider myself to understand the environment quite well,” he said following his swearing in at Government House. “I’m a forest technician by trade, but certainly my life has been one where I’ve grown up not only on the water but in the woods.”” - Apr 23, 2019:
–NSE issues Terms of Reference for Focus Report required for the Replacement Effluent Treatment Facility environmental assessment
NSE
–Province asking more pointed questions of Northern Pulp
Aaron Beswick in the Chronicle Herald, this item accessible without subscription. “The long list of new studies and updates to existing ones will likely set back the already much delayed project.” - Apr 17, 2019
Southwest Nova bright spot for solar power
Carla Allen for Yarmouth Co. Vanguard - Apr 15, 2019:
– Renewed Species at Risk Recovery Teams
L&F Press release - Apr 13, 2019:
–Forest Confidential
Linda Pannozzo in the Halifax Examiner (Subscriptton required, $10/mo, for access to full article) “AN INVESTIGATION INTO NOVA SCOTIA’S BIOMASS HARVEST DATA AND HOW THE NUMBERS AREN’T ADDING UP” - Apr 12, 2019:
– Nova Scotia shelves act that would have made province the first to regulate biodiversity
Jean Laroche · CBC News - Apr 11, 2019:
Boat Harbour cleanup to be subjected to environmental review
JENNIFER HENDERSON in the Halifax Examiner - Apr8, 2019:
– Explainer: Why so many are criticizing Nova Scotia’s forest harvesting map tool
CBC
– “We are down to our last month’s rent”: naturalists say clearcutting is accelerating“We are down to our last month’s rent”: naturalists say clearcutting is accelerating
Jennifer Henderson in Halifax Examiner (Subscription required for full access, $10/mo). ““I worked at the Bowater-Mersey mill for 38 years, and our provincial government makes Bowater look like an environmentalist!” said Brian Muise… Muise is frustrated by the amount of cutting he sees taking place in southwestern Nova Scotia “to beat the clock” before the government implements revised forest practice regulations on Crown land recommended by the Lahey Report…Bancroft obtained data from scientists who worked for Ron Colman’s Genuine Progress Index on Forestry. He says that those data, as well as the satellite images of the Liscomb area in northeastern Nova Scotia near Governor’s Lake, indicate that in the 25 years prior to 2014, an estimated 42% of total forested areas in the province (including both Crown and private land) were clearcut…Bancroft believes if you add biomass tonnage for the past five years and extrapolate the earlier average rate of consumptive harvest (to 2019 — 30 years in total), it’s reasonable (and “disgraceful” in Bancroft’s words) to estimate that as much as 50% of the forest has been cut over the past three decades….Sadly, Bancroft told the hunters and fishermen that even though the Lahey report endorses the same “paradigm shift” toward more ecological forestry which he and Crossland promoted 10 years ago, a whole decade of unchanged harvesting practices has disrupted habitat for wildlife. For instance, Mainland Moose are now an endangered species in Nova Scotia. “The forestry contractors leave little clumps of trees for the moose,” said Bancroft. “Moose need mature softwood for shelter in the winter and shade in the summer. To eat, they need 25% or more hardwoods. You get rid of moose food by using herbicides, and that’s the main point where I disagree with Lahey. I think using herbicides is outrageous. If moose are going to use a river, you need to allow for a 60-metre buffer zone from the water. In Nova Scotia, we stick with 20 meters.” - Apr 5, 2019:
– Navigating the Province’s forestry map (Audio)
BCB Info AM “Some people say when it comes to clear cuts on crown land the province isn’t giving the public the whole picture. Information Morning’s Phlis McGregor has more. ‘ - Apr 3, 2019:
– An association representing travel media in the Atlantic region is calling on the province to institute a moratorium on clearcutting (audio)
CBC Info AM Interview with Helen Early, Chair of the Travel Media Association of Canada, Atlantic Chapter and journalist Zack Metcalfe - Apr 2, 2019:
– Despite warnings that burning biomass does not address climate change, Nova Scotia Power burned more biomass in 2018 than in 2017
JENNIFER HENDERSON in the Halifax Examiner (Subscription required – $10/month – to access to full article.) - Apr 1, 2019:
– Canada’s Changing Climate Report
Government of Canada, Ottawa, ON. 444 p. (Released Apr 1 or 2, 2019)
–Canada warming at twice the global rate, leaked report finds
CBC News - Mar 29, 2019:
– Nova Scotia pulp mill owners say environmental assessment requirements put company’s operations in jeopardy
Jessica Leeder for Globe and Mail. “He [Premier McNeil] encouraged Northern Pulp “to focus on whether or not it can actually meet the environmental standards of the province. At this point, they have not,” he said. “We gave five years. This company needs to do the work.””
– Nova Scotia Minister of Environment determines that the registration information is insufficient to make a decision on The Pipe, requires focus report
Posted on novascotia.ca/nse/ea/ - Mar 28, 2019:
– Burning Forests
Zack Metcalfe in Halifax Mag Blog - Mar 27, 2019:
– Ground Truthing – Group plans to walk the woods; hopes observations, reports will save Crown forests
Lawrence Powell in Annapolis County Spectator - Mar 26, 2019:
– NS Lands and Forestry, Ecological Forestry Implementation – March 26, 2019 update
NS Lands and Forestry
– Bill Lahey on clearcutting (audio)
CBC Info a.m.
– Report of the Auditor General to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, Follow-up of 2015 and 2016 Recommendations (submitted March 26, 2019): - Mar 25, 2019:
– Environmentalists, forestry industry agree biodiversity bill needs changes
Jean Laroche · CBC News “Liberals use their majority to move Bill 116 back to the legislature floor unamended”
– ‘I can see the devastation,’ says former forester prepared to protest clearcut
CBC News
– Minister of Lands and Forestry stands by Province’s plan (Audio)
CBC Info AM - Mar 22, 2019:
– Burning Forests
Zack Metcalfe in Pictou Advocate - Mar 21, 2019:
B.C’s version of “Variable Retention”?
– On International Day of Forests, conservation groups call on B.C. government to immediately halt logging of last intact old-growth areas
On Ancient Forest Alliance.
– Judgement day looms for Nova Scotia’s Boat Harbour
CBC Radio “On Friday, March 29 — a new deadline looms.Nova Scotia Environment Minister Margaret Miller has to decide whether to hold fast on it. By law, the company must cease using Boat Harbour for the reception and treatment of effluent by January 31, 2020. The company says it can’t have alternative treatment facilities ready by then and has asked for an extension. Northern Pulp’s plan is to put an effluent pipe into the Northumberland Strait. And if that’s not allowed, it’ll shut down the mill.” - Mar 15, 2019:
Mi’kmaw communities gain control of forest lands in three-year project
Jean Laroche · CBC News “Googoo stressed that while trees would be harvested, Mi’kmaw foresters would be guided by Netukulimk, a principal that recognizes the pursuit of economic well-being must be done without jeopardizing the integrity, diversity or productivity of the environment.”We want to be able to do what we feel is a more traditional form of forestry work which involves less mechanized equipment,” said Googoo. Also: L&F Press Release - Mar 14, 2019:
BILL NO. 116 (as introduced) Biodiversity Act
The Honourable Iain Rankin.Minister of Lands and Forestry First Reading: March 14, 2019;
Minister of Lands and Forestry stands by Province’s plan
CBC Info
– Nova Scotia legislation would protect the province’s biodiversity
THE CANADIAN PRESS on CTV News
– Nova Scotia to become first province to regulate biodiversity
Michael Gorman · CBC News - Mar 13, 2019:
– Northern Pulp’s environmental assessment “is simply not credible” says EAC
Tim Bousqet Morning File/Halifax Examiner, citing EAC, Mar 9, 2019 and CPAWS, Mar 9, 2019 - Mar 12, 2019:
– Lands And Forestry Reverses Some Changes To Harvest Plan Map Viewer
Brittany Wentzell for www.ckbw.ca “Some also criticized the removal of the term clearcut from the map, saying the move shows a lack of transparency by the department.
However, Rankin says the terms used on the map legend are more accurate and better align with the Forest Management Guide.”Rather than the debate and the consternation around clearcutting and partial harvest, we are focused on exactly what the prescription is.” He says clearcut is just a layman term, mostly for overstory removal.”
– Pulp Culture: How Nova Scotia’s Faustian bargain with the pulp industry may leave the sawmills in ruins
Linda Pannozzo in Halifax Examiner (subscription required for full article; precise in Morning File for Mar 13, 2019. Well worth the $10… - Mar 10, 2019:
Friction in Pictou: Community divided on proposed changes to pulp mill operations
Jill English · CBC News - Mar 8, 2019:
– Submissions of the Friends of the Northumberland Strait in Response to the call for Public Comments on the Environmental Assessment of the Replacement Effluent Treatment Facility Project
1126 pages of concerns which cite facts, sources, science, and experts.
