Ongoing discussion on social media about forests and forestry in Nova Scotia # 1

Posted on December 22, 2018 by admin

On coming to terms with a finite land base

The social media – mostly on Facebook public group pages – is beginning to light up with some healthy discussion of forests and forestry in Nova Scotia.

One drawback to much of social media is that good content is often quickly buried and is hard to find again. So I like to keep some it “alive” and archived (at least for a while) in a more readily accessible form by posting it on Nova Scotia Forest Notes. I see that as part of my effort to compile “a record of events, news and opinions on the subject of forests and forestry in Nova Scotia as they unfold”.
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Nova Scotia Map Viewer folks acknowledge possible Old Growth amongst proposed harvest parcels

Posted on December 21, 2018 by admin

Received as a subscriber to the Harvest Plan Map Viewer:

referencing these parcels:
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Nova Scotia L&F Minister Iain Rankin joins social media discussion about further cuts of Old Growth

Posted on December 20, 2018 by admin

This is progress of some sort. At least the Minister is communicating more openly with the public than his recent predecessors, so he is hearing from the mice out there and yonder and not only the Big Cats in his department.

The lead-in was M.L.’s post on the Healthy Forest Coalition yesterday “I was informed today, by a very reputable source, that there are additional forest stands of Old Growth that are up for harvest” – view NSFN Post earlier today (Dec 20, 2018) for more on it.

Sometime after I made that post and copied some of the comments, L&F Minister Iain Rankin joined the discussion with the comment:

Iain Rankin: I will let the IRM team do their work and consider all comments. Any old growth stands will not be approved.

That stimulated further discussion on the “Iain Rankin thread”:

AF: DNR and westfor have lost the trust of the people. show us the westfor lease agreement…tell us how much has westfor paid in stumpage. whithout a good understanding of the deal the public will never trust you.

NHe: it seems that the IRM team is travelling down the wrong path. The public should not have to review their work to ensure proper protection. Your hand is on the wheel Minister Rankin, please correct the course so the public doesn’t have to.
You have a huge heart and love the environment. Please initiate a review of the past years so You Can determine just how often this has happened in the past
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Cat and Mouse game continues: more Old Growth on Nova Scotia Crown land found to be on the block

Posted on December 20, 2018 by admin

Following the highlighting of a proposed cut on Hardwood Hill (Annapolis Co) by local residents and an eloquent appeal by Randy Fredericks (Post Oct 1, 2018) and activities of the newly formed Annapolis Royal & Area – Environment & Ecology group (Facebook public group) the proposed cut (in the Premier’s riding) was eventually retracted , only to be followed by the discovery by a newly activated nature/L&F watch group of another proposed cut in a sensitive area (Post, Dec 17, 2018).

On the south shore, a similar sequence followed. M.L. and Co. who are leading the campaign to Protect the Ingram River Wilderness Area first highlighted clearcuts announced within the proposed Wilderness Area for the second time in three years (Post Dec 3, 2018), followed on Dec 17, 2018 by their realization that the latest proposed cuts included a highly significant Old Growth stand that had been documented by the Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute. Remarkably, that was retracted by L&F within one day (Post, Dec 18, 2018) and Bruce Nunn stated in an interview: “I can guarantee you that the Department is going to be working very hard over the next day or two to ensure this (proposing Old Growth forests get harvested) doesn’t happen again.”

However, within a day of that news and Bruce Nunn’s statement, M.L. and Co. are expressing concerns about more Old Growth slated for the chopping block:
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Proposed cut of Old Growth on Nova Scotia Crown land nixed within one day

Posted on December 18, 2018 by admin

MTRI photo


Update, Dec 19, 2018: also view Old-growth forest with 400-year-old tree proposed for clearcut in error by Francis Willick for CBC (Dec 19, 2018)
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From Healthy Forest Coalition (Facebook public group)

ML: Breaking news! The Coolen Lake site old growth cut has been cancelled!!!

The Minister of Lands and Forestry, Iain Rankin, and staff acknowledge that the forest is in fact Old Growth and should not have made it past the Integrated Resource Management Team.
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Tax incentives proposed for private woodlot owners in Nova Scotia

Posted on December 18, 2018 by admin

L&F has received a proposal and is considering it. Let’s hope the decisions are not made in the back rooms… that a proposal is released and vetted by the public, modified in response, and that the final scheme can be embraced by all of us.

