Hemlock Vampire Denial in Nova Scotia 31Oct2019

Posted on October 31, 2019 by admin

Contributed photo of hemlock stand in the Tusket ravaged by wooly adelgid, winter of 2017/2018.
Skull of vampire bat by Mokele on Wikipedia.
Click on images for larger versions

Perhaps the ghosts of the hemlock wooly adelgid in the form of those dead grey trees could have a benefit, which is to remind ‘adults’  of the costs of denying our real impacts on our natural world and we will begin,  as ‘the kids’ are demanding, to take the radical steps necessary to save what we can.

A few days ago, I was given a lesson on how to look for early signs of the Hemlock Wooly Adelgid (HWA), aka the Hemlock Vampires.

Nova Scotians (and the Feds) were taken by surprise by this exotic pest which was first reported in in NA in Virginia is 1951 and is now found spread through 20 eastern states (Limbu et al, 2018).
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Posted in Acadian Forest, Climate Change, Pests | Comments Off on Hemlock Vampire Denial in Nova Scotia 31Oct2019

Mon Oct 28, 2019: Law Amendments Public Hearing on Nova Scotia Sustainable Development Goals Act 27Oct2019

Posted on October 27, 2019 by admin

A thorough sham – and shame – of process

View Update Oct 29, 2019

Just received:

The provincial government quietly posted on their website on Friday afternoon that there is a Law Amendments Hearing for the public, on Monday morning at 11:45, on the SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS ACT (Bill 213)…they have given citizens barely any time to organize people to speak up

This is the LAW that the Province will go by, for the next 5 years, on what they will work towards for reducing carbon emissions!
This is it!
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Posted in Climate Change, Conservation, Uncategorized | Comments Off on Mon Oct 28, 2019: Law Amendments Public Hearing on Nova Scotia Sustainable Development Goals Act 27Oct2019

Nova Scotia L&F announces Ministerial Committee to advise on implementation of Lahey recommendations 18Oct2019

Posted on October 18, 2019 by admin

Modified Oct 19, 2019 a.m.

The composition of The Committee is good news; Significant changes in the L&F website for the Lahey Report/Ecological Forestry; and Landscape Level Planning for Biodiversity Conservation still under the radar.

The Press Release:

Moving Nova Scotia toward an ecological forestry management approach will consider the best available science and perspectives from people and organizations from across the province.

Lands and Forestry Minister, Iain Rankin, has appointed a new advisory committee with 14 members from environmental non-government organizations, industry, the Mi’kmaq and academia.

“Nova Scotians are deeply connected to the natural environment and should understand how and why decisions are being made related to the stewardship of our forests,” said Mr. Rankin. “I look forward to working with this group as we adopt an ecological forestry approach in Nova Scotia.”

The committee will advise the minister on the policies and priorities related to implementing the model recommended in Prof. Lahey’s independent review of forestry practices.
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Posted in Ind Rev Post-Report, Independent Review, L&F, Rankin, Show Us the Science | Comments Off on Nova Scotia L&F announces Ministerial Committee to advise on implementation of Lahey recommendations 18Oct2019

Update on Nova Scotia Crown land logging licenses 8Oct2019

Posted on October 8, 2019 by admin

I appreciate the quick response of L&F to my inquiry about license renewals. I have to wonder, though, why such info is not routinely made available on the web page for the Forest Harvest Allocation Maps – along with the landscape maps showing where harvests are planned (or proposed) over the periods covered by the agreements.

The WestFor license includes some lands in the Pockwock Watershed which has created a bit of stir on Social Media recently, re: a post on Woods and Waters Nova Scotia

On Sep 30, 2019, I wrote the media contact L&F with this request:

Subject: License renewals for WestFor, Northern Pulp, GNTI

Can you give me any info on these renewals? When are they effective, for how long?

Any other details as can be made available to the public, e.g. the actual agreements.

Thanks

She replied promptly that she would look into it and got back to me today (Oct 8, 2019) with this response:

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Posted in L&F, Pulp & Paper, Social Media, Tree Harvests, WestFor | Comments Off on Update on Nova Scotia Crown land logging licenses 8Oct2019

Travails of Forests and Forestry on the West Coast 8Oct2019

Posted on October 8, 2019 by admin

Perhaps there are some lessons to be learned

John Zada’s Big Lonely in Canada’s Disappearing Giants

We are worried about losing The Mill, or for some, about the possibility of not losing it.

Perhaps there are some lessons to be learned from the west coast where this year “more than 4,000 forestry workers have lost their jobs according to the province”.  So Lee Wilson writes in Forestry forum tries to find solutions to a struggling industry published on APTN News Oct 4, 2019.

Writes June Ross in a Letter to the Ed in Castanet a few days later: Forestry crash no surprise

As a tax-paying citizen, I am writing about all the complaining about forestry job losses.

Why does this now, after 40 years of inaction by any government, come as a surprise?