– John Collins on Northern Pulp and why a federal assessment is paramount
nsadvocate.org “…approximately 20% of the Canadian Senate, the government of Prince Edward Island, a working group of 3000 fishermen including residents of Pictou Landing First Nation, all the local MLAs, as well as thousands of concerned citizens, including several local physicians, are all requesting a federal assessment” - Mar 7, 2019:
– Dalhousie researcher breaks silence over pulp mill’s cancer-causing air emissions
Linda Pannozzo in the Halifax Examiner
– Forestry industry can sell more lumber, forget about kraft pulp
Don Wilson in Pictou Advocate
– The Canso Chemicals mystery: With the chemical plant long gone, why is the company still alive? And what about all that mercury pollution?
Joan Baxter in The Halifax Examiner. Requires subscription ($10/mo) to access to full article; well worth it if you want to be well informed about a very dirty little secret. “Canso Chemicals hasn’t produced any chemicals for 29 years, but — contrary to what I wrote in the Halifax Examiner in “Northern Pulp’s environmental documents: missing mercury, a pulp mill that never was, and oodles of contradictions” — the company lives on. Sort of… A Google search for “Canso Chemicals” turns up an address (Granton Abercrombie Road, New Glasgow, NS) and a phone number, which I called. Although the Google result states that it is “permanently closed,” someone did answer the phone…” - Mar 6, 2019:
– Letter to N.S. Environmental Assessment Branch Re.: Northern Pulp Effluent Treatment Facility Project
Lana Payne, Atlantic Director, Unifor
– Houston introduces legislation aimed at securing a future for forestry
The News
– Miawpukek Mi’kamawey Mawi’omi looking to reclaim the land
Adam Randell on cbncompass.ca - Mar 5, 2019:
– The last great tree: a majestic relic of Canada’s vanishing rainforest
By Harley Rustad in The Guardian
– Northern Pulp’s environmental documents: missing mercury, a pulp mill that never was, and oodles of contradictions
Joan Baxter in Halifax Examiner
–Rethinking old-growth forests using lichens as an indicator of conservation value
Canadian Museum of Nature on phys.org. “Dr. Troy McMullin, lichenologist at the Canadian Museum of Nature, and Dr. Yolanda Wiersma, landscape ecologist at Memorial University of Newfoundland, propose their lichen-focussed system in a paper published today in the Ecological Society of America journal, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.” - Mar 4, 2019:
– EU dragged to court for backing forest biomass as ‘renewable energy’
By Frédéric Simon | EURACTIV.com
– A damaged planet is normal now
Zack Metcalfe in Halifax Magazine - Mar 1, 2019:
– Shelburne County group requests moratorium on clearutting
Community Forests, Shelburne Co.
– A Biodiversity Act for Nova Scotia AN OVERVIEW AND KEY RECOMMENDATIONS
Ecology Action Centre and East Coast Environmental Law/”Our understanding is that the Biodiversity Act will be put forward in the spring session of the provincial legislature (commenced on February 28, 2019). Unfortunately, there have been no broad stakeholder or public consultations about the Act leading up to its introduction.” - Feb 28, 2019:
– A business aimed at people seeking serenity
Carla Allen in the Chronicle Herald (subscription required) “YARMOUTH — Nicola Roberts-Fenton wants people to experience the serenity of laying on their back on a mossy bed in the Tobeatic forest, listening to leaves rustling and birds singing overhead. The entrepreneur has a plan for a business devoted to wilderness tourism, and it is well underway thanks to $1,000 awarded after her entrepreneurial pitch…” View also Entrepreneur developing nature-based tours for Tobeatic region on igniteatlantic.com Feb 19, 2019 - Feb 25, 2019
– Canada ordered to pay U.S. concrete company $7M in NAFTA case
Paul Withers · CBC News “The award falls far short of the $443 million in compensation the concrete company, Bilcon, was seeking.”
– New details about Northern Pulp effluent (audio)
CBC Info am Halifax “An environmental lawyer shares new information about Northern Pulp’s proposal to send treated effluent into the Northumberland Strait. Jamie Simpson is an environmental lawyer in Halifax.” - Feb 24, 2019:
– Port Hawkesbury Paper importing pulpwood
Aaron Beswick in Chronicle Herald, accessed without subscription - Feb 23, 2019:
– Feds to conduct environmental assessment of Boat Harbour cleanup
Mairin Prentiss · CBC News - Feb 21, 2019:
– Northern Pulp says it “cares” — but for whom and for what?
Joan Baxter in the Halifax Examiner JB explores “the facts” about employment generated by NP.
– CBC’s Information Morning visits Pictou to talk Northern Pulp’s future
“CBC Radio’s Information Morning was in Pictou, N.S., on Thursday for a live show dedicated to the future of Northern Pulp.” Archived 1 hr 17 min Audio available, interviews with many people on all sides of the debate about the mill. - Feb 20, 2019:
– The Issue with Tissue: How Americans Are Flushing Forests Down the Toilet
NRDC report by Jennifer Skene & Shelley Vinyard. “…This report provides an overview of the major tissue brands and reveals the worst corporate offenders driving boreal degradation. It describes the impact of virgin pulp sourced from the old growth forests like Canada’s boreal forest and the United States’ strong reliance on tissue products. - Feb 17, 2019:
–Climate change protesters in Halifax highlight species extinction
John McPhee in the Chronicle Herald, this item seems to be available without a subscription
– Green Party Leader Elizabeth May: ‘For my point of view, close the mill’
Adam MacInnis in NG News - Feb 16, 2019:
– By Any Other Name: Nova Scotia’s Department of Lands and Forestry just made “Clearcuts” disappear
Linda Pannozzo in The Halifax Examiner (subscription required to access full article) “Nova Scotians who signed up to receive proposed harvest plans on Crown land might have noticed some disturbing changes recently. As of a few days ago the maps no longer specify whether a proposed cut is a “clearcut” or not. The word was removed from the legend and the list of harvest prescription types. This…”
– Feedback on Federal Environmental Assessment on The Pipe
“The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) is in receipt of Northern Pulp’s proposal to construct a new effluent treatment facility at its Abercrombie Point location. CEAA is currently reviewing feedback it has received from Pictou Landing First Nation, local stakeholders, and the public in respect of whether it should recommend a federal environmental assessment be conducted regarding this project proposal.
“CEAA will be accepting feedback until February 25, 2019. If you have previously submitted feedback, there is no need to re-submit in order to have your comments considered.
“If you wish to make a submission, please send any comments to:
Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
200-1801 Hollis Street
Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 3N4
“Email: CEAA.BoatHarbour.ACEE@canada.ca”
Info courtesy of Sean Fraser, MP - Feb 13, 2019:
The Local Climate to block a clearcut
Zak Metcalfe in Halifax Magazine - Feb 12, 2019:
– Ottawa pledges $1.45M to protect 7 ecological sites in Nova Scotia
Paul Withers · CBC News “Nova Scotia Nature Trust must hit its own fundraising target of $750K by end of March” -
Global News: Pictou Landing First Nation kicks off Boat Harbour closure countdown Jan 31, 2019
Jan 31, 2019:
– The 13 Per Cent: NGOs Call For Fulfillment of Nova Scotian Protected Areas
Zak Metcalfe
– COUNTERPOINT: Nova Scotia sawmills very efficient at producing lumber
Billy Freeman in the CH (may require subscription) “Northern Pulp provides the wood chip market that keeps essentially all Nova Scotia sawmills in business. Without Northern Pulp, most Nova Scotia sawmills would close. Many dubious alternatives published in social media would purportedly see those sawmills survive. However, in reality, there is no viable Plan B. Our locally-owned sawmills, and the families and communities they support, cannot rely on some hypothetical solution that does not pay the bills.”
