Will the PCs deliver on their promise to implement Triad Forestry in Nova Scotia by year end? 10Dec2023

The Big Question: Will we see an end to “Highgrading at the Landscape Level”  on Crown lands on Jan 1, 2023?

‘Just wonderin’ re: items (c) and (d) below and ‘The Big Question” (right).

The current* NS Government’s Commitment (clause 10 in the Environmental Goals and Climate Change Reduction Act, As Passed on Nov 5, 2021, bolding inserted):
*A PC Government was elected with a majority  on Aug 17, 2021, replacing two successive Liberal Governments (2013-2019).

 The Government’s goals with respect to the protection of land are…

Read More on www.versicolor.ca/nstriad

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Citizen Scientists discover SAR lichens and a new logging road in proposed protected area 25Nov2022

“A group of citizen scientists in Southwest Nova Scotia are asking the premier to freeze harvests and road-building immediately in the forests surrounding Goldsmith Lake in Annapolis County.

Drone view of the new road

“This patch of crown land on the South Mountain inland from Tupperville is known to biologists and local residents for its old, relatively undisturbed forests. It includes two provincially recognized patches of old-growth. Citizens, including a respected conservation planner, alerted the province to the high conservation value of the area earlier in the year. But on October 22nd, a group of citizen scientists out exploring and documenting the biodiversity of the western side of the lake came upon a brand new logging road. The Department of Natural Resources and Renewables has confirmed to Annapolis County MLA Carman Kerr that harvest plans for 1355 acres around the lake have been approved.

“In the month since the discovery of the road the group has identified eight occurrences of Species At Risk in the area…”

Read full Press Release on www.versicolor.ca/nstriad

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Nova Scotia Environment looking for planner to lead achievement of 20% Protected Areas 8Nov2022

There has been very little info and essentially no public consultation coming from the government through 2022 in regard to fully implementing the Triad system of forest management by the beginning of 2023 (re: commitment stated in item 10c in the Environmental Goals and Climate Change Reduction Act of Oct 2021, and lots remains to be done (View post July 13, 2022).

A related commitment under item 10 –  (a) the protection of 20% of land and water area by 2030 and (b) a strategy for the same by December 31, 2023 – is highly relevant to the Triad.

The scuttle has been that “nothing is really happening” in regard to new Protected Areas but it seems the pressure is on, with the release of ad for a Planner to play a “leading role in developing and implementing various priorities directed towards legally designating new areas.”  It’s  a Term Position.  Read more on versicolor.ca/nstriad

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NRR’s Peter Bush to talk about Old Growth Forest Policy Thurs. Nov 3, 2022

I just learned about it today, in the course of some correspondence with Peter Bush (Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and Renewables Old-Growth Forest Coordinator).  A notice about this talk  was, apparently,  just posted today on the MTRI Facebook Page.

Read more on versicolor.ca/nstriad

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Nova Scotia Forestry Economic Task Force wants feedback on opportunites, obstacles…7Oct2022

The Online Survey is open until Oct 25, 2022. I did the survey & felt it is well designed and worthwhile doing – if they actually follow up on it. I encourage the Forestry Economic Task Force to publish a report on the results.

We are hearing next to nothing about the final stages in implementation of the Lahey Recommendations with now less than 3 months to the complete actions promised in the Environmental Goals and Climate Change Reduction Act:

10 (c) to implement by 2023 an ecological forestry approach for Crown lands, consistent with the recommendations in “An Independent Review of Forest Practices in Nova Scotia” prepared by William Lahey in 2018, through the triad model of forest management that prioritizes the sustainability of ecosystems and biodiversity in the Province; and;

10 (d) to identify by 2023 the percentage allocation of Crown land dedicated to each pillar of the triad model of forest management referred to in clause (c).

Read more on versicolor.ca/nstriad

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On NS TRIAD: What’s left to do to implement the Forest Triad in Nova Scotia by 2023? Plenty 13Jul2022

“Highgrading at the Landscape Level” in the vicinity of crown land block AP068499 Beals Meadow More Info

The recommendation to implement a “Forest Triad” in NS was a central recommendation of the Forest Practices Review (aka the Lahey report, The Independent Review of Forest Practices in Nova Scotia) tabled on Aug 21, 2018.

Under the Liberals (2013-2021) a process was set up to implement the recommendations, all the while logging as normal continued. While the practices to be applied to the Ecological Matrix were fully worked out and published in July of 2021, it was not until recently, under the new PC Government (Aug 2021) that those became required practices on new Crown land harvests as of June 1, 2022– with a last ditch grab-the-old-way on already approved harvests.

So with less than 6 months left to 2023, what’s still needs to be done to implement the Triad by 2023?

