New wood construction opportunities for Atlantic Canada

Posted on March 6, 2017 by admin

Are tall structures made of wood in our future?

An article by Don Proctor for the Daily Commercial News highlights a new study showing that “the cost of building a six-storey wood building in Halifax is comparable to the tab for a similar structure in B.C”. View article

I was not able to find a link to the specific study by Atlantic Wood WORKS! but I did a related slide presentation:
6 Storey Mid-Rise Cost Comparison between Wood, Steel & Concrete Structures

Continue reading →

Posted in Wood Construction | Leave a comment

Looking after Nova Scotia’s Crown land garden

Posted on March 6, 2017 by admin

The Minister’s analogy of sustainable forestry to sustainable production of crops in a garden overlooks the now well established principle that “sustainability” needs to embrace much more than just the annual allowable cut.

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. Unfortunately, it is the exception, not the rule, for forestry on Crown land in Nova Scotia.

Something is definitely brewing as NSDNR Minister Lloyd Hines continues his rounds of Nova Scotia talking up ways to make more economic use of our forests. NGnews reports on the Minister’s presentation to the Pictou County Chamber of Commerce in New Glascow on Mar 2, 2017, noting that Hines views the five million acres of Crown-owned land in the province as a giant garden about which he says “Like any garden you have to look after it.” The NGnews report continues: “The difference, though, between a vegetable garden and the massive forest the DNR manages is that harvesting isn’t something that’s looked at over a period of a few months but rather on a 40- to 100-year cycle, he said.” View NGnews.
Continue reading →

Posted in Acadian Forest, clearcuts, Conservation, Ecosystem Services, NSDNR, Parks & Protected Areas, Recreation, Social Values | Comments Off on Looking after Nova Scotia’s Crown land garden

Editorials and letters about forestry in Nova Scotia, continued..4Mar2017

Posted on March 4, 2017 by admin

The back and forth on Forests and Forestry in Nova Scotia was prominent in the Saturday CH.

Mike Parker, who kicked off the Show us the Science series, cautions that we “Don’t listen to industry reassurances”. He “searched out a respected voice who can speak to forestry issues in Nova Scotia. I found it in the person of Dr. Jack Ward Thomas (1934-2016), a renowned American ecologist, Boone and Crockett Professor of Wildlife Conservation in the School of Forestry at the University of Montana, and thirteenth chief of the U.S. Forest Service.” Parker quotes Thomas at length, all of it resonating strongly with the current debates about forestry in Nova Scotia. Continue reading →

Posted in clearcuts, Letters&Editorials, Show Us the Science, WestFor | Leave a comment

NSDNR seeks markets for SW Nova Scotia’s “fibre basket”

Posted on March 2, 2017 by admin

Minister Lloyd Hines is making the rounds seeking input from local business people on how to bring back forestry and mineral industries to SW Nova Scotia. He’s encouraging an open discussion: “The best discussions happen when people can bring any opinion, positive or negative, to the table in an open discussion”. Hines describes the area as a “fibre basket” and the goal now is “to find and create new business to keep use of this market…” and says “the burden to improve and create new initiatives within forestry lies with landowners who own a majority of the forested land.” View Digby Courier report (Mar 1, 2017).
Continue reading →

Posted in Acadian Forest, Biomass, clearcuts, Economics, NSDNR | Leave a comment

Editorials and letters about forestry in Nova Scotia, continued..24Feb2017

Posted on February 24, 2017 by admin

Re-assurances all is OK

In an Op-ed, Kingsley Brown (President of the Nova Scotia Landowners and Forest Fibre Producers Association) offers re-assurances that things are humming along just fine in forestry in Nova Scotia, apparently a little more optimistic than he was in a Feb 4 Op-ed (Nova Scotia forestry sector hangs by a thread – “The industry is currently so finely balanced that a decision in Shanghai could shut it down within 30 days, according to government and industry estimates. But there’s no sense of public urgency, not a peep in the legislature, no discussions in party caucuses, no letters to the premier or Department of Natural Resources minister.” Continue reading →

