The way of Nova Scotia forests

Posted on March 16, 2017 by admin

Rare, old hardwood forest provides a glimpse of the way it was

In The way things used to be (CH Mar 14, 2017), Zak Metcalfe writes of how his interview with forest ecologist Donna Crossland gave him a glimpse of our pre-Columbian forest and how that changed quickly following European settlement.

Before my conversation with Crossland I couldn’t have realized how fundamental our impacts have actually been, how destructive and long term. The forests I’ve walked through and admired for years are mere infants, disenfranchised of their height, their health and even of their majesty. It would take tremendous forethought on our part for them to recovery and even then it wouldn’t regrow in my lifetime. The line of succession is simply too long.
Oh, what I wouldn’t give to watch it all happen.

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WestFor Lease still being negotiated – Hines

Posted on March 13, 2017 by admin

Western Crown lands, modified from CPAWS map (2012). The WestFor agreement would hand over management of most of these lands to a consortium if mills for a 10-year period.

The impending WestFor lease has occupied a bit of attention recently, with Hines touring SW Nova Scotia and Annapolis and Digby Counties expressing concerns about clearcutting and the WestFor lease.

I had wondered about the status of the Westfor lease (agreement) commenting a few days ago that “It’s still not clear whether the province has signed the 10-year lease with Westfor.”
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Nova Scotia’s Clearcut Refugees

Posted on March 12, 2017 by admin

“A strong argument for the inhumanity of clear cutting is that we put at risk all animals that are forced into refugee status.” – Soren Bondrup-Nielsen

In a recent post on the NatureNS listserv (a birds and natural history discussion list), Donna Crossland surmised that the lack of purple finches at her bird feeder could be due to loss of older softwood forest from extensive clearcutting in her area:

Male purple finch. Photo by Simon Pierre Barrette (Wikipedia). Is it being impacted by widespread clearcutting on short rotations?

Similar to Marg’s observations, there are no purple finches around, but I have gold finches a plenty. Considering what purple finches consume, I suspect the population will be extra low for a while, aside from its usual irregularities as a winter feeder visitor and its reported declines elsewhere from House finch invasions.
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Upcoming presentations/discussions

Posted on March 12, 2017 by admin

Sunday Mar 19, 2017: ‘Clear cut’- Harm to our Woodlands discussion
Presentation by Donna Crossland, BSc, BEd, MScF.
7-9pm at Myrtle and Rosie’s Cafe
1880 Clementsvale Rd., Bear River.

More events March 23, March 27 and April 2, 2017

View details



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What’s wrong with clearcutting?

Posted on March 11, 2017 by admin

Two approaches to forestry in Nova Scotia. One produces high value wood as well as sequestering carbon, providing habitat for wildlife and peace of mind to visitors.

To be more specific: Whats wrong with clearcutting the Acadian Forest in Nova Scotia?

Outside of Nova Scotia, apparently, “we spend 80 to 150 years growing a tree in Canada – some of the longest growth rates in the world”… according to Dr. Trevor Stuthridge of FP innovations.

I am a bit skeptical about the generality of that statement but regardless, it clearly does not apply to Nova Scotia where we are cutting on rotations of 40-60 years (and even less). There are a lot of other factors that make clearcutting particularly detrimental in this province.

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Posted in Acadian Forest, clearcuts, Climate Change, Conservation, Ecosystem Services, NSDNR, Selection Harvest, Show Us the Science, Social Values | Leave a comment

Halifax Co. clearcutting taking its toll

Posted on March 10, 2017 by admin

Boreal Felt LichenA recent media report on NSDNR Minister Lloyd Hines rounds of the province noted that Halifax County (i.e. Halifax Regional Municipality) ranks #2 after Cumberland Co. in forest harvesting in Nova Scotia. That shouldn’t surprise anyone who pokes around outside of the core population areas (view Nov 11, 2016 Post).

Now Linda Pannozzo, who documented the travails of the legally protected boreal felt lichen in the Halifax Examiner (Muzzling the Forest Keepers, Nov 4, 2016) writes about a direct threat to boreal felt lichen from clearcutting in Halifax Co. From the HE: Continue reading →

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Hines on “listening tour” of SW Nova Scotia

Posted on March 9, 2017 by admin

Western Crown lands, modified from CPAWS map (2012)

“We were talking about harvest methods, what the WestFor existence means to the area, and generally the state of the industry too” but, according to the article “When asked who approached who regarding the creation of the lease, Hines said he wasn’t sure.” Read more in LighthouseNOW (Mar 8, 2017).

It’s still not clear whether the province has signed the 10-year lease with Westfor. The article refers to it as a done deal “…WestFor Management Inc., the consortium of 13 mills that has a 10-year lease with the province to harvest on over 500,000 hectares of western Crown land…”.
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Editorials and letters about forestry in Nova Scotia, continued..8Mar2017

Posted on March 8, 2017 by admin

UPDATE Mar 9, 2017: Also in yesterday’s to and fro: a letter from woodlot owner Tom Miller commenting on NSDNR Minister Lloyd Hines’ talk to the Pictou Chamber of Commerce (see post Mar 6: Looking after Nova Scotia’s Crown land garden, below) an example he says “of our government leading from the top – down….It turns out that a majority of people telling the government very clearly what they want doesn’t carry much weight with our elected officials.” Read more in NGnews
—-
Mar 8, 2017: Two letters in the CH today respond to Malcolm Barkhouse’s comments of Mar 4, 2017 “More to satellite images than meets the magnifier”. (See Editorials and letters about forestry in Nova Scotia, continued..4Mar2017)
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Annapolis County concerned about impending WestFor agreement

Posted on March 8, 2017 by admin

Annapolis Valley Crown lands (dark patches) from NS Crown Lands Viewer; county margins are approximate.
Click on map to enlarge it.

In a special session of the Annapolis County council, a motion was approved (unanimously) to request of the Premier the following (partially paraphrased):

– to be informed of the expected date of the signing of the agreement between the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and WestFor involving Crown land some of which is in Annapolis County

– to exclude land within the boundaries of Annapolis County from the agreement for one year so that council and staff can review the agreement and make recommendations.

A letter to this effect was sent on behalf of the council to the Premier on March 3, 2017


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Concerns about clearcutting in Digby Co.

Posted on March 7, 2017 by admin

Counties of Nova Scotia, from Wikipedia author Hwy43

I received this message today: In response to mounting public pressure, the Warden for Digby County, Jimmy MacAlpine, has requested letters of concern from citizens of Digby County regarding clearcutting of their public woodlands. E-mails should be sent by Friday March 9, 2017 to Linda Fraser, CAO for Digby, lfraserATmunicipality.digby.ns.ca.

UPDATE Mar 8, 2017: More details are available in an article by Sara Ericsson in the Digby Courier for March 7, 2017: “Digby Warden Jimmy MacAlpine is calling for submissions from the public regarding concerns about clearcutting forestry-methods across the county. This comes after Bear River resident Jay Stone expressed concerns in a meeting with the warden about clearcutting which is advancing increasingly toward private properties.” View County seeks public input on crown land forestry concerns



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