July… 2024:
Atlantic Forestry Review July 2024
Available in print form only. “Atlantic Forestry Review, launched in 1994, is a magazine for woodlot owners, foresters, contractors and technicians in Atlantic Canada. Published bi-monthly,Atlantic Forestry has rapidly expanded to become an essential source of up-to-date information for those interested and involved in forestry. 6 issues per year. Subscribe!” Currently 1 Year (6 Issues) $20.00, 2 Years (12 Issues) $35.00, 3 Years (18 Issues) $45.00. A bargain in todays Magazone World for Sure!!! In the July 2024 issue: A word or two – Building Confidence; New Products, Chips/n Slabs; Your Neck of the Woods; Reclamation Silviculture; Snipping Away at Nova Scotia’s PCT deficit; Canadian Woodlands Forum Logging Contractor of the year; All Hands on Deck; Massive Project; The Upside of Deadwood; Inspiration from Finland; Pulling together to build the bioeconomy.”
July 31, 2024
$300 million more federal funds to support ‘green’ hydrogen production and exports from Atlantic Canada
Jennifer Henderson in the Halifax Examiner. Subscription Required. Summary in Morning File for Aug 1 “The financing [Natural Resources Minister Jonathan] Wilkinson announced on Wednesday is intended to bridge the gap between the price industries in Germany are willing to pay to convert from so-called “natural” fossil gas that is mostly methane, to more expensive hydrogen fuel, and the price it costs developers to produce it – including John Risley’s World Energy GH2 company that has proposed a hydrogen plant and massive wind projects near Stephenville, in Newfoundland and Labrador.”>reports. Henderson writes:”The financing [Natural Resources Minister Jonathan] Wilkinson announced on Wednesday is intended to bridge the gap between the price industries in Germany are willing to pay to convert from so-called “natural” fossil gas that is mostly methane, to more expensive hydrogen fuel, and the price it costs developers to produce it – including John Risley’s World Energy GH2 company that has proposed a hydrogen plant and massive wind projects near Stephenville, in Newfoundland and Labrador.”
– ‘A terrible use’ of public money: Critics slam federal government handouts for ‘green’ hydrogen exports to Germany from Atlantic Canada
Joan Baxter in Halifax Examiner. Subscription required. Summary in Morning File for Aug 1. ” In a scathing statement, Julia Levin, associate director of national climate for the Canadian environmental advocacy organization, Environmental Defence, described the $300 million handout for the Canada-Germany Alliance as a “terrible use of taxpayer money for an energy-intensive, inefficient and expensive hydrogen scheme.”… Levin noted that hydrogen is being presented as a climate change solution because when it is burned, it doesn’t create any greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. “But that hides hydrogen’s dirty secret – when it leaks into the atmosphere it actually does contribute to global heating,” Levin wrote. “And it leaks a lot.”
Jul 30, 2024:
– Nova Scotia approves another wind farm to power green hydrogen plant
Taryn Grant · CBC News. “Nova Scotia has approved a third and final wind farm meant to feed EverWind Fuels’ green hydrogen and ammonia production facility.Last week, Nova Scotia Environment Minister Tim Halman approved the Windy Ridge project, a 49-turbine, 340 megawatt wind farm just north of Debert, N.S. A spokesperson for EverWind said the company is pleased, and is on track to have its wind farms online by 2026. The company noted the approvals were conditional on further wildlife impact studies…EverWind’s wind farms will connect to Nova Scotia Power’s grid, but that is not the final destination for the energy. The company plans to build a facility in Point Tupper, N.S., that will use the wind energy to produce green hydrogen and convert it to ammonia for export to Europe. That plan has drawn criticism from some who believe any renewable energy produced in Nova Scotia should only be used locally until the province has completely transitioned off fossil fuels.”
– Government of Canada and Province of Nova Scotia Unveil Collaboration Framework to Drive Economic Growth and Create Jobs
Gov. of Canada News Release. “The Government of Canada and the Province of Nova Scotia are working together to build a low-carbon economy that drives clean growth and creates good, sustainable jobs throughout the province and across the country. The Canada-Nova Scotia Regional Energy and Resource Table (NS Regional Table) is a key vehicle for driving economic prosperity now and into the future. Launched in October 2022, the NS Regional Table is a partnership between the federal and provincial governments, in collaboration with Mi’kmaw partners — and with input from key interested parties — to identify and accelerate shared economic priorities for a low-carbon future in the province’s energy and resource sectors. Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, and the Honourable Tory Rushton, Nova Scotia’s Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables, released The Nova Scotia Regional Energy and Resource Table Framework for Collaboration on the Path to Net Zero (Collaboration Framework).’