There are forestry acts (Private Managed Forests Lands Act, Forest and Range Practices Act) and regulations that have done nothing for us citizens.They have done nothing to save our watersheds from clear cutting that is decimating many drinking water watersheds across this province.
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Posted in Conservation, Economics, Landscape Level Planning | Comments Off on Travails of Forests and Forestry on the West Coast 8Oct2019

Focus Report for the Northern Pulp Replacement Effluent Treatment Facility released to the public, written comments invited 3Oct2019

Posted on October 3, 2019 by admin

On March 29, 2019, theNova Scotia Environment minister directed Northern Pulp to submit a Focus Report to address deficiencies in its Registration Document for its proposed Replacement Effluent Treatment Facility.

In a news release yesterday (Oct 2, 2019), NSE announced that NP had submitted the report, and that “The report will be available online within 14 days once department staff have done a preliminary check to confirm it is complete.”

Evidently, that didn’t take long: the full focus report was made publicly available today (Oct 3, 2019)

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Evidently, the Nova Scotia Forest Technicians Association does not like NS Forest Notes 3Oct2019

Posted on October 3, 2019 by admin

I am guessing they were not happy about my critique of their letter to members urging them to lobby for an extension of the Boat Harbour deadline

In Jan 2019, the NSFTA wrote a letter to their members asking them to advocate for an extension of the Boat Harbour Act and providing a template letter.

I just went to view the Big Tree contest hosted by the Nova Scotia Forest Technicians Association, and found I was blocked. The message:

“Sorry, 000.000.00.00 has been banned.” (000… being my IP address).

The NSFTA Mandate, as viewable on Google:

The Nova Scotia Forest Technicians Association objectives are: To elevate the image of the Nova Scotia Forest Technicians in the eyes of the government, industry and the public in general. To foster high standards of efficiency. To promote the common interests of all Nova Scotia Forest Technicians.

I am guessing  the NSFTA executive did not appreciate this post:
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Posted in Social Media | Comments Off on Evidently, the Nova Scotia Forest Technicians Association does not like NS Forest Notes 3Oct2019

Lands protected for conservation now at 12.7% in Nova Scotia 1Oct2019

Posted on October 1, 2019 by admin
Parks and Protected Areas in Nova Scotia as of Dec 29, 2015. Click on image to go to interactive map.

Parks and Protected Areas in Nova Scotia as of Dec 29, 2015. Click on image to go to interactive map.

Update Oct 4, 2019: View
– CHRIS MILLER: A closer look at Nova Scotia’s newest protected lands
Chris Miller in Chronicle Herald Oct 3, 2019 (Full text available)

Update Oct 2, 2019: View
– New protected areas announced for Nova Scotia
Aaron Beswick in the Chronicle Herald Oct 1, 2019 (full text currently available without subscription)

——

Under EGSPA (the Environmental Goals and Sustainable Prosperity Act, passed in 2007) Nova Scotia committed to protect at least 12 per cent of its land area by 2015. By the end of 2015, 12.26% was protected.

With new designations in March of 2017, that figure rose to about 12.39%.**

Nova Scotia environment just announced (Sep 30, 2019) New and Expanded Protected Areas Around Province which brings the number up to 12.7%.
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Posted in Conservation, Parks & Protected Areas | Comments Off on Lands protected for conservation now at 12.7% in Nova Scotia 1Oct2019

WestFor license up soon & “Urgent Action: 5 Days to Save A Forest – Nova Scotia” 27Sep2019

Posted on September 27, 2019 by admin

UPDATE Sep 30, 2019
I am told that Information Morning reported last week that the WestFor license had been renewed for 1 year. (Also Northern Pulp, GNTI – which increased, and PHP, both for 1 year).

———-

We haven’t heard anything from McNeil & Co. about renewal of the  WestFor License which runs out on Oct 1, 2019. (We didn’t hear about the current 1-year interim license until well after it had been issued, coincidentally or not on the same day that the New NAFTA was agreed upon.)

Anyway, we should be concerned, as the folks in Shelburne Co. are.

From the Sierra Club:

On September 30th, the license to harvest forests at the Walls Brook site in Shelburne County, Nova Scotia will expire.

Last July we, along with experienced bird watchers, Ecology Action Centre and the People for Ecological Forestry in Southwest Nova Scotia alerted the Nova Scotia Minister of Lands and Forestry, the federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change, and the Canadian Wildlife Service that we had seen breeding migratory birds on the site.
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Posted in Conservation, WestFor | Comments Off on WestFor license up soon & “Urgent Action: 5 Days to Save A Forest – Nova Scotia” 27Sep2019

Nova Scotia Premier McNeil appears to be backing off on his commitment to close Boat Harbour on schedule 27Sep2019

Posted on September 27, 2019 by admin

Does the Premier need to be reminded, today of all days, of Greta Thunberg: “We have started to clean up your mess and we will not stop until we are done”.
Click on image for video

From the Canadian Press in the Star on Dec 13, 2018:

Premier Stephen McNeil reiterated Thursday that his government has no intention of backing away from its deadline.

McNeil said it would look at options to help diversify the forest industry as a whole, but he wasn’t specific.
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Posted in Pulp & Paper | Comments Off on Nova Scotia Premier McNeil appears to be backing off on his commitment to close Boat Harbour on schedule 27Sep2019