View more on www.versicolor.ca/nstriad

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on On NS TRIAD: What’s left to do to implement the Forest Triad in Nova Scotia by 2023? Plenty 13Jul2022

Nova Scotia Forest Notes: a record of goings-on in forests and forestry in Nova Scotia 21Jun2016-21Jun2022

Wabanaki Forest Love Affair Yellow Birch at left, and Eastern Hemlock at right on a mound in old forest by Sandy Lake (Bedford) More about it here.

This blog/website was created on June 21, 2016;  I stopped updating it on June 21, 2022. As such it provides a record of sorts of goings-on related to forests and forestry in Nova Scotia over that interval.

It will be maintained at this URL (nsforestnotes.ca) until July 21, 2023.

The site is archived regularly on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine so by July 2023 all of the material currently on the site will still be in that archive. The website on the archive is essentially a perfect replica of this one, is searchable,  and can be viewed in different stages of its development.

Items on this blog/website that are posted chronologically are (i) links to news items, found under   In the News and its subpages; and (ii) “posts” (the blog component of the website), found under About this Site/All Posts

I am not leaving the topic of forestry in NS entirely. I have set up a new blog/website at www.versicolor.ca/nstriad which will focus on the unfolding of the Triad in NS over the next year or so. That seems appropriate as nsforestnotes.ca was initiated before the Lahey process  (The Independent Review of Forest Practices in Nova Scotia) was conceived, and I have followed it for now almost 4 years beyond when the ‘Lahey Report‘ was tabled (Aug 21,  2018).

I post various natural history materials on several websites I currently maintain or contribute to (see www.versicolor.ca). I am setting up a new website at www. versicolor.ca/chebuctomm which will focus on the natural history of the Chebucto Peninsula which I consider to be my bioregion.

It will be a while before these two new websites (www.versicolor.ca/nstriad and www.versicolor.ca/chebuctomm) have much on them. When they are further along I will make a post about them on this blog in case some subscribers might want to have peak at them.

– david p
(aka JackPine, JackPine22)


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Posted in About the website | Comments Off on Nova Scotia Forest Notes: a record of goings-on in forests and forestry in Nova Scotia 21Jun2016-21Jun2022

“60% of the Last Hope forest is now completely off-limits to cutting” 21Jun2022

UPDATE

– June 29, 2022 Update journalist Linda Pannozzo received from the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables last week – go to the bottom of this post for a cc.
Protesters pack up with a win after camping in Nova Scotia forest for over 200 days
By Cloe Logan in the National Observer. June 23, 2022 “…The total harvest area is now 10 hectares, Steven Stewart, a spokesperson for the DNRR confirmed. The cut can still “proceed at the licensee’s scheduling discretion,” he said, and the company’s “harvest plan aligns with the department’s ecological forestry goals.” When asked if WestFor would be moving forward with the cut, Stewart said that’s not something the department can comment on…In terms of the cut being officially cancelled, Newington said campers feel confident it is no longer viable.”
Last Hope camp wraps up time at Beals Brook after province scales back planned cut
ETHAN LYCAN-LANG in the Halifax Examiner June 23, 2022 “…The protestors aren’t done, though. Last Hope camp will now become the Last Hope Campaign. The former campers will put their energy into educating people around the province on how to protect forest stands in their communities. This new chapter will teach people to identify at-risk species and the different types of trees, navigate the woods, and find harvest plans and cutblocks online, among other things. Essentially, this new phase will provide others with the tools to protect biodiversity and forest health in their own neck of the woods. “We know what’s going to happen if we don’t get engaged,” she said. “It’s going to be cut now and protect later.”
Province halts majority of planned cut in Annapolis Valley due to rare lichen
CBC News JUNE 22, 2022 ” Natural Resources said the remaining 10-hectare cut has been approved “to proceed at the licensee’s scheduling discretion.” WestFor Management Inc., the company that plans to carry out the logging, said it will follow the department’s ecological forest management guidelines at the site, “including accommodations for any species at risk that are required.” While the protesters are packing up, Newington said they’re not leaving Beals Brook for good. “We know our way here and we’ll be back,” she said. “We have a network now of sympathetic people in this area who come by the camp and talk to us and if need be, we’ll be back to protect this forest.” “Listen to Nina Newington’s full interview with Information Morning“.