Jul 29, 2024:
Our neighbours, the black bears
by Bob Bancroft in Saltscapes Magazine Aug/Sept 2024, pp19-21.
Jul 28, 2024:
Mass timber’s sustainability promise: does it stack up?
Andrew Miller for www.oregonlive.com “…questions over mass timber’s sustainability matter equally to its advocates and its opponents, who have very different standards for what constitutes sustainable. And it matters to taxpayers, who have contributed millions of dollars in federal and state investment toward its research and development.”
Jul 27, 2024:
– WPAC Conference & Tradeshow to highlight The Role of Biomass in Electrification
“The Wood Pellet Association of Canada Conference is Canada’s largest gathering of the Canadian wood pellet industry. Each year, the event attracts hundreds of wood pellet, biomass and bioenergy professionals from across the country, as well the U.S., Europe and Asia, to discuss the issues that are having an impact on the industry here in Canada. The WPAC Conference is your opportunity to learn about the most important issues from industry experts around the globe.” Under 2024 Conference Schedule the theme is “Powering Sustainability The Role of Biomass in Electrification”, with SESSION #1: The Electrification Revolution, SESSION #2: The Role of Biomass in Electrification” Keynote Address for the Conference is Bob McDonald of CBC’s Quirks and Quarks. “Keynote: Solving the Climate Crisis With Today’s Technology, Bob McDonald. Moderator: Vaughan Bassett, Senior Vice President, Biomass Sales and Logistics, Drax Group”
– Scientists find rare species in survey of Chignecto Isthmus
Prapti Bamaniya · CBC News “Non-profit group will use the data as part of its ongoing conservation efforts…For wildlife that can’t fly or swim, the only path between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia is across the Chignecto Isthmus. That’s why it’s important “to maintain the genetic integrity of populations of species that need it,” says Sean Blaney, executive director and senior scientist at the Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre…”I was surprised in a good way by the extent of higher quality forest,” he said. “It can be a struggle to find more mature forest in larger patches in this region because it has a really long history of human occupation and quite intensive use for forestry and for other land uses that have converted the forest entirely…He said these patches of intact habitat on the isthmus are essential for animals. “It’s quite important as one of the last quite intact zones within a real priority habitat corridor,” he said.”
Jul 25, 2024:
– Nina Newington: Do what you love to save old forests
Perspective in the Chronicle Herald. Subscription required. Read Full Text here
– How Soon Might the Atlantic Ocean Break? Two Sibling Scientists Found an Answer—and Shook the World
Sandra Upson in Wired. “A gigantic, weather-defining current system could be headed to collapse. Peter and Susanne Ditlevsen had a simple yet controversial question: How much time might we have left to save it?…The AMOC transports a staggering amount of energy. Like a million nuclear power plants. It is such a core element of the Earth system that its collapse would radically alter regional weather patterns, the water cycle, the ability of every country to provide food for its inhabitants… The two scientists made a plot of the numbers and a neat cluster emerged. Yes—2057. But that’s just the middle point: In 95 percent of the model’s simulations, the AMOC tipped sometime between 2025 and 2095… In footnote 4 of the IPCC’s latest big report, “very unlikely” meant that, in the panelists’ view, the AMOC had less than a 1-in-10 chance of collapsing before 2100. One in 10. Those odds didn’t strike him as “very unlikely.” Russian roulette is one in six, and we all agree that’s a bad idea. Plus, the IPCC had given its prognosis only a “medium confidence” rating. To Ditlevsen, that sounded a lot like “we have no clue.”
– Hemlock woolly adelgid in the Halifax Regional Municipality
Page on halifax.ca. Accessed 25Jul2024; it appears to have been posted Jul24,2024. Sections on Identifying HWA, Addressing HWA, Reducing the spread of HWA, Why is treating HWA so urgent?
– Canada’s premiers forced to confront escalating climate change-related disasters
Lyndsay Armstrong · CBC News “”It’s not lost on us that emergency preparedness for natural disasters is more important than ever,” Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said in his closing remarks on the final day of the Council of the Federation conference…Blair Feltmate, director of the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation at the University of Waterloo, said discussion is not enough. He said in an interview Wednesday that all levels of government need to treat escalating climate change-related natural disasters as the crisis they are and quickly enact mitigation strategies before things get worse.”
Jul 24, 2024:
–Signal Gold wants permission to permanently destroy fish habitat for an open pit gold mine near Goldboro
Joan Baxter in the Hfx Examiner. “…the federal government is considering allowing Signal Gold to use seven waterways — valuable fish habitat — for the disposal of its mine tailings, the slurry left after gold is extracted from rock…The consultation ECCC announced is not about whether it’s a good idea to allow toxic mine waste into waterways that provide crucial habitat for fish. Rather, it’s about a plan Signal is proposing to “compensate” for destroying healthy fish habitat around its Goldboro mine by working to improve other waterways in eastern Nova Scotia.”