“Possible tax break for woodlot owners” reads the title for an article by Aaron Beswick in the CH Dec 18, 2018 (subscription required)

Some extracts:

With the province implementing many of the Lahey report’s recommendations for cutting on Crown land, the available fibre easily accessible to industry is set to go down.

That is unless the industry is able to access more wood from private land….

“The existing woodlot program provides landowners with the necessary tools to voluntarily implement their objectives through sustainable forest treatments, managing for all values with independent guidance and quality assurance,” reads the pitch from The Nova Scotia Landowners and Forest Fibre Producers Association….The association’s pitch would see all woodlot owners in the province be able to register their properties on a website
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More Old Growth forest on Nova Scotia Crown land on the chopping (or chipping) block

Posted on December 17, 2018 by admin

From the Healthy Forest Coalition (Facebook public group), Dec 17, 2018:

MTRI photo

URGENT!

PUBLIC FEEDBACK NEEDED ON PARCEL LU0684021 – DEADLINE OF JAN. 19, 2019.

One of the oldest forests in the Maritimes, let alone Nova Scotia has been proposed for harvest.

With an average age over 271 years and a presence of individual trees at least 422 years old, this forest is now proposed to be harvested as a uniform shelterwood, or, as the National Forestry Database would refer to it as, a clearcut.

Last year, the Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute, using the Department of Lands and Forestry’s own Old Forest assessment score sheet, determined that this forest is, in fact Old Growth and deemed it to be “one of the most significant finds in the Maritimes”. See more about their assessment here: http://www.speciesatrisk.ca/oldforest/web/?q=view-plot/703
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Crown land forest harvest proposed for Hardwood Hill (Annapolis Co., Nova Scotia) nixed

Posted on December 17, 2018 by admin

It’s been a rare occurrence that a proposed harvest is completely withdrawn, but here’s one to celebrate; unfortunately it was followed almost immediately by another proposed harvest likely to cause a lot of stress

Click on image for larger map

As announced on Annapolis Royal & Area – Environment & Ecology (Facebook public group):

SHARING — HARDWOOD HILL — HARVEST IS WITHDRAWN!! Please see Randall’s post below. He received a confirmation that the proposed harvest has been scrapped. Congratulations to Randall Fredericks and all who helped to save this forest from being harvested, and to all who signed petitions, sent letters and made your voices heard. Good work everyone!!!

Randall Fredericks: Received a conformation call from Stephen McNeil’s office today that the proposed cut on the Hardwood Hill has been scrapped. Thank you for everyone’s concern and support.

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Don Wilson on what could happen if The Mill closes

Posted on December 15, 2018 by admin

On Woods and Waters Nova Scotia (Facebook Page) Dec 15, 2018:

This from Don Wilson:

Nova Scotia Privately owned Forests – Changes are coming

“Earlier this year, while standing in a Saturday afternoon smog generated at the Pulp Mill across the harbour, I realized that trees were being sacrificed to benefit a Privately owned mill to generate profit for the out of country owners. What could I / we do to reduce the smog or stop it completely?

“The Mill would have to modify process within the building including cleaning up the huge amount of process water contaminated by various chemicals. In the months since it has become clear the Mill’s owners are not planning to do more than slightly reduce the air and water contamination. It is also clear the present Government has no plan to reduce or remove the contaminations. Recently Government announced it was giving the Mill over six million dollars to put toward a plan. A plan the Mill claims to have but has never officially shown any branch of Government. Buying blind ?
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#nopipe rally to occur in Halifax Dec 18, 2018

Posted on December 15, 2018 by admin

UPDATE Dec 18, 2018
Northern Pulp due in court to seek injunction against fishermen’s blockade
The Canadian Press on CBC “About 80 people gathered outside Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Halifax on Tuesday to protest the proposed pipeline..Kathy Cloutier, a spokesperson for Northern Pulp’s parent company, Paper Excellence Canada, confirmed the mill is seeking an interim injunction to prevent blockades of the survey work in the Northumberland Strait…Warren Francis, a 49-year-old fisherman and member of the Pictou Landing First Nation, said other protests would follow if an injunction is granted”

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Post Dec 15, 2018

NP is also making its case daily with an ad on 95.7
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