– Pictou Landing chief says no to Boat Harbour extension, 2020 deadline ‘so sacred’
By HALEY RYANStarMetro Halifax - Jan 30, 2019:
– OPINION: NDP’s forestry-crisis response misrepresented
DAN O’CONNOR in the Chronicle Herald (item available without subscription)
– ‘Everything I knew just didn’t exist anymore’: Boat Harbour before and after
Brendan Ahern in NG News. “Mary Nicholas’ early memories of Boat Harbour involve a smelt run and a plastic bag. “Like your storage room, or your root cellar or something. But it was the whole lake,” says Nicholas. “Everything was there; salmon, smelts, eels, clams. Everything.” Everything changed in 1966…” - Jan 29, 2019:
THE LOCAL CLIMATE: A REBELLION IN THE MAKING
By Zak Metcalfe for Port Hawkesbury Reporter - Jan 25, 2019:
– N.S. naturalists taking province to court
CBC News “‘We’re simply asking the government to do what is already required to do legally'”
– COUNTERPOINT: Money doesn’t grow on trees for woodlot owners
Tom Miller, Green Hill “To suggest that woodlot owners and other rural residents will not survive a mill closure is to not understand that no one out here is making any money now. Contrary to the few contractors who have spoken in favour of the mill not closing, most are quiet, as they fear repercussions from a very vindictive industry.”
– SURETTE: Can we manage a forestry crisis properly this time?
Ralph Surette in Chronicle Herald, I accessed it without a subscription// perhaps the CH is changing its access requriements…”Last fall, I drove through those eastern lands, from south of New Glasgow through to Sherbrooke on the Atlantic shore on Highway 348, over some 70 kilometres. I saw only one patch of big trees — on a slope coming down to water where big machines presumably couldn’t go. The rest had all been clearcut over the past decades.
The “highway” was itself more of a logging road that had been given a thin layer of paving, now all broken up and potholed, presumably during the giveaway Buchanan government era of the 1980s. The only logical reason for paving it would have been to make it easier for the Pictou mill to harvest. Another hidden subsidy. There are more roads like it.
Has government in Nova Scotia evolved at last to the point where it accepts that enough is enough — whether in subsidies, pollution or forest destruction — and can the woods industries accept sustainable forestry? And can the two talk about it? That was my question driving through as the glorious autumn leaves of the St. Mary’s River valley finally gave me relief from the desolation I’d left behind.”
- Jan 23, 2019:
– Turning Protesters into Pets
Linda Pannozzo in the Halifax Examiner
Published Dec 14, 2019. Full text made available (without subscription) Jan 23, 2019. “HOW NOVA SCOTIA’S FORESTRY REGULATORS ARE ALREADY UNDERMINING THE LAHEY REPORT, AND WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT.”
– Woodlot owners look to Lahey report as ‘road, not roadblock’ to prosperity
Michael Gorman · CBC News - Jan 22, 2019:
– Nova Scotia’s forest industry faces unknown future without Northern Pulp
Michael Gorman · CBC News
Jan 31, 2019:
- Jan 17, 2019:
–Northern Pulp, Part 1: Successive governments signed away Nova Scotia taxpayers
Aaron Beswick in the News. “What’s next and Who’s left Holding the Bag. “…For his part, McNeil won’t consider extending the deadline unless the Pictou Landing First Nation and other local stakeholders request it…Over the next four days, we will examine what a permanent closure of the Northern Pulp mill would mean for government and taxpayers, Pictou County’s business community, the Northumberland Strait’s ecosystem and the province’s forest industry.” - Jan 15, 2019:
– Stellarton Council passes motion to send letter showing support for Boat Harbour extension
Brendan Ahern , In the News - Jan 10, 2019
– Pictou County, NS: Northern Pulp reneges on commitment to hold public open houses before filing new plan for environmental assessment
Terry Mosh Dunbrack, Press Release on Facebook page for Clean up the Pictou County Pulp Mill - Jan 9, 2018:
– How a pulp mill killed commercial fisheries in New Brunswick’s St. Croix Estuary, and its lessons for the Northumberland Strait
By Robert Devet in the Nova Scotia Advocate
–Houston on Boat Harbour cleanup: ‘People just want to know it’s going to get done right’
Adam MacInnis in The News - Jan 8, 2019:
– Northern Pulp, Scotsburn Lumber, and U.S. tariffs
Halifax Examiner Morning File, Tuesday, January 8, 2019
– Citizen scientists needed to detect hemlock woolly adelgid in South West Nova Scotia
Carla Allen in Digby County Courier
– Forestry faux pas – Corbett Lake proposed harvest posting a mistake; concerned citizens skeptical, hope to save what’s left
Lawrence Powell in the Annapolis County Spectator “When residents concerned about possible harvest of crown forest at Corbett Lake found out on New Year’s Eve that it was all a big mistake, they could have packed up their maps, GPS units, and social media ecological sites and went home. They didn’t.”
– Northern Pulp, Scotsburn Lumber, and U.S. tariffs
Halifax Examiner Morning File, Tuesday, January 8, 2019 - Jan 7, 2019:
Boat Harbour Remediation Project — Public Comments Invited
Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency. Written comments in either official language must be submitted by January 27, 2019 - Jan 6, 2019:
– Weekend video: An interview with Ralph Wheadon, long time Provincial Forest Ranger
Post by By Robert Devet on the NS Advocate. Video by Kent Martin. “KJIPUKTUK (Halifax) – This weekend we feature an interview with Ralph Wheadon, who became a Provincial Forest Ranger for the area above St. Margaret’s Bay in the early fifties. He talks about fighting forest fires, log drives down the Ingram River, and the changes (not for the better) he has witnessed over his long career.” - Jan 4, 2019:
– Northern Pulp to register plans for replacing treatment facility by end of January
Adam MacInnis in The News - Jan 3, 2019:
– Jan 3, 2019: GUEST COLUMN: Forestry and Plan B for Nova Scotia
By Don Wilson in The New Glascow News
– Halifax giving new meaning to a ‘Murder of Crows’
HalifaxTrails.ca Blog - Jan 2, 2019:
– Province reduces regulatory burden for truck and forestry industries
Danielle McCreadie in www.halifaxtoday.ca - Jan 1, 2019:
– John Collins: A letter on Northern Pulp, science, and the clock that’s ticking
John Colins in the NS Advocate
– Longtime crow roost threatened by development, residents say
Frances Willick · CBC News “Clear cutting has begun at the site of a large housing development near Mount Saint Vincent University” Also view Facebook Video - Dec 31, 2018:
– Help wanted: Why a rehab centre for wild animals is busier than ever
Emma Smith · CBC News . View also: Nova Scotia’s Clearcut Refugees (Post Mar 12, 2017)
– UPDATED: Voice in the wilderness – Citizens discover some proposed Annapolis County harvests may already be complete
Lawrence Powell In the Annapolis County Spectator - Dec 28, 2018:
– Woodlot owner creates calendar to promote the protection of Nova Scotia forests
Kaitlyn Swan · CBC News
–If you go into the woods (in Lunenburg) you’ll find a big surprise
Michael Gorman · CBC News “Wooden sculptures intended to draw more people to walking trail, increase activity” - Dec 27, 2018:
– Scientists scour Keji seaside park — and they’re lichen what they’ve found
Jon Tattrie · CBC News
– Premier Year-End Interview, Part 1: Stephen McNeil on Northern Pulp, clearcutting, and more
CBC Info AM. “In our series of year-end interviews, it’s time to catch up on the year that was — and maybe look ahead at the year that’s coming — with the top dog in provincial politics, the Premier of Nova Scotia, Stephen McNeil.” - Dec 26, 2018:
– N.S. prepares for worst on controversial pulp mill: ‘No easy solution here’
Keith Doucette / The Canadian Press in The Prince George Citizen “Northern Pulp officials have said that no pipe would mean no mill, and McNeil knows its closure will have a significant impact on the forestry sector province-wide. “There is no easy solution here and we are going to continue to look for options,” McNeil told The Canadian Press in a year end interview.Last week, mill officials won an injunction in Nova Scotia Supreme Court against protesters trying to prevent seismic work in the Strait. The company laid out the impact the mill’s closure would have on the province’s economy in an affidavit submitted in the case. It said closure would mean the layoff of 277 employees, while 40 nursery and woodlands employees with affiliated companies would lose their jobs. Work would also disappear for about 600 employees of contractors who harvest wood for the mill, it said. The document also said the mill supplies about 40 per cent of the logs used by major sawmills in central and eastern Nova Scotia and purchases almost all of the wood chips produced by sawmills in the province. Northern Pulp is also the largest shipper at the Port of Halifax, and pays about $78.3 million for wood chips, hogfuel and pulpwood, while providing $44 million to private woodland contractors.” - Dec 23, 2018:
– First Nations & Fishermen vs. The Mill (YouTube Video)
Posted by AJ+ (Al Jazeera News) Published on Dec 23, 2018; 8 minutes 3,185 views by 22:16 Dec 24, 2018
– Ellen Page takes aim at Alton’s controversial underground gas storage plan
The Canadian Press in The Star Halifax
– Council Concerned – Province puts two more parcels of Annapolis County Crown forest on harvest plans map
Lawrence Powell in the Annapolis County Spectator - Dec 20, 2018:
– The Environment Needs its Own Local and Independent Journalism
by One Not So Bored Housewife. “As I have come to know, there is too great a limit on the ability or the willingness for the local media to tell the stories here in full. And our environment is the most talked about in my circle, but the least covered and most inaccurately reported sector.” - Dec 19, 2018:
– Old-growth forest with 400-year-old tree proposed for clearcut in error by Francis Willick for CBC - Dec 18, 2018:
– The year in conservation in Nova Scotia
Chris Miller on CPAWS blog
– Dalhousie University biomass plant providing power to the grid
Written by Dalhousie University for Canadian Biomass. “The opening of the Biomass-Fueled Energy Plant at the Agricultural Campus is one of many exciting transformations underway on the path to reaching carbon neutrality.” View also, NSFN post, Nov 22, 2018
– Northern Pulp wins injunction against fishermen’s blockade
Canadian Press on CBC
– St. Mary’s hears updated presentation on SMRA’s opposition to Cochrane Hill Gold Mine
Helen Murphy in Guysborough Journal. Related: Atlantic Gold presses for environmental permit in CH by Aaron Beswick (subscription required). Also View: Fools Gold, Part 1 (May 16, 2018) and Part 2 (May 23, 2018) by Joan Baxter in the Halifax Examiner/Cape Breton Spectator - Dec 14, 2018:
– TURNING PROTESTERS INTO PETS
HOW NOVA SCOTIA’S FORESTRY REGULATORS ARE ALREADY UNDERMINING THE LAHEY REPORT, AND WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT.