– St Barbara’s appeal of Nova Scotia government requirements for Touquoy gold mine reclamation gets firm ‘no’ from environment minister
Joan Baxter in the Hfx Examiner. Subscription required. Intro in Morning File for Jul 25, 2024. “In his belligerent appeal letter, St Barbara CEO harshly attacks Nova Scotia’s environment department just for doing its job.”
– Competition Bureau Canada outlines what can be considered corporate greenwashing
By Jeffrey Jones, The Globe and Mail in Business in Vancouver
Jul 23, 2024:
– Another tick-borne illness on the rise in Nova Scotia
CBC Video. “Ticks carrying anaplasmosis are found primarily in Nova Scotia, Quebec and Ontario. Watch Amy Smith’s interview with Heather Coatsworth, a research scientist at the National Microbiology Lab within the Public Health Agency of Canada.”
– Two years after Halifax tree-girdling incident, art show reminds us of ‘importance of human relationships with trees’
By Lauren Phillips in The Coast. “Collective exhibiting artists to hold a talk this Saturday at MSVU gallery. Two years ago Thursday, “some asshole broke into the Halifax Public Gardens and vandalized trees,” as captured by a headline that ran July 26, 2022 in the Halifax Examiner. The mystery of who did this is an unsolved whodunit…Artists Miranda Bellamy and Amanda Fauteux were in the gardens in the immediate aftermath of the vandalism. With the help of city staff, they took photographs of the injured trees without their bandages on.Also view People’s connections to trees in the Hfx Examiner, Morning File by Suzanne Rent, July 24, 2024.
– 2024 Mass Timber Roadmap (PDF)
The Transition Accelerator in partnership with FPAC.ca, Canadian Wood Council, EneregyFutureesLab. Intro as cited in TreeFrog News for Jul 24, 2024. “Unlocking the potential of Mass Timber across Canada will significantly address many key challenges of building taller with wood given its ability to accelerate housing construction time by as much as 20%; drive economic activities and create jobs in rural and Indigenous communities; and reduce carbon intensity of construction and providing long term carbon storage. Canada’s forest sector is ready to scale efforts around mass timber to maximize those benefits and compete globally. In June, Canada’s Transition Accelerator launched its 2024 Mass Timber Roadmap, making the case and outlining the need for mass timber in Canada. This report was a collaborative effort of over 50 participants from Canada’s mass timber value chain — including business, government, research institutions, Indigenous communities, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). …The roadmap proposes an ambitious vision and calls on industry, business, stakeholders, and government to come together to advance and implement this vision.” Of Note Re Atlantic Canada, on page 21: “While softwoods currently provide the majority of feedstock, there are opportunities to exploit more hardwood species in certain market segments. European producers have developed glulam and LVL from species such as beech and oak, and these technologies can be expected to be applied to North American hardwoods, providing mostly opportunities for Eastern Canada, as well as the U.S. Northeast.”
Jul 22, 2024:
– Cape Breton moose are declining
Tim Bousquet in Morning File (Hfx Examiner). Vites NRR news Release of July19, 2024 (below).”The release attributes the decline to “hunting, disease and climate change,” but as my colleague Joan Baxter points out, not on that list is habitat loss because of clearcutting and carving up habitat for subdivisions.”
– A new plan for PA forests: new uses, more trails, continued logging
Ad Crable in www.bayjournal.com. “fter several years of public opinion polling and surveying the many stakeholders of state forests, the bureau has drafted a new plan called Forests for All: A Plan for Pennsylvania’s Forests and People. The aim is to keep forests and their native flora resilient while inviting more people to enjoy state forests for physical and mental well-being.” View Forests for All: A Plan for Pennsylvania’s Forests and People
Jul 19, 2024:
– Consultation on [16] New Protected Areas Begins
NS Gov. Environment and Climate Change News release. “Nova Scotians are invited to share their thoughts on 16 proposed new or expanded wilderness areas and nature reserves. Designating these sites will be one more step in helping Nova Scotia protect 20 per cent of its land and water by 2030….Nova Scotians are invited to share their thoughts on 16 proposed new or expanded wilderness areas and nature reserves. Designating these sites will be one more step in helping Nova Scotia protect 20 per cent of its land and water by 2030…The Department launched an online survey today, July 19. Public input will be accepted until September 20. The survey is available at: https://www.novascotia.ca/nse/protectedareas/…Learn more about these areas: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/5a8478fbf0264566912016b69a5d1940
– Temporary Suspension of Cape Breton Moose Hunt
NS Natural Resources and Renewables News release “The Province is suspending the licensed Cape Breton moose hunt for three years because of a significant drop in the population. The Mi’kmaq are also putting a moratorium on their rights-based moose harvest until population numbers are sustainable.”
