Editorials and letters about forestry in Nova Scotia continued..Aug 22, 2017: Columnist bemoans broken promises

Posted on August 23, 2017 by admin

Forests for the Future in Nova Scotia?

“In its first term, the Liberal government failed virtually every test of forest conservation.”

In VIBERT: Promise may be last chance for N.S. forests, Jim Vibert writes

In its first term, the Liberal government failed virtually every test of forest conservation. Premier Stephen McNeil was forced to admit, during the spring provincial election, that there are “serious problems” with current forestry practices. He promised an independent review.

The Sept. 21 throne speech will tell where that promise stands. If there’s some meat on the bones, the government may be serious. If the promise is merely repeated, skepticism is justified. If it’s missing altogether, grab the kids and head for the woods.

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In Annapolis, Nova Scotia, Sunday Aug 20: Forest Market and Fair

Posted on August 19, 2017 by admin

Medway Community ForestThe Medway Community Forest Cooperative is holding their first annual Forest Market and Fair at the Annapolis Royal Farmer’s Market grounds on Sunday, August 20th from 11:00am-2:00pm. Visitors are invited to

Explore the amazing diversity of goods and services that our Acadian forests can provide. The market will showcase atisans, crafter, and local businesses that utilize forest products or the forest ecosystem.

Some of the vendors cited on the Medway Community Forest Co-op Facebook page:

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Thurs Aug 17, 2017: Public seminar on Nova Scotia’s Western Crown Land Planning Process by WestFor Manager

Posted on August 16, 2017 by admin

Marcus Zwicker, General Manager for WestFor, the consortium of mills managing the Western Crown Lands, will speak at the Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute at 4 pm, Thurs Aug 17 as part of MTRI’s Summer Seminar Series.

These seminars are being live streamed and archived on the MTRI Facebook Page.

Update (Aug 19): The video is available here.

Amongst recent seminars:
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Call for input to FSC Forest Management Reregistration audit on Nova Scotia Crown lands managed by Port Hawkesbury Paper

Posted on August 14, 2017 by admin

Map showing PHP managed Crown lands. View large version on the Public Notice – FSC forest management audit of Port Hawkesbury Paper

FSC is the Forestry Stewardship Council, “an independent, non-governmental, not for profit organization established to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests.” FSC Certification “guarantees your customers that the FSC-labelled product they buy has come from a forest and supply chain that is managed responsibly” (Source: https://ca.fsc.org/en-ca/fsc-certification).

FSC is generally regarded as the pre-eminent certification system for forestry in Canada and internationally. The Port Hawkesbury mill initially obtained FSC certification in 2008, when it was owned by NewPage. The certification was reassessed, renewed and maintained after it was purchased by Pacific West Commercial Corp in 2012.

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‘Still no word on the Independent Review of Nova Scotia forestry

Posted on August 13, 2017 by admin

Annapolis Co. 2017

Asked about the Independent Review, DNR Deputy Minister Julie Towers interviewed on CBC Information Morning On June 30, 2017, commented that they were “scoping it out, drafting Terms of Reference and we are bringing forward the options so that we can very quickly, days to weeks at most be able to bring that out to the public.”

Six weeks later, there still has been no word about it. Hopefully the delay means that the McNeil Government really wants to get it right. In the meantime, some suggestions have been forthcoming.
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Posted in Biomass, clearcuts, Letters&Editorials, NSDNR, Private Woodlots, Show Us the Science, WestFor | Leave a comment

‘Looks like the Musquodoboit, Nova Scotia, pellet plant will reopen

Posted on August 12, 2017 by admin

Shuttered plant in May 2017

UPDATE AUG 25, 2017: The deal is still in the works “likely to be finalized within about a month.” (Chronicle Herald Aug 24, 2017).

The last we heard was that “it’s déjà vu all over again in Middle Musquodoboit as former wood pellet plant operator Scotia Atlantic Biomass Company’s assets go up for grabs” (CH, Jan 10, 2017), that after it ceased production in July, 2016.