LINDA PANNOZZO in the Halifax Examiner
– Port Hawkesbury Paper says order book full six years after reopening
Nancy King for Cape Breton Post - Dec 13, 2018:
– Northern Pulp appeals for support on 95.7 (audio)
I heard the same ad several times today. It talks about the 2.1 billion dollar forest industry in NS and how 11,500 jobs rely on on Northern Pulp’s continued operation; it asks people to extend their support.
– No ‘Plan B’ for potential shutdown of Northern Pulp mill, minister says
The Canadian Press in The Star
– Forestry minister not ready to contemplate closure of Northern Pulp just yet
Michael Gorman · CBC News - Dec 12, 2018:
– Ellen Page says Nova Scotia government needs to ‘step up right now’ over pulp mill controversy
By HALEY RYANStarMetro Halifax - Dec 10, 2018:
– Opposition calls on government to ‘get more serious’ about online lobbyist info
Michael Gorman · CBC News. “The latest example of the website’s flaws came Monday. AllNovaScotia.com reported McNeil’s former chief of staff, Kirby McVicar, and Health Minister Randy Delorey’s former executive assistant, Trevor Floyd, recently registered as lobbyists on behalf of Northern Pulp Nova Scotia Corporation.”
–Ellen Page doubling down on criticism of Nova Scotia pulp mill’s effluent pipeline
By Alex Cooke for The Canadian Press on Global News - Dec 8, 2018:
– Keep An Open Mind
Ross Tugwell Abercrombie, Letter to the ed, The Advocate/”Northern Pulp is under new ownership, and our new owner has our back, wants to invest in our mill, our future and provide jobs. So now I’m asking my friends and my community to put faith in us as residents of Pictou County, and as workers of Northern Pulp, to allow us to go through the process of meeting government regulations and direction, hold public information meetings, and to go through this process with an open mind.”
– Federation of Nova Scotia Woodland Owners throws support behind Northern Pulp
The News - Dec 7, 2018:
– Want to reduce clearcutting? Clear out Natural Resources
Jacob Boon in The Coast - Dec 6, 2018:
–Northern Pulp alleges death threats in legal action against fishermen
Carolyn Ray · CBC News - Dec 5, 2018:
– PICTOU LANDING FILM – BOAT HARBOUR & THE MILL (Youtube video)
By Australian Folksinger Mark Lang
– VIBERT: A thin response on clearcutting
Jim Vibert, Truro News. ” Minister Rankin contended the province could further the ecological objective of Lahey’s report, while “growing the forestry sector.” That comment is a telling insight into the government’s view of the environment. They are all for protecting it, as long as that doesn’t stand in the way of someone making money.”
– Minister of Lands and Forestry outlines clear cutting Policy
CBC Info AM. 14 mins. “The province says it will move towards more ecological forestry. Minister of Lands and Forestry Iain Rankin takes our questions.” Mike Lancaster is interviewed in the beginning about cutting in the Ingram River watershed. Transcript - Dec 4, 2018:
– Sound Off: Does the government’s response to the forestry review satisfy critics? (video)
CBC
– N.S. considering appeal of ruling on duty to consult Mi’kmaq in mill case
Canadian Press/CTV News
– SUPREME COURT OF NOVA SCOTIA Citation: Pictou Landing First Nation v. Nova Scotia (Aboriginal Affairs), 2018 NSSC 306
Supreme Court ruling. News story: Pictou Landing First Nation must be consulted on new Northern Pulp treatment plant: judge by Aaron Beswick in The News
– We’re about to learn just how subservient Nova Scotia is to the forest industry
Tim Bosquet in Halifax Examiner with links to Government takes tentative first steps to reduce clearcutting and Burned: Are Trees the New Coal? A review of the new film that illuminates Nova Scotia’s failed biomass policies by investigative reporters Jennifer Henderson and Lina Pannozzo respectively (subscription required; $10/mo)
– Tupperville-area residents worried about future of bio-diverse land on the South Mountain
Lawrence Powell in Annapolis Co. Spectator
– About Hardwood Hill – Warden Habinski asks province to hold off on harvest plans for 20-hectare Acadian forest
Lawrence Powell in The News - Dec 3, 2018:
– Nova Scotia vows to reduce clear cutting, move toward ‘ecological forestry’
Michael Gorman · CBC News - Dec 1, 2018:
– Closure of pulp mill last rational option
Ralph Surette in the Chronicle Herald (behind a paywall)“Boat Harbour, the notoriously polluted outfall for the pulp mill in Pictou County, is to close in January 2020 — the provincial government having finally given in to 50 years of anguished citizen protest. The alternative, however, is to pipe the effluent miles out into Northumberland Strait…On economics alone, the arguments for the mill were always weak. Its government-given control over the forest starved and killed off local mills. Had it never existed, the jobs it provides would have been created anyway, and a stable local industry would likely be going today with vastly less destruction of the forest — a destruction foreseen by provincial government forestry experts who were dead against this mill when it was built in 1967, but were overruled by the government of Robert Stanfield.
Closing, of course, will be painful — roughly 1,000 jobs, some 300 in the mill, the rest as various woods contractors. However, Sydney has moved on after Sydney Steel, and so has Liverpool since the Mersey mill closed. Also, closing could be costly — possibly hundreds of millions of dollars in cleanup costs and liabilities the province has unwisely signed up for over time to protect the mill, which will also likely sue for losses.
But not facing the music now means facing it later when it’s likely to be far more grating.” - Nov 29, 2019:
– Still no response on recommendations three months after N.S. forestry review released“The author of a review on forestry practices in the province says he is anxious to hear what the government thinks”
Alicia Draus for Global News
– More senators join call for federal Northern Pulp review
Paul Withers · CBC News “Letter from 19 senators comes as company and union launch campaign” - Nov 27, 2018:
– McNeil firm that Boat Harbour will close by January 2020
Michael Gorman · CBC News
– Independent senators tell Trudeau to act on ‘dangerous’ Northern Pulp plan
Paul Withers · CBC News · Posted: Nov 27, 2018 - Nov 26, 2018:
– Nova Scotia protects 2,000 hectares of ‘incredible landscape’
Michael Gorman · CBC News “The Wentworth Valley wilderness area includes old-growth hardwood forests, ravines, wildlife habitat and waterfalls…Monday’s announcement means just shy of 12.5 per cent of the province’s land is now protected” - Nov 23, 2018:
– Species at Risk in Nova Scotia # 9 – One woman in charge of biodiversity in province with 71 at-risk species (print story & audio)
CBC Info AM
– Both sides struggle to control tensions as Northern Pulp closure looms
Aaron Beswick in CH (Behind a paywall) - Nov 22, 2018:
– Species at Risk in Nova Scotia # 8 – Getting Involved
CBC Info AM. Interview with Amanda Lavers at MTRI, and Katie Mclean of CARP - Nov 21, 2018
– Bill Lahey presentation in NB (Nov 19, 2018) on the Independent Review of Forest Practices in Nova Scotia available online
Post on NSFN
– Three months after forestry report, nothing but silence and worrisome signals
Opinion by Dale Smith published online in the Chronicle Herald (behind a paywall); posted on NSFN with permission of author.