Jul 18, 2024:
– The big life — and looming death — of a Rocky Mountain defender
By Drew Anderson in The Narwhal (co-published with The Globe and Mail) “He had been searching for elk in Alberta’s Bow Valley, perched in a hunting stand nearly eight metres off the ground. Then he fell. He doesn’t know how. He was unconscious, lying on the ground for more than an hour before rescuers arrived…“I wasn’t in pain,” he remembers, sitting in his backyard in Canmore on a June afternoon, sun streaking one side of his still-youthful face. “I was actually okay with it. It was October, the sun was on my back, I could hear trumpeter swans on the lake calling, and other bird songs, and I was like, ‘Wow, this is actually a pretty nice place to die.’ ” It’s the kind of thought that might only occur to someone who has lived like Heuer. He has traversed thousands of kilometres through the Rockies on foot and followed a caribou herd for months through the north of the continent. As a conservationist, he worked to protect wildlife corridors in Banff long before they were well known. He led the team that brought bison back to Banff National Park for the first time in 140 years. He was executive director of the non-profit conservation group Yellowstone to Yukon Initiative for a time. He is a perpetual thorn in the side of a local developer that wants to dramatically expand Canmore. And he has written three books and is working on a fourth. He was one of the early advocates of what is now known as large-landscape-scale conservation. This model takes into account the huge scope of some animals’ terrain, a departure from caring for the land in a patchwork of small protected areas.”
– Nature Conservancy of Canada receives donation of almost 100 hectares for nature reserve in Halifax area
Jeremy Hull, CTVNews.ca “Thanks to a pair of generous donors, the Nature Conservancy of Canada(opens in a new tab) (NCC) is the proud new owner of 97 hectares of intact forest in the Halifax Regional Municipality. NCC’s Porters Lake Nature Reserve is located on the north side of Porters Lake, flanked by the East and West brooks. Ann and Maurice Doucet donated the land so the NCC could conserve the land, in perpetuity, for future generations…Doug Van Hemessen is the NCC’s stewardship manager for Nova Scotia. He said he was grateful to the Doucets for their “ecologically significant” donation. “That landscape protects that whole broad area of watershed that goes into Porters Lake and contributes to landscape protection and biodiversity protection throughout that whole area,” Van Hemessen said. The NCC said the forest acts as a natural water filtration system, plays a crucial role in water cycling and creates a barrier against flooding and erosion. Van Hemessen said the forest reserve also provides opportunities for people to enjoy and learn about nature.”
Jul 17, 2024:
‘Shady accounting’ of forest biodiversity
In the Halifax Examiner Morning File, by Tim Bousquet, referencing the post by Nina Newington on this website. “Writer and citizen scientist Nina Newington (who Suzanne Rent profiled here) has posted a detailed analysis of biodiversity calculations at Nova Scotia Forest Matters.”
Forests continue to capture carbon despite challenges
University of Leeds (UK). Cites The enduring world forest carbon sink by Y. Pan et al. In Nature 631, pages 563–569 (2024)
Screen Capture from CBC News Video shows map of areas for which an Emergency Alert was issued on evening of Jul 11, 2024 due to heavy rains and flash flooding
Jul 12, 2024:
– Heavy rains, flash flooding ravage parts of Nova Scotia
CBC, YouTube Video (3.2 min). Also view CBC News post Jul 11, 2024 by Anjuli Patel.
– Nova Scotia NRR hiring Old Growth Forester
Advertised on ca.indeed.com. Department: Natural Resources & Renewables; “Location: TRURO; Type of Employment: Term; Union Status: NSGEU – NSPG
Closing Date: 02-Aug-24 (Applications are accepted until 11:59 PM Atlantic Time)…As the Old-Growth Forester, you will use your specialized field ecosystem knowledge to lead the field data collection on old-growth forest, statistical data analysis and research report writing. You will also use your technical skills using ArcPro to support department field data collection (through ArcOnline Survey 1-2-3) and Old-Growth Forest reporting. These duties will support an Environment and Climate Change Canada funded project to identify old-growth forest on crown land in Nova Scotia for their long-term conservation and protection… This may be the right opportunity for you if you have: A bachelor’s degree in forestry or master’s degree in forestry; and 1 year related experience..This is a term position with an anticipated end date of March 31, 2026; however, the position status (“term”, “temporary” or “casual”) is dependent on the start date of the successful candidate.”