“Déjà vu” because it was the third time.
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Wasted Wood on Crown land in eastern Nova Scotia

Posted on August 12, 2017 by admin

Scene from Video by Goldboro1

A video speaks volumes.

“While out exploring the woods roads north of Isaac’s Harbour on August 8 I discovered huge piles of hardwood cut and stockpiled along the road. I estimate that there is between 2500 and 3000 cord piled there.

I found out that it was cut late summer/ early fall 2016 for biomass destined for the wood fired boiler in Port Hawkesbury. There were maple logs in the piles up to 24” around. This was an old growth stand that is considered by the NS DNR as “Waste Wood”.

This is a disgusting waste of our forests in my opinion. This is located at 45°14’27.37″N by 61°38’29.06″W ” – Goldboro1 on YouTube, Aug 11, 2017.

View Everett’s Road Wasted Hardwood.

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Show us the science behind clearcuts on Crown land close to the pending Shingle Lake Nature Reserve, Nova Scotia

Posted on August 9, 2017 by admin

Clearcutting close to the pending Shingle Lake Nature Reserve illustrates transparency issues & raises questions about landscape level planning for biodiversity conservation in Crown land harvest decisions

This is a lengthy post, so I am inserting a Summary & Table of Contents.

Summary

Shingle Lake Nature Reserve (pending) Band of rocky outcrop in forest (Top); naturalist photographs insect activity in lakeside wetland (Mid); Golden Pert & Barred Owl (Bottom)
Click on image for larger version

Some naturalist friends expressed concerns about cutting by WestFor in the vicinity of the pending Shingle Lake Nature Reserve in SW Nova Scotia. I followed up by consulting the Harvest Plan Map Viewer (HPMV) and past notifications about these harvests, and then consulted other online maps to gather information about the location of the Nature Reserve, past cuts on public and private lands, and on some landscape level forest characteristics.

The HPMV and related notifications from NSDNR provide information about particular proposed harvests on particular sites in the immediate future, but relevant information about longer term plans by the Licensee and about landscape level forests characteristics and DNR planning for such things as landscape connectivity is lacking.

There appear to be few brakes on massive cutting of the still relatively abundant old, multi-aged forest in much of SW Nova Scotia, our “last great wood basket”.
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Posted in Acadian Forest, clearcuts, Conservation, NSDNR, Parks & Protected Areas, Private Woodlots, Show Us the Science, WestFor | Leave a comment

Lessons for Nova Scotia from private land forestry in Finland

Posted on August 7, 2017 by admin

(Augmented Aug 8, 2017)

finlandgoogleDigby County forester Harold Alexander has provided a report on his investigatory trip to Finland last fall, conducted with a view to “learn why that country’s forestry well outpaces the performance of ours, yet remains sustainable and preserves healthy forests, all with a fairly similar split between private and public land.”
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Posted in Economics, Private Woodlots | Leave a comment

Nova Scotia Woodland Owner of the Year awards 2017

Posted on August 7, 2017 by admin

Pater and Pat Spicer“The Nova Scotia Woodland Owner of the Year Award (WOYA) recognizes and rewards landowners for outstanding stewardship of their woodlands. It was developed to encourage woodlot owners to practice sustainable woodlot management and to increase public awareness of the importance of private woodlots in Nova Scotia and good woodlot management.”

“The 2017 provincial and central region winners are Peter and Pat Spicer of Spencer’s Island, Cumberland County. The Spicers manage a 1600-acre woodlot that has been in the family for 7 generations. This unique woodlot was the main supplier of high quality ship building wood products to the shipbuilding industry that once existed in Spencer’s Island, and continues to provide both social and economic values for the Spicers and the community. View Video
“I am the 7th generation of the Spicer family that have owned this woodlot…if we harvest in a sustainable manner, we’ll leave a legacy for our future generations” – Peter Spicer
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Posted in Acadian Forest, NSDNR, Private Woodlots | Leave a comment