– A (BIO)MASSIVE ACHIEVEMENT: NEW AG CAMPUS ENERGY PLANT A NORTH AMERICAN FIRST
Ryan McNutt in Dal News “Dal’s Agricultural Campus has its sights set on being completely carbon neutral — and the new Biomass Energy Plant, which celebrated its grand opening Tuesday morning (Nov. 20) is a huge step towards that goal.”
– Species at Risk in Nova Scotia # 7 – Plants and Lichens
CBC Inf AM. “Today on our series about species at risk we talk about plants and lichens and the dangers they face. And why that is bad news for humans.” Interview with Sean Blaney and Frances Anderson. Related: The ‘very serious threat’ that’s coming for Nova Scotia’s plants CBC news. Nov 21, 2018 “The arrival of the emerald ash borer is bad news for the black ash, a threatened species.” - Nov 20, 2018:
– Healthy Forest Coalition reached the milestone of 1,000 members!
Announcement of HFC Facebook Page “It’s great to see so many of us recognize the need to utilize true ecologically-based forestry and strike the balance that is needed to support both industry while maintaining ecological integrity. Although their are flaws within the Lahey report it has many good recommendations as to how we achieve that this goal.”
Species at Risk in Nova Scotia #6 – Fresh Water species
CBC Information Morning “Of all the creatures we’ve discussed in our species at risk series, none may be more vulnerable than the Atlantic Whitefish. Today we’re looking at that critically endangered species.” View also: Wild Atlantic whitefish struggle to survive in Nova Scotia CBC Post) - Nov 19, 2018:
– Species at Risk in Nova Scotia # 5 – Reptiles (audio)
CBC Information Morning – NS “Acadia University Professor Steve Mockford talks about turtles and snakes at risk of extinction in Nova Scotia”
View also: 3 of 4 turtle species in Nova Scotia at risk of extinction (CBC Post)
– Sa’qawey Nipukt: Old Forests (audio)
“Listen in as Mi’kmaw ecologist, shalan joudry tours Mi’kma’ki for stories about Old Forests. Here are four conversations with Mi’kmaw Elders as they tell us about their relationships with the land and old forests.” Posted on soundcloud.com Nov 19, 2018 by Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute
–Residents concerned about forestry in Annapolis County
by Ian Fairclough in the CH (behind a paywall). View also: Prof Lahey’s concerns about the Nova Scotia government’s delay in responding to the Independent Review are reflected in frustrations expressed about cuts proposed for Hardwood Hill, Annapolis Co.(Post on NSFN, Nov 19, 2018) - Nov 18, 2018:
– Residents worried about proposed gold mine near Sherbrooke
Frances Willick · CBC News - Nov 17, 2018:
– P.E.I. Opposition renews call for further Northern Pulp environmental assessment
Dave Stewart in The Guardian - Nov 16, 2018:
– Parrsboro driver to bring Boston Tree to Amherst
Fram Dinshaw, Amherst News “For the sixth year in a row he [Dave MacFarlane] is driving the city’s Christmas tree from Nova Scotia to Boston, along highways often lined with cheering bystanders and motorists honking their horns in support.” View Boston Christmas Tree on Wikipedia.
– N.S. paper mill asks for public help as protests mount, Ellen Page criticizes
Michael Tutton , The Canadian Press on CTV News
– Many are wondering why the province hasn’t yet responded to an independent forestry review, released in August (audio)
CBC Information Morning, interview with Prof Lahey
– Species at Risk NS # 4 – Birds
CBC Information Morning, Interview with Sue Abbott, Bird Studies Canada - Nov 15, 2018:
– Species at Risk in Nova Scotia #3 – Insects
CBC Information Morning, Interview with John Klymko of ACCDC, 3rd in series on Nova Scotia’s species at risk - Nov 14, 2018:
– Transition Begins Drilling to Test Promising Gold Targets in Nova Scotia on the Highland Gold …
Stockhouse. (Requires cookies to access page). “Transition Begins Drilling to Test Promising Gold Targets in Nova Scotia on the Highland Gold … It consists of staked mining licenses on crown land that covers approximately 5,408 hectares in an area of active forestry operations.”
– Species at Risk in Nova Scotia #2 :Mainland moose battle ticks, ATVs and clear cuts
CBC News “This is the second in a series of stories from CBC’s Information Morning about species that are struggling to survive in Nova Scotia, and the people who have vowed to save them.” Audio (Information Morning interview with Clifford Paul)
– Minister vows Northern Pulp won’t get reprieve on mill effluent deadline
Paul Withers · CBC News - Nov 13, 2018:
– Sharing the planet: Nova Scotia’s species at risk #1
CBC News “This is the first in a series of stories from CBC’s Information Morning about species that are struggling to survive in Nova Scotia, and the people who have vowed to save them.” Info AM Audio (Interview with Karen Beazley, 9 min)
– Northern Pulp admits it is likely to miss 2020 effluent deadline
Paul Withers · CBC News - Nov 10, 2018:
–Fishermen not happy with N.S. premier (video)
CTV News
– LETHBRIDGE: Green shift cannot come soon enough
Gail Lethbridge in Chronicle Herald, on the dilemma of dealing with NP/Abercrombie Mill “Our economy and way of life are structured on the burning of fossil fuels and extraction of resources. We can only look the other way for so long. Environmental destruction is the common enemy to people and the economy. There are people out there working on innovations that will help us change the way we live and prosper. I am inspired by these activities and they make me hopeful. The sooner we can face up to the urgent need to change the way we live, the more clarity we will have on how to find a cleaner, greener future.” - Nov 9, 2018
– Raymond Plourde from the Ecology Action Centre says the province is better at protecting the forestry industry than the forests (audio)
CBC Information Morning
– McNeil plea for peace triggers protest in Pictou County
Paul Withers · CBC News - Nov 8, 2018:
– Ecologist says forests in crisis (audio)
CBC Information Morning - Nov 7, 2018:
– Shelburne County residents pan ‘disrespectful’ clearcut plans
Moira Donovan, Phlis McGregor · CBC News
– An independent forestry review calls for a decrease in clear cutting. Yet the province has just approved new clear cuts. We’ll speak with the minister of Lands and forestry. (audio)
CBC Information Morning - Nov 6, 2018:
– Forest massacre
Shelly Hipson, Shelburne County in Voice of the People (Chronicle Herald)
– ‘Stop it at all costs’: The blockade of Northern Pulp Mill continues
– Alexander Quon for Global News
Westfor says it’s just following the provincial guidelines when it clear cuts a forest (audio)
Information Morning Nov 6, 2018. Interview with Marcus Zwicker, General manager of WestFor - Nov 5, 2018
– A Nova Scotia woman is upset to learn that a clear cut she fought to stop has been given the green light (audio)
CBC Info AM “Some people in Shelburne County are upset that the province has approved a clear cut on 260 hectares of forested crown land. The area is made up of eight parcels of land, near Wagner’s Lake in Middle Clyde, Shelburne County. Last week the province gave the Westfor consortium the go ahead to cut on that land. More than 300 people from the local area signed a petition earlier this year opposing the clear cut. Shelly Hipson wrote that petition.”
– Pictou officials learned of Northern Pulp pipe route from media reports
Michael Gorman · CBC News
– N.S. fishermen to block mill’s survey vessel from entering Northumberland Strait
THE CANADIAN PRESS on CTV News
– MIT expert: Carbon-neutral biomass ‘accounting fraud’
Aaron Beswick in the Chronicle Herald - Nov 4, 2018:
– Fire losses down in N.S. forests
Ian Fairclough in the Chronicle Herald - Nov 2, 2018:
– Free-for-all in the forest
Stephen Joudrey, Bridgewater, president, South Shore Wildlife Association in Readers Corner (Chronicle Herald) “Wood-harvesting has gone from a very controlled, sustainable industry that respected our ecosystems to massive assaults on our landscape — leaving barren wastelands subject to adverse erosion, silt runoffs and contamination of adjacent watercourses, causing displacement of thousands of birds, reptiles and other wildlife, and resulting in the destruction and loss of fragile flora, old-growth forests and pristine scenic beauty. The pending threat to over one million acres here in Southwest Nova, abetted by the stalled implementation of the Lahey forestry review, and the fact that equipment is already being positioned to proceed with clearcutting on several “approved” plots near Keji Park and beyond, suggests departments such as Lands and Forestry and Environment have lost their purpose.” - Nov 1, 2018:
– Cleanup continues after effluent pipe leak at Nova Scotia pulp mill:minister
The Canadian Press In the Chronicle Herald - Oct 31, 2018:
– Cap and trade and LNG don’t mix
Aaron Beswick in the Chronicle Herald; related: OPINION: Let’s take Trudeau’s carbon initiative to the next level, Allan Paquet in CH (Oct 30)
– Wisqoq – A story of Mi’kmaq conservation
Quentin Kerr in the Nova Scotia Advocate
– Cape Breton moose hunt marred by dispute
David Jala in Cape Breton Post
– READER’S CORNER: McNeil silent on forestry review as clearcutters rev engines
Brad Armstrong, Chester, conservation director/Friends of Nature in The Chronicle Herald - Oct 29, 2018:
– Glyphosate a political football in New Brunswick
“Contributed” in the Chronicle Herald
– Tensions around Northern Pulp have local MP ‘deeply concerned’
Michael Gorman for CBC News. “Central Nova MP Sean Fraser says he’s “deeply concerned” about what could happen in his riding as tensions continue to escalate around the Northern Pulp mill in Pictou County, N.S.”