Jul 11, 2024:
Unhappy with new greenwashing rules, Alberta and fossil fuel companies push back
Benjamin Shingler · CBC News “Consultations planned for law aimed at cracking down on misleading environmental claims”
Jul 9, 2024:
– Intermission: Unplugging to recharge, and announcing upcoming ‘Lichen Songs’ Series
Linda Pannozzo in The Quaking Swamp Journal. It begins “Do not try to save the whole world or do anything grandiose. Instead, create a clearing in the dense forest of your life and wait there patiently, until the song that is your life falls into your own cupped hands and you recognize and greet it. Only then will you know how to give yourself to this world so worthy of rescue.— Martha Postlethwaite…In 2016 I had the fortunate occasion of meeting Frances Anderson for a piece I was writing about the boreal felt lichen…In 2016 I had the fortunate occasion of meeting Frances Anderson for a piece I was writing about the boreal felt lichen…”
Jul 4, 2024:
Okanagan fire/drought/flood: The Emperor Wears No Clothes
Danica Djordjevich in the Vernon Morning Star. “Poor forestry stewardship exacerbates existential risks to rural British Columbians”
Jul 3, 2024:
– Climate change drives tree species towards colder, wetter regions
University of Birmingham “Climate change is likely to drive tree species towards colder and wetter regions of their geographical distribution, a new study has shown. The research, led by the University of Alcalá (UAH), in Spain, and including researchers at the University of Birmingham, draws together data from across Europe and North America to show that tree species in the Northern Hemisphere are starting to become denser in colder and wetter regions.” The article relates to this paper: Relative decline in density of Northern Hemisphere tree species in warm and arid regions of their climate niches, Julen Astigarraga et al., 2024 in PNAS.
Jul 2, 2024:
– Province collects no reclamation security for large wind projects
Joan Baxter in the Halifax Examiner “In April this year, Premier Tim Houston hosted a town hall meeting in Pictou County about the proposed 100-turbine wind farm being proposed by Bear Head Energy, and found himself pummelled with tough questions from the audience. Many worried about the project’s environmental impact on their picturesque corner of the province with its rolling, wooded…”
Into in Morning File
– Tree marking course showcases sustainable forestry in action
Nova Scotia Community College/ Centre of Forest Innovation success stories. View also post on this website, Jun 20, 2024
Jun 28, 2024:
– Membertou First Nation celebrates construction of mass timber office building
By Indigenous Services Canada in Canadian Forest Industries “Today, Membertou First Nation and Indigenous Services Canada announced the construction of a new gas bar and a mass timber office building at the Seventh Exchange retail district in Nova Scotia.
Jun 27, 2024:
– Nova Scotia wood chips dumped into Iceland coastal waters and called ‘carbon capture’
By Joan Baxter in The Halifax Examiner (subscription required, intro in Morning File) “In 2022, credulous media were writing flamboyant headlines venerating Running Tide CEO Marty Odlin as “the guy who wants to help save the planet with thousands of buoys, seaweed and giant antacids.” … Spotify and Microsoft were so taken by the hype that both bought carbon credits from Running Tide, which bills itself as a carbon-sequestration company that can “fix the planet.” …Two years after those big headlines Running Tide is being shut down. … On June 14, the Icelandic weekly newspaper, Heimildin, known for its investigative journalism, published an article about Running Tide’s carbon capture scheme, noting that it sounded “too good to be true.” That’s because it was. … last summer Running Tide dumped 19,000 tonnes of wood chips into Iceland’s coastal waters, “completely unsupervised.” … the “Canadian” wood chips Running Tide dumped were shipped from Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia … On June 14, Odlin reported that he was shutting down Running Tide’s global operations…”
Jun 26, 2024:
– S5 EP1 | Keeping up with the Competition Act (Podcast, 45 min)
On /www.nortonrosefulbright.com/ “Transformative changes to the Competition Act are here. How will they affect the competition disputes landscape? To kick off season 5 of Disputed, hosts Ted Brook and Erin Brown sit down to discuss the changes with guests Chris Hersh, Partner and Canadian Head of Antitrust and Competition based in Toronto, and Eric Lefebvre, Partner and litigator based in Montreal. In addition to the changes to the Competition Act, this episode covers the current status of bills C-59 and C-56 and their compounding effects on the potential for expanded competition litigation; environmental performance claims; and why there’s still so much uncertainty in this area. Ted, Erin, Chris and Eric discuss why the changes could result in a significant uptick in litigation on competition issues, particularly where NGOs are eager to bring complaints.”Tip of the Hat to Rob B. for forwarding this item ” I think this will be of significant interest to anyone interested in legal approaches to conservation protection and misleading environmental claims. Major changes are: 1) giving regular citizens the right to launch legal complaints about misleading and false advertising. 2) Raising the bar for corporations and their responsibilities to follow ethical guidelines/rules. 3) Increased financial penalties for rule breakers. 4) Easier access for class action lawsuits — eg, class actions are not restricted to the Competition Bureau’s discretion — private citizens and groups can now also push class action suits with the Bureau’s approval.”
