Forest management group proposal for biomass heating provides an opportunity for Nova Scotia government to “get it right” on forest bioenergy

Posted on September 26, 2018 by admin

Minor edits made Sep 27 a.m.

Can the Nova Scotia Government  set climate- and ecologically-smart standards for forest bioenergy?

Curved arrows represent biologically mediated flows of GHGs: the straight arrow, industrial emissions of GHGs; and the symbols at bottom right. long term sequestration of carbon in the oceans

In a half page colour ad on page A12 of last Saturday’s (Sep 22, 2018) Chronicle Herald, North Nova Forest Owners Co-op limited, Conform Limited and Alhol Forestry Coop Limited say to Premier McNeil “Let’s talk” [about forest bioenergy].

Their case, under the heading “We have answers” (bolding mine):

We are three independent long standing forest management companies based in central Nova Scotia. Owned and directed by 800 private woodlot owners totaling some 150,000 acres. We have a solution to many of tho issues plaguing the Forest Industry today. Nova Scotian’s have used wood for heat for hundreds of years, CREC wants to sell woodchip heat derived from our sustainable management activities to the Nova Scotia Government to heat office buildings, in exchange for long term energy contracts as is being done extensively in PEl. Today’s technology allows us to convert woodchips to heat energy in a very efficient, cost effective manner as a replacement for foreign oil.

Clean, locally grown and produced, renewable, sustainable, carbon neutral wood energy

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Kespukwitk Two-Eyed Seeing Gathering at Bear River First Nation on October 18 and 19, 2018

Posted on September 23, 2018 by admin



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Three forestry field days in Central Nova Oct 6-20, 2018 illustrate “what can happen with careful, long-term management of forestland”

Posted on September 23, 2018 by admin

Andrew Kekacs of NSWOOA forwarded info about three forestry field days planned in Central Nova onver the periond Oct 6-20, 2018:

The collaboration includes Alhol Forestry Coop Limited of Amherst, Conform Limited of Middle Musquodoboit, North Nova Forest Owners Co-op limited of Wentworth, and Nova Scotia Woodlot Owners & Operators Association of Truro. All of the organizations have decades of experience working with family forest owners.
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Good and bad of the latest Nova Scotia Crown land forest harvest announcement

Posted on September 20, 2018 by admin

Screen shot of HPMV, Sep 20, 2018. Titles added for Keji and Nature Reserave

From The Healthy Forest Coalition (Public Facebook group)

Sep 19, 2018

ML: Check out the latest updates for the Harvest Map Viewer.

Queens County is getting the largest area harvested at just over 740 ha, or 1828 acres. 399 of those ha (985.5 acres) are clearcuts, the equivalent of just under 746 American football fields, for perspective.

So, the good news is that almost 50% of the harvests for Queens County are some form of partial harvests and that that 37% of the partial harvests are slated for individual tree selection. Unfortunately, the majority are uniform or strip shelterwoods, which some (including the National Forest Database) would call 2 stage clearcuts.

The bad news (besides, you know, an area not too shy of 2,000 acres getting clearcut in one county alone) is that around 100 ha (247 acres) of the clearcuts will occur within 3 km of Keji’s south-east border, many of them occurring roughly 1 km away. A further some 240 ha (592.8 acres) is also slated for clearcut across the province.
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Industrial Forestry working the spreadsheets following L&F directive to reduce clearcutting on Nova Scotia’s Crown lands, while confusion reigns at L&F about the directive

Posted on September 19, 2018 by admin

The optics are not good and a sense of deja vu

Conversion of mixed Acadian forest to industrial softwood forest under past practices on Crown land. (Photos in Nov. 2016) Is that about to change following the Report from the Independent Review?  That’s far from clear right now.

In a CBC post on Sep 17, 2018 – Nova Scotia ‘serious about reducing’ clear cutting: email, Michael Gorman reported that “Work has started behind the scenes in Nova Scotia to reduce clear cutting on Crown land, a month after a review recommended much stricter ecological management of lands owned by the province.”

Contrary to Lands and Forestry (L&F) Minister Iain Rankin’s comments last week which suggested it would take some time for government to begin to act on recommendations from the Independent Review, Gorman reports that “a department email addressed to major players in the industry* on Sept. 11, which CBC News has obtained, shows steps are already being taken that will see reductions in clear cutting.”
*Cited as Port Hawkesbury Paper, Great Northern Timber, Westfor Management Inc., Taylor Lumber and the Medway Community Forest Cooperative.
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A Reminder: 500 days to go until the closure of Boat Harbour

Posted on September 17, 2018 by admin

“…and NP still hasn’t filed for their environmental assessment on a new treatment facility”

Some of the Comments on Post

GJH: The industrial approval for Northern Pulp also ends on this date.

TMD: Clean up the Pictou County Pulp Mill. Kathy Cloutier, Bruce Chapman and John Lohr all seem hell bent on making people think that closure date was arbitrary. Nope, it was by design to coincide with the end of this industrial approval.

GJH: Link to NSE Approval EFFECTIVE DATE: March 9, 2015 EXPIRY DATE: January 30, 2020
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Sep 11, 2018: Forest fires on the upswing in Nova Scotia

Posted on September 11, 2018 by admin

Our encouragement of softwoods over hardwoods hasn’t helped

Burn restrictions for Sep 11, 2018, 2:00 pm to Sep 12, 8:00 am from novascotia.ca/burnsafe/

Some how or another we have avoided major fires so far this summer, but a few have got out of control recently. They are particularly hazardous after prolonged drought because they will burn deep into the soil. Our encouragement of softwoods over hardwoods hasn’t helped.

Abbreviated transcript  from a CTV news video (Sep 11, 2018):

CTV: Nova Scotia’s Natural Resources department is restricting all travel and activity within its forests. The goal is to reduce the risks of wild fires and its spreading. Listen to this…

Dave Steeves: It was approx 90 ha in size but we did have some growth and now we are at 140 ha in size.
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While we wait for the government response to the Independent Review, clearcuts on Nova Scotia Crown lands continue unabated

Posted on September 9, 2018 by admin

Image at right: As expressed on Woods and Waters Nova Scotia.

Here is the Message I received as a subscriber to updates on the Harvest Plan Map Viewer:
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Concerns expressed about cutting into a deer wintering area on Crown land in Upper Vaughan

Posted on September 8, 2018 by admin

So… The Review is in. If the recommendations are adopted, this sort of practice would likely end.

View Update from Markus Kehoe/WWNS, Sep 13, 2018

———–
From a post  on Woods and Waters Nova Scotia (Facebook page):

Time to circle the wagons and rally the troops – again!

This map and update just in from Markus Kehoe:

“They’re back with a new plan….after public outcry, they scrapped the partial cut plan for the deer yard and have decided to spare a small portion at the top and clear cut the rest now.”
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Plourde/EAC offer constructive analysis of The Report from the Independent Review and suggest ten things the government should do immediately

Posted on September 8, 2018 by admin

It’s taken some time to digest The Report

Raymond Plourde, Wilderness Coordinator for the Ecology Action Centre has written a lengthy, thoughtful op-ed commenting on the The Report from the Independent Review of Forest Practices in NS. View:

OPINION: Lahey forestry report: The good, the bad & the missing
Raymond Plourde in the Chronicle Herald. published online Sat Sep 8, 2018 – Now (Post-Sept. 2018) NOT Available via the CH. View on EAC website

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