– Rising tensions outside of Pictou, N.S. as local fishermen square off against the Northern Pulp Mill over effluent (audio)
On Full Episode of CBC The Current for October 29, 2018 – Segment starts at 22:00 goes to 46:16 minutes - Oct 28, 2018:
– Letter: Killing Nova Scotia by a thousand cuts
Ray Bates in The Nova Scotia Advocate - Oct 27, 2018:
– We story the land
Documentary Video by Martha Stiegman and Sherry Pictou available on Nova Scotia Advocate “The documentary follows seven paddlers from L’sɨtkuk (Bear River First Nation) as they travel inland following almost forgotten traditional Mi’kmaq canoe routes.” 26 min. Rippling Current Media 2016 - Oct 26, 2018:
– Nova Scotia nature at its best
Sandra Phinney in the Chronicle Herald - Oct 25, 2018:
– Nova Scotia Nature Trust receives 93 hectares along St. Mary’s River from Sobey family
Ian Fairclough in the Chronicle Herald
– In Nova Scotia, a dispute between fishermen and a pulp mill escalates with a stand-off at sea
by ANTONIA NOORI FARZAN for The Washington Post. In The Star (Halifax) - Oct 24, 2018:
– Record 82,400 campsites booked in NS Provincial Parks in 2018
L&F Press Release
– Moose hunters threatened in Cape Breton Highlands
Holly Conners · CBC News. Related: Moose outfitters boycotting hunt in northern Cape Breton (CBC Info AM Audio)
– Ripple effect: Forestry industry anxiously watching Northern Pulp developments, fear potential impacts on sector
Adam MacInnis in The News (New Glascow). The CH article below is an abridged version of this one which provides more background.
– Forestry industry watches Northern Pulp situation
Adam MacInnis in the Chronicle Herald - Oct 23, 2018:
– ‘I’m terrified nothing’s going to survive’: Pictou County man worried effluent has spread to his wetland property
Jennifer Vardy in The News (New Glascow)
– ‘Everyone is not going to be as friendly as me’: Survey boat mapping Northern Pulp effluent pipe forced back to shore
Sueann Musick in The News (New Glascow) - Oct 22, 2018:
Fishermen, First Nation still oppose pipe plan
Aaron Beswick in the Chronicle herald
From CPAWS, Amongst those “Promised for protection in 2013… STILL WAITING for official protection by NS government (Photos: NSE)”
- Oct 21, 2018:
Northern Pulp confirms effluent leak at Pictou Landing
Anjuli Patil · CBC News - Oct 19, 2018:
– UPDATE: Northern Pulp pipeline could harm herring spawning beds, say P.E.I. fishermen
Stu Neatby in the Chronicle Herald
– Proposed gold mine in Guysborough County ‘too intrusive,’ says river association
Aaron Beswick in Chronicle Herald - Oct 15, 2018:
–Environmental Assessment for Goldboro Gold Project: Focus Report
Announced Oct 15, 2018: “This is to advise, on October 14, 2018, the Environmental Assessment Branch with Nova Scotia Environment released Terms of Reference for the preparation of a Focus Report required for the Goldboro Gold Project environmental assessment.” - Oct 10, 2018:
– Proposed logging raises concerns for mainland moose territory
Michael Gorman for CBC News - Sep 30, 2018:
– Prepared for the worst: Northern Pulp hosts training for a chemical spill
Adam MacInnis in The News - Sep 28, 2018:
– Lumber mill not doing enough to stop silt runoff into river, say critics
Paul Withers · CBC News. For some further background, view Siltation, sawmills and salmon on the Medway (post, Apr 19, 2018)
– Ecojustice joins fight against Northern Pulp’s effluent plan
Francis Campbell in the Chronicle Herald
– OPINION: Nova Scotia must act before forests can only be found in parks
Helga Guderley in the Chronicle Herald
– OPINION: It’s imperative to embrace ‘ecological forestry’ approach
Paul Pross in the Chronicle Herald - Sep 26, 2018:
– Queens County clearcuts create concern
Nicole Munro in the Chronicle Herald
– COUNTERPOINT: Human pest the worst
Sandy Roberton in the Chronicle Herald. “I note, in the wake of your Sept. 25 article on the tree-destroying ash borer beetle, that successive Nova Scotian governments/politicians are in a fierce competition to see who wins the race to destroy our forests. We may, through mechanical or chemical means, find a way to control the borer, but the human element continues its ongoing forest destruction.” - Sep 25, 2018:
– New Glasgow councillor believes feds should review Northern Pulp plans
Adam MacInnis for The News - Sep 24, 2018:
– Emerald ash borer, Nova Scotia’s latest invasive pest, is well-suited for our winters
John McPhee in the Chronicle Herald - Sep 22, 2018:
– Federal agency confirms presence of tree-destroying beetle in Nova Scotia
Canadian Press in the Chronicle Herald
– Nova Scotia commits $1 million for Halifax wilderness park
Nicole Munro in the Chronicle Herald - Sep 19, 2018:
JIM GUY: Protecting Nova Scotia’s forests could be our commitment to real climate change
Jim Guy in Cape Breton Post - Sep 18, 2018:
– Forestry minister, premier downplay email about clear-cutting reductions
Michael Gorman · CBC News - Sep 17, 2018:
– Nova Scotia ‘serious about reducing’ clear cutting: email
Michael Gorman for CBC News. “Implementing a 100-metre buffer between clearcut and protected areas among changes outlined in letter” - Sep 16, 2018:
Clear cut would destroy critical animal habitat, says Nova Scotia hunter.
Phlis McGregor, Nina Corfu · CBC News “The province says a decision process that is fair and appropriate is being followed.” - Sep 14, 2018:
Minister still weighing recommendations of forestry report
Michael Gorman, CBC News
– Minister Iain Rankin on proposed clearcut (audio)
CBC’s Information Morning - Sep 13, 2018:
– DNR says trail cam image not a cougar, but debate continues on Beaver Mountain
AARON BESWICK THE CHRONICLE HERALD
– Is this proof 150-pound cats still lurk around Nova Scotia?
STUART PEDDLE THE CHRONICLE HERALD
– Boat Harbour cleanup may require federal assessment
Adam Macinnis in Chronicle Herald
– Pilot work to start at Northern Pulp waste treatment site
Adam Macinnis in Chronicle Herald - Sep 8, 2018:
OPINION: Lahey forestry report: The good, the bad & the missing
Raymond Plourde in the Chronicle Herald - Sep 7, 2018
– Government Supports Economic Growth for Indigenous Communities Through Softwood Lumber Action Plan
Natural Resources Canada on newswire.ca. “As part of Canada’s Softwood Lumber Action Plan, this funding will support Mi’kmaq participation in the transformation of Nova Scotia’s forests by promoting a holistic Mi’kmaw approach to forestry known as Netukulimk, ensuring forest development consistent with Indigenous values, and creating jobs in Indigenous communities.”
– OPINION: Lahey’s forestry review sets right course
Wilma Stub, executive director of the Nova Scotia Landowners and Forest Fibre Producers Association in the Chronicle Herald - Sep 6, 2018:
– The forest we’ve got is due to the choices we’ve made for centuries
Gary Saunders in the Chronicle Herald - Sep 5, 2018:
–OPINION: Latest forestry review fails to advance plot
Sarah Fancy in the Chronicle Herald
– Groups representing 2,000 N.S. woodlot owners endorse forestry review
Sherri Borden Colley, CBC News
– Nature Conservancy of Canada conserves large sugar maple forest in central Nova Scotia
Nature Conservancy of Canada. “The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) has protected a mature sugar maple forest in Colchester County, thanks to a large land donation made in memory of Dr. George Cook, a surgeon and part-time maple syrup farmer in Truro. Dr. Steven Cook, along with brothers Dr. Laurie Cook and Dr. David Cook, donated the 366-hectare (904-acre) property to the Nature Conservancy of Canada, through the Government of Canada’s Ecological Gifts Program, to honour their late father.”