Posted in Letters&Editorials | Leave a comment

UK study identifies IPCC greenhouse gas accounting rules issue

Posted on February 23, 2017 by admin

Worse than coal

UPDATE Mar 16, 2017: Burning wood for energy ignites fierce academic row (BBC Mar 15, 2017). “Scientists on both sides of the Atlantic have become embroiled in a war of words over energy from trees.”
—-
Feb 23, 2017 post: A report by Duncan Brack for Clatham House (The Royal Institute of International Affairs) identifies the flaw in the IPCC greenhouse gas accounting rules that allow bioenergy from primary forest biomass to be counted as carbon neutral. In fact bioenergy generated from primary forest biomass emits more carbon per unit of energy than most fossil fuels over the time interval in which it is most critical to reduce GHG emissions.

It’s not really “news”, but sooner or later, this reality will impact markets and international GHG agreements. The report moves us another step.

‘Time to get ahead of the curve, Nova Scotia. Continue reading →

Posted in Biomass, clearcuts, Climate Change | Leave a comment

Nova Scotia’s Biorefinery Plan cites full-tree harvesting, other requirements to make it competitive

Posted on February 22, 2017 by admin

Nova Scotia’s Biorefinery Plan cites a condensed softwood sawmill industry, full-tree harvesting, a 2+% mandate for biodiesel, slacker Allowable Gross Vehicle Weight regulations to make it competitive, but is vague on role of primary forest biomass and short on carbon accounting; senior NSDNR bureaucrats have been directly involved in developing the plan.

In an earlier post ( Nova Scotia’s Biofuel Bonanza, Jan 27, 2017), I commented on a NSDNR Press Release extolling the prospects for developing “an innovative biorefinery that produces an alternative fuel from renewable sources of fibre” (See NSDNR: Innovation Hub Makes First Year Progress, Jan 26, 2017). Continue reading →

Posted in Biomass, clearcuts, Economics, NSDNR | Leave a comment

Sunday, March 5, 2017: Council of Canadians Panel #2: Clearcutting – What’s Happening to Our NS Forests?

Posted on February 21, 2017 by admin

UPDATE: Meeting postponed because of weather, to April 2, 2017. See Events

Panelists and some of the audience at Council of Canadians Forestry Forum, Inverness, Dec 4, 2016

From Facebook Page:

A Panel Discussion followed by Q & A on Clearcutting: The Impact on Forest Ecology & Climate Change

2 p.m. at Inverness Volunteer Fire Hall, Central Avenue, Inverness, NS
Tea & Coffee Served
Everyone Welcome Continue reading →

Posted in clearcuts, Conservation, events, Wildlife | Leave a comment

New Brunswick’s Crown land deal regretted

Posted on February 21, 2017 by admin

Crown land forest management in NB.. or NS; same policies, same results

It seems the current NB government has its hands tied by a previous government making overly generous Crown land wood allocations. “The plan gave forestry companies increased wood allocations that were supposed to spur the creation of hundreds of new jobs, in part because of mill expansions. But environmentalists and private woodlot owners complained in 2014 that the plan, and resulting contracts signed with the largest companies, gave away too much.” View Gallant government ‘still making decisions’ about forest plan changes (CBC, Feb 17, 2017)
Continue reading →

Posted in clearcuts, Economics, Private Woodlots, WestFor | Leave a comment

Monday Feb. 27, 2017: The Forested Wetlands Project

Posted on February 15, 2017 by admin

Forested wetlandA developing Forested Wetlands Project will be the topic of a presentation by Logan Gray and Sydney Bliss to Nova Scotia Wild Flora Society, 7:30 p.m. at Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History in Halifax; all welcome. View Details

“Forested wetlands are an important part of the broad coastal landscape of the Atlantic provinces. Although these habitats are likely to be as sensitive to disturbance as other wetlands, they have been overlooked and understudied. Because of the presence of trees and their more complex vegetation structure, forested wetlands are likely very diverse and and have distinctive aspects to their ecosystem functioning. Continue reading →

Posted in Conservation, Ecosystem Services, Natural History, Tree Harvests | Leave a comment