——–
ORIGINAL POST

To celebrate in the light of the longest day…

From Extinction Rebellion Mi’kma’ki / Nova Scotia, June 21, 2022:

Day 202 at the Last Hope camp.This longest day of the year, we are celebrating National Indigenous Peoples Day
AND
we are celebrating the fact that 60% of the Last Hope forest is now completely off-limits to cutting. The map says it all.
Thanks to lichenologists and licheneers, 17 occurrences of three different Species at Risk lichens have now been reported to DNRR and the Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre.With each occurrence getting a 100 m buffer around it, the remaining 10 hectare section of the original cut block is harder to access and even less appealing $$$wise.As a result we have decided it is time to pack up and go home. Tomorrow, Last Hope camp will morph into the Last Hope campaign.This does NOT mean we are walking away from this forest. We know ongoing monitoring is required.
— We’re grateful to have developed a network of sympathetic people in the immediate area.
— We are continuing to collect evidence of other species at risk in and around this forest (notice those four SAR bird observations on the map.)
— We will go on offering workshops here to help Nova Scotians build the skills needed to protect forests wherever they live.
— Last but not least, we will be back at the drop of a hat — or the clank of machinery — if need be. We know the way.Our commitment to protecting this forest is unwavering. As part of a larger drive to get the government moving on its pledge to protect 20% of our lands and waters by 2030, we are working on getting formal protection for an area that includes the forest by Beal’s Brook.It is time for us to broaden our focus. In order to have anything left to protect, all forests as old or older than Last Hope on ‘crown’ land should be put off limits to harvesting, road building and development. Now. It’s not complicated. But it is going to take people getting educated and getting active.That’s the Last Hope campaign: helping people all around Nova Scotia push for protection for the areas they care about.

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Our Wabanaki Forest 21Jun2022

Wabanaki Forest by Lower Trout Lake on the Chebucto Peninsula 
Click on images for larger versions

Today, June 21, 2022, we in the northern hemisphere celebrate the summer solstice, as our ancestors have done since prehistoric times.

It is also Canada’s National Indigenous Peoples Day:

In cooperation with Indigenous organizations, the Government of Canada chose June 21, the summer solstice, for National Aboriginal Day, now known as National Indigenous Peoples Day. For generations, many Indigenous peoples and communities have celebrated their culture and heritage on or near this day due to the significance of the summer solstice as the longest day of the year. 

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Posted in Wabanaki Forest | Comments Off on Our Wabanaki Forest 21Jun2022

On logging of Nova Scotia Crown land parcel AP068499 Beals Meadow : 3. The Depleted Soils 19Jun2022

At the very least, soil samples should be taken at AP068499 Beals Meadow (and other sites on depleted soils the Ecological Matrix being considered for harvest) to assess the current state of the soils… If there are no signs of recovery from the depleted state of the soils in the area of AP068499 Beals Meadow, that in combination with extensive clearcutting in the past followed by “high grading at the landscape level” would clearly call for a complete halt on harvesting of any remaining Old Forest in the area AND beginning some catchment liming.

Last Hope Encampment at AP068499 Beals Meadow. “And then it snowed…” Photo by Extinction Rebellion Mi’kma’ki/Nova Scotia

Currently there is a stand-off between the Nova Scotia Government/NS Dept of Natural Resources and Renewables (NSNRR or NRR)* and citizens who are taking direct action to block government-approved logging on Crown land parcel AP068499 Beals Meadow by the WestFor consortium.
*Nova Scotia Natural Resources & Renewables (NSNRR) is the government  department hosting wildlife and forest management sections; it is the successor to Lands & Forestry (L&F) and earlier, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

The government maintains that their prescribed Uniform Shelterwood harvest of 30-35% of trees “aligns with the new Silviculture Guide for the Ecological Matrix (SGEM) and the “Lahey Recommendations” and therefore (by implication) should be acceptable to all. They do not recognize the area as a wildlife corridor, as contended by Randy Neily, a long time hunter/fisher and observer of the area.

Other opponents of the logging – led by Nina Newington/Extinction Rebellion Mi’kma’ki / Nova Scotia  –  say that while the approved harvest is or may be in conformity with the SGEM, it overlooks key components of the Lahey recommendations,  notably those related to landscape level issues, which are not addressed by the SGEM, a stand-level decision-making process; they say it is critical to address landscape level issues because of the intensity of harvesting over the broader area. For more details view Current Issues/AP068499 Beals Meadow and NRR’s Line in the Sand (both on this website). Recently,  rare lichens were found on the site but that’s not enough for NRR/Westfor  to change tack (CBC Feb 18, 2022)

In two earlier posts,   I  explored these positions  and  related evidence.  In the first post I  looked at the extent of clearcutting (lots) in the vicinity of AP068499 Beal’s Meadow.  In the second post I looked at what’s left on the landscape as revealed by  the Forest Development Class Layer on the Provincial  Landscape Viewer  and how ongoing logging is targeting the few remaining old forest stands.

In this final post in the series. I look at the quality of the soil in the area and how that impacts  decisions around Crown land logging. Continue reading

Posted in Conservation, Landscape Level Planning, Natural Resources & Renewables, Wabanaki Forest, WestFor | Comments Off on On logging of Nova Scotia Crown land parcel AP068499 Beals Meadow : 3. The Depleted Soils 19Jun2022