– Meeting of federal-provincial-territorial Ministers responsible for conservation, wildlife, and biodiversity – Federal-provincial-territorial Ministers commit to implementing the Global Biodiversity Framework in Canada
Environment and Climate Change Canada News Release “The ministers and representatives met last May 2023, when they committed to collective efforts toward halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030 and putting nature on a path to recovery by 2050. They also discussed collective efforts toward achieving Canada’s goal of protecting 30 percent of land and water by 2030, in response to the adoption of the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. Today, the ministers and representatives shared their respective initiatives to address biodiversity conservation and discussed the importance of accelerating the pace of action. Participants discussed how Canada’s 2030 Nature Strategy’s successful and ambitious implementation requires coordinated action and depends on whole-of-society, whole-of-government approaches…”
Jun 25, 2024:
For more than a year, the North Atlantic has been running a fever
By Haley Thiem, on www.climate.gov. “…the North Atlantic Ocean since March 2023. Temperatures have been so extreme that much of the North Atlantic has been experiencing a marine heatwave. This particular event has already brought devastating heat stress to nearly all of the Atlantic’s tropical reef areas and contributed to a very active 2023 Atlantic hurricane season. The top map shows where sea surface temperatures across the North Atlantic on June 16, 2024, were warmer (red) or cooler (blue) than the 1971-2000 average (white). Much of the Atlantic is colored red. Temperatures are about 2 to 5 degrees Fahrenheit (about 1 to 3 degrees Celsius) warmer than normal across much of the central North Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico, while areas along the U.S. East Coast (along the Gulf Stream) and across northern portions of the North Atlantic show anomalies (departures from average) close to 9 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius) above normal. The bottom map shows the actual sea surface temperatures across the North Atlantic on June 15, 2024. Areas in white and orange show where sea surface temperatures are above 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26 degrees Celsius)—the temperature needed to fuel hurricane development. The darker the orange the closer temperatures are to 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius). Areas in blue show where the sea surface temperatures are below 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Much of the tropical Atlantic, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico were experiencing temperatures greater than 80 degrees Fahrenheit by mid-June.
Jun 21, 2024:
– Seeding change, one tree at a time
By Moira Donovan in National Observer “In 2021, the Federal government announced a commitment to plant 2 billion trees over the next decade as part of its goal to mitigate climate change and address biodiversity loss…an audit released that year said the program was unlikely to meet its long-term target without significant changes and a 2024 CBC report described its challenges — namely, finding enough land and seeds to fulfill the goal. In Nova Scotia, a program aims to address these challenges by harnessing the province’s unusual structure of forest ownership…says Rachael MacNeil, program director for the Thriving Forests program.Working on both private and public land, the Thriving Forests program — run by the Clean Foundation — aims to plant 21 million trees across the province, working with individual landowners, organizations, Indigenous communities and provincial agencies.”
– Healthy Rivers, Healthy Planet Naturally (Video)
Presentation by Eddie Halfyard & Shannon Sterling to the Halifax Field Naturalists June 18, 2024. Recorded on Zoom & archived by HFN.
“The Nova Scotia Salmon Association’s Ecologist Edmund Halfyard, PhD, along with Dalhousie environmental scientist Shannon Sterling, PhD, co-founded Carbon Run, a company whose mission is to ‘restore the health of rivers and their natural ability to draw carbon from land — to sea’. The presentation details the situation we are currently in, the steps needed to rectify this, and Carbon Run’s approach to doing so. Through their research, they have found that when water quality is restored, rivers regain their natural ability to markedly increase biodiversity while drawing down carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.” View more about Carbon Run/Liming of Forest Soils
Jun 20, 2024:
How long will it take to put out P.E.I.’s peat fire?
CBC News (Video) “The fire at a peat harvesting operation in Foxley River, P.E.I., has been burning for several days. Mike Montigny and Nick Thompson from the province’s forest, fish and wildlife division explain why this type of fire is so hard to extinguish, and how the department is managing its resources.”
