By Nina Newington
Posted May 11, 2025. Part I is the first of a series on A Letter Worth Reading
Goldsmith Lake & Environs in late summer. Drone image by Malachi Warr
The Goldsmith Lake Wilderness Area is now under formal evaluation for permanent protection by Environment and Climate Change, with the Department of Natural Resources collaborating. The Citizen Scientists of Southwest Nova Scotia proposed the area for protection in 2022.
Considering that, until recently, the Minister of Natural Resources claimed not to know anything about that proposal, the news that the area is now being treated as a candidate for permanent protection is very good news indeed.
The news, far from coming as a public announcement, is contained – you might even say buried – in the second paragraph of a letter Annapolis MLA David Bowlby sent out on April 23rd. This letter is in reply to the deluge of mail he received objecting to the logging that began on April 12th in the proposed Wilderness Area.
Harvest plans approved for Goldsmith Lake area. Olive outlines are harvest plan boundaries. All were approved in 2022 except where noted. Map from the NS Provincial landscape Viewer. “Most plans have been amended at least once.
Mr. Bowlby’s letter was no doubt crafted by DNR and government communications strategists. The tone is respectful, with no taunting of ‘special interests.’ The letter goes to great lengths to assure the reader that DNR is working hard to protect species at risk, old-growth forest and biodiversity in general in the proposed Wilderness Area. Of course, these lengths are only necessary because DNR plans to allow logging while ECC’s formal evaluation process is under way. Or, as the letter puts it, “The Department of Natural Resources and Environment and Climate Change collaborate closely to advance protection priorities while respecting existing legal harvest approvals.”
Harvesting in progress April 2025
That’s bad news. In the two previous rounds of protecting Nova Scotia’s lands and waters, activities that degrade the conservation values of the areas being assessed – forestry, road-building, other industrial activities – were paused until the evaluation was completed. That’s how it is done in other places too.
Still, compared to the usual bland missive one receives (eventually) in response to a letter to the Minister of Natural Resources or Environment and Climate Change, the letter from Mr. Bowlby was both prompt and substantial. It is worth unpacking to see what falls out of the folds. I plan to do that over a series of posts, all rooted in the specifics of the effort to protect Goldsmith Lake, but I hope with wider relevance. We are far from the only group of citizens working to protect an area of crown land we care about.
Here’s the text from the letter SOOF member Rhonda O’Grady received from MLA David Bowlby on April 23, 2025. Others received identical or very similar versions. Bolding added.
| Good afternoon, Rhonda,
Thank you for your email and for sharing your concerns about forestry activity near Goldsmith Lake. I appreciate your advocacy for Nova Scotia’s natural spaces and understand the urgency many feel to protect ecologically significant areas while balancing sustainable forest management. I fully understand the frustration expressed regarding the perceived “Log Now, Protect Later” approach. Let me assure you that the current harvesting activity is confined to areas already assessed as ecologically compliant, with stringent safeguards in place for species at risk and old-growth stands. Goldsmith Lake remains under active evaluation for permanent protection, a process that requires thorough ecological, cultural, and socio-economic analysis to ensure durable outcomes. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment and Climate Change collaborate closely to advance protection priorities while respecting existing legal harvest approvals. Your call for urgency is noted, and I have shared your request with both ministers and my friends in DNR to reinforce the need for expedited assessment where possible. Public input, like yours, is vital to this process, and I encourage you to continue contributing through formal consultations. The Department of Natural Resources takes its role in stewardship seriously. All harvest plans, including those near Goldsmith Lake, undergo a rigorous review process that includes consultation with the Mi’kmaq, public input via the Harvest Plan Map Viewer, and assessments to identify and protect sensitive ecological features. In this case, the approved harvest near Goldsmith Lake involves a 32-hectare thinning operation within a 350-hectare area that was originally clearcut in 1972, replanted, and subsequently managed through herbicide treatments in the early 1980s and pre-commercial thinning (PCT) in the late 1980s. This stand is now 53 years old and is being managed to promote healthier forest growth. Importantly, all areas with confirmed rare lichens and other sensitive features—including those identified by the public—have been protected with 100-meter buffers and excluded from harvesting. This site has been continually assessed and reassessed over the past four years by WestFor, DNR, professional lichenologists, and independent consultants. Any new information brought forward by the public, including reports received as recently as yesterday, is carefully examined, verified, and incorporated into planning. Areas with confirmed old-growth forests in the Goldsmith Lake region were excluded from harvest plans and protected during initial reviews. Later, public input in November 2022 led to the identification of rare lichens and black ash trees, which were promptly safeguarded. Harvesting was paused during this verification process and resumed only in areas deemed compliant after thorough review. In winter 2024, new reports of rare lichens prompted additional holds. Those areas will remain on hold while rare lichens are identified and associated buffer zones are put in place. This ensures lower-intensity harvesting aligned with ecological forestry principles. I share your desire to protect ecosystems like Goldsmith Lake. Again, public input continues to play a vital role in identifying sensitive features, and I encourage ongoing engagement through DNR’s consultation channels. Thank you again for writing. Please know that your voice is critical to shaping balanced, sustainable policies. Sincerely, David L. Bowlby |
The Case for Protection!