– Over 350 hectares of Cobequid Hills Acadian forest gifted to Nature Conservancy
Harry Sullivan Truro News/Chronicle Herald - Sep 4, 2018:
– ‘Totally plausible’: Forestry profs say faster growing trees likely on Crown plantations
Connell Smith for CBC News. (New Brunswick) - Sep 3, 2018:
– Step taken to protect Tatamagouche water supply from gold exploration
Anjuli Patil for CBC News - Aug 31, 2018:
– New documentary on Hemlock Wooly Adelgid in Nova Scotia
Blomidon Field Naturalists on YouTube - Aug 29, 2018:
– U.S. International Trade Commission overturns duties on Canadian newsprint
Canadian Press in the Chronicle Herald - Aug 25, 2018:
– SURETTE: We blew it and left ourselves open to nature’s righteous fury
Ralph Surette in the Chronicle Herald
The last days of summer in Nova Scotia in 2018
- Aug 24, 2018:
– Nova Scotia long-term Crown timber harvest leases still on hold
Paul Withers, CNC News. “New Ross forest contractor Colin Hughes [still] has concerns about the WestFor leases”
– No timeline from Nova Scotia government for decision on forestry review
By Jeremy Keefe for Global News. “Two days after receiving a long-awaited independent review of the province’s forest practices, the Nova Scotia government isn’t ready to say whether they’ll accept the recommendations and are hesitant to give a timeline on when that decision will be made.”
– Nova Scotia Forestry report falls short
By John Himmelman, Letter to the Editor
The Chronicle Herald - Aug 23, 2018:
– No attempt to hide $6M payment to Northern Pulp, says McNeil
Jean Laroche · CBC News
– BILL LAHEY IDENTIFIES PATH FORWARD FOR FORESTRY IN NOVA SCOTIA. WILL PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT ACT?
Chris Miller on CPAWS-NS - Aug 22, 2018:
– Chronicle Herald Editorial Cartoon: “Biomass Delivery”
– Remembering a Wildlife Champion
The News “I was saddened last week to learn of the passing of Dr. Helene Van Doninck, a veterinarian who ran the Cobequid Wildlife Rehabilitation Center near Truro”. I was too. Very saddened.
– Can the Grits bear it?
Chronicle Herald Editorial “The provincial government certainly got what it asked for, but it might be some time before we know whether Stephen McNeil’s Liberals take its radical message to heart.” - Aug 21, 2018:
– What’s in a name? Department of Natural Resources rebrand could cost more than $1M
Michael Gorman · CBC News
– The Lahey Review of Forest Practices is published; what does it mean?
Jennifer Henderson for the Halifax Examiner
– Spraying in Nova Scotia forests soon to begin
Francis Campbell in the Chronicle Herald
– Forestry review calls for less clear-cutting on Crown land
Paul Withers for CBC News
– Review calls for ‘ecological forestry’ approach for Nova Scotia
Francis Campbell for the Chronicle Herald
– Nova Scotia report calls for restrictions on clear-cutting, ‘ecological forestry’
Keith Doucette for Canadian Press’ in Globe and Mail - Aug 20, 2018:
– N.S. pays millions for Northern Pulp’s treatment facility design
Aaron Beswick for the Chronicle Herald. “Tucked into the supplementary information of the Public Accounts document is a grant of $6,001,238.13 to Northern Pulp Nova Scotia Corporation from the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal. It’s for designing the facility that another arm of the provincial government will conduct an environmental assessment on.” - Aug 19, 2018:
– Dreaded invasive fish makes its way into Kejimkujik Park
Jenny Cowley for CBC News
– Do you think glyphosate – the herbicide that kills weeds – should be banned? (Audio)
CBC Maritime Connections phone-in Host Preston Mulligan, Guest David Patriquin - Aug 18, 2018
– Too-tight connections
Helga Guderley in Voice of the People (Chronicle Herald) - Aug 17, 2018:
Amongst the wild edibles in Jamie Simpson’s book: my favourite – Chicken of the Woods, found on old oaks; no longer a secret!
– Forestry industry pushes back on Trump blaming fires on Canadian lumber imports
Canadian Press in Chronicle Herald
– A guide to food foraging on the East Coast
Brendan Ahern in the Chronicle Herald; featuring Jamie Simpson’s new book Eating Wild in Eastern Canada, A Guide to Foraging the Forests, Fields, and Shorelines - Aug 16, 2018:
– New Urban Wildlands Saved in Halifax
Nova Scotia Nature Trust
– Wildland near Sambro protected after anonymous donation
Nicole Munro in the Chronicle Herald - Aug 14, 2018:
– Former top bureaucrat at DNR lands job at Port Hawkesbury Paper
Aaron Beswick in the Chronicle Herald
– A Pictou resident/author says NS should ban pesticide glyphosate, especially given California legal decision
CBC am interview with Joan Baxter - Aug 12, 2018:
– Residents seek clearer information from province on herbicide spraying
Mairin Prentiss for CBC News - Aug 9, 2018:
– Forests dry, but humidity helping keep forest fires at bay
Ian Fairclough in the Chronicle Herald
– Growing better trees by design
Tamar Atik in www.woodbusiness.ca
“Maritime Innovation Limited — J.D. Irving Limited’s (JDI) research lab in Sussex, N.B. — is one of only three places in the world that applies genetic science to grow softwood trees…” - Aug 9, 2018
– Halifax’s forest guardian
Jennifer Lee in The Coast. Also view John Simmons’ 5 favourite trees - Aug 8, 2018:
– Halifax Students Use Arrow 100 for Urban Forestry Project: Determining the Health of 2,000 Street Trees
On eos.com - Aug 7, 2018
– Destruction of wilderness
Donna Miller in the Chronicle Herald Voice of the People - Aug 6, 2018
COMMENTARY: Mining group fixated on land swap
Raymond Plourde in the Chronicle Herald - Aug 1, 2018
– What’s the holdup?
Letter, Neal Livingston, Margaree Environmental Association - July, 2018
– Oops, down goes the old-growth forest! Controversial harvest raises questions about oversight and policy on Crown woodlands
Jamie Simpson in Atlantic Forestry Review for July 2018; text reprinted at acadianforest.wordpress.com - July 30, 2018
– Mining industry seeks land swap mechanism
Chronicle Herald
– Our Better Half: Examining Mass Extinction in Nova Scotia
Zack Metcalfe, originally in Rural Delivery - July 28, 2018:
– SURETTE: Carbon-tax showdown and the real lowdown
Ralph Surette in the CH
– EDITORIAL: Beef up the ‘sanctuary’ concept or biff it
Chronicle Herald
– Herald Opinions-Voice of the People
Ocean dumping ground–Mill skepticism justified–Red herrings - July 27, 2018
– Wildlife Habitat Conservation Grants Announced
NSDNR Press release - July 26, 2018
– Proposed gold mine in game sanctuary going to environmental assessment
Aaron Beswick in Chronicle Herald
– EDITORIAL: Trudeau too tepid on pulp pipe
Chronicle Herald - July 25, 2018:
– Uproar in Nova Scotia over plan to dump pulp effluent into Northumberland Strait
By Joan Baxter in nationalobserver.com
– OPINION: Feds must stick their oar in to protect Northumberland Strait
Ronnue Heighton in the Chronicle Herald - July 24, 2018
– Lunenburg area woodlot owner wins award
Chronicle Herald. View also related NSDNR Press release
– COMMENTARY: Northern Pulp not the only one to get funding
Andy MacGregor in the Chroncile Herald - July 20, 2018: OPINION:
– A Must Sign To Save the Strait – House of Commons Petition e-1750 Environmental Waste
Posted on change.org
– Is P.E.I. the straw that broke the back of Trudeau carbon tax?