Jun 14, 2024:
– Why Europe and America’s dying forests could be good news
YouTube Video on DW Planet A channel/ “Germany is losing its forests, FAST. In the central Harz region, over 90 percent of spruce trees are dead or dying because of climate change and insect damage. But this isn’t necessarily bad news. Instead of the former monoculture forest, a more resilient, wild forest is springing up, with a more abundant ecosystem.” Read more:
– Background information on Harz National Park
– Managing bark beetle outbreaks, Policy Brief by Forest Europe
– Study on Bark Beetle Outbreaks in Europe: State of Knowledge and Ways Forward for Management
– Government of Canada invests in discovery and applied research to keep the country at the forefront of scientific advancements
NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada). Page provides links to grants from the feds to support research across Canada
– 4 Growing Threats to Europe’s Forests: Logging, Bioenergy, Wildfires and Pests
By Sarah Carter World Resources Institute
June 13, 2024:
– National strategy to protect nature in Canada unveiled alongside bill to ensure accountability
Environment and Climate Change Canada on Cision Newswire “The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, announced the release of Canada’s 2030 Nature Strategy and introduced an Act respecting transparency and accountability in relation to certain commitments Canada has made under the Convention on Biological Diversity (the Nature Accountability Bill). …The 2030 Nature Strategy lays out how Canada will implement the ambitious nature protection goals under the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework that were agreed upon at the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity in Montréal, in December 2022. …The Nature Accountability Bill establishes a requirement for the Government to develop a national nature strategy, like Canada’s 2030 Nature Strategy, and report on its implementation, ensuring accountability and transparency which will help drive us collectively to reverse nature loss.”
June 11, 2024:
– Westfor Management Inc. makes presentation on Old Growth to Lunenburg Municipal Council – View MODL Meeting Agenda with Westfor Slides (PDF Pages 16-20)
Also view nsforestmatters.ca/NS Triad/MODL with links to audio etc.
– Walking among the Ancients: Honouring a rare old-growth forest
CBC Radio/Ideas (54 min audio) and post with photos on cbc.ca “The World Wildlife Fund lists the Wabanaki-Acadian old-growth forest as endangered — with only one percent remaining. It is very rare to come across an old-growth forest stand, and Peter Rompkey took Mary to a secret location which was in pristine condition with trees more than 300 years old, and a rolling thick forest floor of mosses and fungi.”
June 10, 2024:
– On the Northern Pulp Agreement 19Jun2024
Guest Post by Helga Guderley on nsforestmatters.ca “The last thing that we need is a secretive multinational corporation milking provincial subsidies while taking the last of our standing forests.”
– Historic North American delegation visits Finland to explore forest industry innovations
The Helsinki Times “Business Finland is hosting an unprecedented visit by a large delegation from the North American forest and wood products industry, marking a significant milestone in international collaboration. Over 60 delegates from nine U.S. states and Nova Scotia, Canada, are touring Finland to gain insights into the country’s advanced forestry practices and innovative wood-based technologies.”
June 8, 2024:
– The Clear Cut – Canada’s Forestry PR: A Game of Deception
Joa Baxter interviewed by BuzzSprout. ”
We sit down with Joan Baxter from the Halifax Examiner about her recent article on the growing problem of greenwashing in an age of digital information sharing. We discuss the Forest Products Association’s (FPAC) ‘Forestry for the Future’ advertising campaign that’s been proliferating across social media…Read Joan’s article in the Halifax Examiner.”
June 6, 2024:
– Tropical forests adjust strategies to thrive even when soils are nutrient poor, large field experiment shows
by Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies on phys.org
“Tropical forests store a third of the world’s carbon in their wood and soils. However, their future as a carbon sink has been uncertain. Scientists have long wondered whether nutrient-poor tropical soils would limit the ability of mature and recovering forests to thrive. A study published in New Phytologist offers a hopeful response, suggesting that forests have flexible strategies that help them overcome the challenge of scarce nutrients…Forests of different ages responded differently to the nutrient additions, showing that “trees are actively responding to their nutrient environment,” said Wong… “We need to consider nutrient limitation when we’re reforesting,” said Batterman. “One way is to make sure we’re using a diversity of trees with different phosphorus acquisition strategies. “” Comment: In NS, we do recognize large differences in soil fertility and attempt to plant/encourage species accordingly, however as conifers have lower nutrient demands than hardwoods (especially for calcium) it can contribute to “borealization” of our forests. It seems that NS DNR/L&F/NRR soil scientist Kevin Keys, who conducted very high calibre research on NS soils and has retired, has not been replaced.