Marco Navarro-Genie in the Chronicle Herald - July 17, 2018:
– PC leadership candidate says ‘paid protesters’ attended Northern Pulp pipe protest
Mairin Prentiss · CBC News
– COMMENTARY: Private landowners will play key role in N.S. forestry strategy
Kingsley Brown, President of Nova Scotia Landowners and Forest Fibre Producers Association, in The Chronicle Herald
– Get on with protecting lands, says wilderness protection group
Stuart Peddle in the Chronicle Herald. Also Nova Scotia needs to pick up the pace on protected areas (CPAWS)
– Trudeau leaving Northern Pulp’s Northumberland Strait pipe plans to provincial jurisdiction
Adam MacInnis for The News. Also: Trudeau, McNeil nix idea of Northern Pulp environmental study, AAron beswick in the Chronicle Herald
– Should Nova Scotia’s uranium ban be lifted?
Josh Healy in the Chronicle Herald “This is the first part of a four-part series examining the Nova Scotia government’s ban on uranium exploration and mining in the province.” Comments on WWNS: “GF: There was quite a bit of exploration drilling about 30 years ago WWNS:It was mostly in the back country of Digby County in the early 1980s in what today is the Tobeatic Wilderness Area. Done very discreetly until Bear River guide Watson Peck discovered signs of prospecting back there and wrote a piece to the Digby Courier under the banner of Wake Up Nova Scotia or something similar. That was the beginning of the end for it. GF:they did a lot of exploration in the Wentworth area as well. They even had a building built to house the core samples . Which makes me wonder were those core samples are and if there revisiting them for gold content.” - July 14, 2018:
– Effluent plan will affect marine life: prof
Aaron Beswick in the Chronicle Herald - July 12, 2018:
– EDITORIAL: Pulp fiction or pipe dream?
The Guardian. Also republished in the Chronicle Herald on Jul 16, 2018
– Northern Pulp dismisses shutdown rumour
Adam Macinnis in The News/Chronicle Herald
– Sean Fraser says feds keeping an eye on controversy over Northern Pulp pipe plan
The News
– Two federal ministers offer differing statements on Northern Pulp
Stu Neatby in The Guardian - July 11, 2018:
– Trade settlement allows Port Hawkesbury Paper to focus on future
Nancy King for Cape Breton Post
– Natural forces help Point Pleasant rebound 15 years after Juan
John McPhee in the Chronicle Herald
– Lost Northern Pulp profits could be province’s problem
Aaron Beswick in the Chronicle Herald - July 10, 2018:
– Court rules Ottawa can halt private development to protect endangered species
Gloria Galloway, Globe and Mail
– UARB approves continuation of special power rate for Port Hawkesbury Paper
Nancy King in Cape Breton Post/Chronicle Herald “Regulator rules rate is crucial to paper mill’s continued operation”
– Voice of the People – July 10, 2018
Chronicle Herald. Four letters comment on The Pipe: Protect the brand, Putting the No in Nova, Why the silence?, Raise a glass - July 9, 2018:
– OPINION: Lack of trust in government stands against effluent pipe plan
Adam Bell in the Chronicle Herald
– EDITORIAL: Northern Pulp pipe plan lacks public trust
Chronicle Herald - July 8, 2018:
– VIBERT: Pulp fiction on a glorious summer weekend
Jim Vibert in the Chronicle Herald - July 7, 2018:
– LETHBRIDGE: Ottawa should assess pipe plan
Gail Lethbridge in Chronicle Herald
– OPINION: Province took dad’s Pictou Landing land
Karen Brewster in the Chronicle Herald. “Father threatened when he resisted — daughter” - July 6, 2018:
Fishing boats assemble for No Pipe protest, July 6. Photo courtesy Woods and Waters NS
– CTV Video: land and Sea Rally in Nova Scotia
CTV Facebook 10 min 45 sec video
– Protesters rally against Northern Pulp effluent pipe
Sueann Musick in the Chronicle Herald
– Protester questions how province can ‘be both the regulator and the sponsor’ for mill’s treatment plan
Aaron Beswick in the Chronicle Herald
– Northern Pulp effluent pipe protest draws huge crowds on land and sea in Pictou
CBC News ‘When we sell Nova Scotia to the world, we’re selling it as ‘Canada’s Ocean Playground,’ says Pictou resident.
– VIBERT: The past is present in N.S. cabinet shuffle
Jim Vibert in Chronicle Herald
– Strait to the heart: Residents voice concerns on proposed effluent pipe
Sueann Musick in the Chronicle Herald - July 5, 2018:
– WTO rules in Canada’s favour on dispute with U.S. on glossy paper duties
The Canadian Press in CTV news “The U.S. imposed the duties in 2015, including a 20.18 per cent duty on Nova Scotia’s Port Hawkesbury Paper”
– Fishermen not willing to gamble on pipe
Sueann Musick in The News
– Northern Pulp employees putting their faith in science and company owners
Adam MacInnis in The News
– N.S. premier shuffles several cabinet positions, creates new mines department
By Michael MacDonald, THE CANADIAN PRESS (Global News) Also in the Chronicle Herald
– OPINION: Northern Pulp’s pipe plan is an ask too far
Raymond Plourde in the Chronicle Herald
No pipe protest forging new alliances
Aaron Beswick in The News (New Glascow); print ed of Chronicle Herald. CH e-post
– OPINION: Water more precious than gold, except in N.S.
Joan Baxter in Chronicle Herald
– Burning our birthright
Robt. Miller in Voice of the People/Chronicle Herald - July 4, 2018:
– Proposed Northern Pulp pipe route into ocean hits snag
Paul Palmeter for CBC News - July 3, 2018:
– Airbus delivers four H125s to NSDNR
On www.shephardmedia.com - – COMMENTARY: Pulp effluent contaminating N.S. brand
Wes Surrett in the Chrinicle Herald - June 30, 2018:
– Pulp mill clouds future
Sean and Linda Townsend in Voice of the People/Chronicle Herald - June 28, 2018:
– OPINION: We really can’t afford to keep pulp mill going
Barbara Seplaki, Chronicle Herald - June 28, 2018:
– ENTREVESTOR: U.S. firm acquires Lunenburg forest tech company
Peter Moreira in Chronicle Herald Refers to Woodscamp - June 27, 2018:
– #NOPIPE Land & Sea Rally Set For July 6
Pictou Advocate. “On Friday July 6, Pictou harbour will fill with fishing and pleasure boats and the Pictou waterfront with citizens gathered for the first major Nova Scotia #NOPIPE Land & Sea Rally in support of a healthy Northumberland Strait.” - June 26, 2018:
– Municipality of the County of Annapolis: Forestry Report 2018
“The Forestry Advisory Report is a summary of the initial research on forestry and it includes important and timely recommendations for council’s consideration. The committee sees this report as practical and visionary and it points to the need for both short and long-term collaboration between the province, the private sector, industry, and the municipality”.Thx to Bob Bancroft for bringing this item to my attention. - June 23, 2018:
– Northern Pulp stirs it up
Dick Webster in Voice of the People/Chronicle Herald - June 22, 2018:
– County council talks forests, intersections
The Casket. “A comprehensive presentation from Port Hawkesbury Paper personnel, on forest management practices, took up a good portion of the time, and generated the most discussion, during the Municipality of the County of Antigonish regular monthly council meeting, June 19”
– OPINION: Mining lobby on wrong track with land-swap concept
Dale Smith in the Chronicle Herald - June 21, 2018:
– READER’S CORNER: Tangled forestry
Helga Guderley in the Chronicle Herald - Jun 20, 2018:
– Christmas tree growers grapple with freeze damage
By John McPhee in The Chronicle Herald June 20, 2018 - Jun 18, 2018:
– Of forests and floods: Devastatingly high water raises clearcut questions
Shane Fowler for CBC News. “Some researchers say clear-cutting can boost the severity of floods, such as the one province [New Brunswick] just suffered.”
– Also: Did clear-cutting contribute to this year’s record flooding?
Information Morning – Fredericton June 18, 2018 12min/56 secs Jun 14, 2018:
– The Threat of a line
By Matt Dort on rioproducts.com. About fly-fishing on the Northumberland of shore of NS and the threat of The Pipe.–- – OPINION: New mill plan would yield less-diluted effluent than in Boat Harbour
Dave Gunning in Chronicle Herald. - Jun 12, 2018:
– Port Hawkesbury Paper defends how it manages woodlands
Aaron Beswick in the Chronicle Herald “Claims its silviculture activities are for the good of the province” - Jun 11, 2018:
– Western Woodlot Owner Co-operative ‘motoring right along’
KATHY JOHNSON for the South Shore Breaker/Chronicle Herald. “Membership nears 100 mark going into first AGM” - Jun 10, 2018:
– MP wants committee review of glyphosate
ANDREA GUNN OTTAWA BUREAU Chronicle Herald. “Cumberland-Colchester MP Bill Casey says he is in favour of a health committee review of glyphosate.”
- Dec 12, 2019:
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