June 3, 2024:
– In Mi’kma’ki, fighting to save the hemlock ‘grandmothers’ from a deadly pest
Photo Essay By Crystal Greene in The Narwhal. “Ninety per cent of the hemlock trees in Nova Scotia could disappear. A Mi’kmaq-led effort is ensuring at least one forest will survive.”
–An ominous forecast
By Brian Sullivan in Bloomberg Green Daily (Subscribe to newsletter for full story). “We are officially two days into Atlantic hurricane season… Today’s newsletter looks at how the season is shaping up. “The Atlantic has officially entered hurricane season. Again. While Saturday marked the official start, the US National Hurricane Center has been issuing advisories since May 15 because storms have managed to form early in recent years… Near-record warm water from the Gulf of Mexico to the African coast will fuel any storms that form. The possible emergence of La Niña in the eastern tropical Pacific later this year will remove one key barrier that can block Atlantic storms – wind shear. This is a perfect setup to tap the Atlantic’s ferocity, which is why the forecasts are so alarming. The wild card will be how much dust and dry air blows off the Sahara Desert, which can choke storms of needed moisture…”
Jun 2, 2024:
– Organization buying N.S. forests to prevent clear-cutting
Jesse Huot CTVNewsAtlantic.ca. “With World Environment Day(opens in a new tab) just around the corner, a local Nova Scotian organization is working to purchase and conserve forests which are in danger of being clear-cut. The CEO of Growing Forests, Dale Prest, says saving forests from being clear-cut is important to maintain our environment.”
Aug 29, 2024:
– 5 things to know about B.C.’s lucrative salvage logging industry
By Zoë Yunker, Photography by Taylor Roades in The Narwhal “Despite the ecological risks, it’s cheaper and easier than ever to clear cut the last living trees in wildfire-impacted forests”
Nanoplastics found to interfere with tree photosynthesis
Aug 28m 2024:
– Robots Are Starting (Good) Fires in California
By Coco Liu in Bloomberg “BurnBot’s tank-like robot helps manage wildfire risk by conducting controlled burns with no open flames, minimal smoke and much less manpower.”
– Wildsight’s Eddie Petryshen discusses impacts of salvage logging
Paul Rodgers in Kimberley Bulletin “Wildsight conservation specialist Eddie Petryshen says the impacts of post-disturbance salvage logging outweigh the short-term benefits to the timber supply…In addition to damaging nitrogen-fixing plants that sprout soon after fires, Petryshen said another impact is on water. He cited a recent study from the southern Rockies in Alberta that found that sediment was nine times greater in burnt watersheds than in unburnt, but 37 times greater in salvage-log watersheds. ”
– Nova Scotia shelter village opens in time for peak of hurricane season
The Weather Network “Nova Scotia has purchased 200 shelters, just in time for the peak of hurricane season, and they’re now being placed around the province to support people experiencing homelessness.”
Aug 21, 2024
– Largest study of 2023 wildfires finds extreme weather fuelled flames
By Bob Weber, The Canadian Press ON halifax.citynews.ca. References: Drivers and Impacts of the Record-Breaking 2023 Wildfire Season in Canada. P. Jain et al., Aug 2021 in Nature Communications.“Standardized anomalies of the Canadian Fire Weather Index (FWI) System’s Drought Code (DC), show similar trends, with severe drought conditions in some northern and western areas in May, and new-onset drought conditions in Quebec and Nova Scotia in June (Fig. 3d, e). Early-season drought is a common occurrence in western Canada26, due to persistent drought carried over from the previous year and exacerbated by a low winter snowpack27 (Fig. S1). In contrast, the 2023 fire season started with near-average levels of soil moisture following snowmelt in the eastern provinces, but above-average temperatures and rapid drying caused what could be described as a ‘flash drought’, an emerging phenomenon that we are only beginning to understand.”
– Climate change is pushing wildfires closer to urban areas. Firefighters say they’re not prepared
By Nicola Seguin CBC News “A new report from Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency sheds light on what firefighters faced over the nearly three-week operation to put out the fire that broke out on May 28, 2023, in Upper Tantallon, 30 kilometres from downtown Halifax (and burned more than 900 hectares, forcing more than 16,000 people to evacuate and destroying 151 homes), and points out how the urban, structural firefighters didn’t have the training, experience or equipment to deal with a wildfire.” Related on halifax.ca: HRFE Post Incident Analysis Wildland Urban Interface Fire May 2023, and this doc: HRFE Post Incident Analysis Wildland Urban Interface Fire: May 2023 FINAL REPORT July 3, 2024.
Aug 14, 2024:
– Canada’s 2023 wildfires released almost 10 years worth of carbon dioxide in one of the world’s worst fire seasons, report finds
By Kate Helmore, The Globe and Mail (Subscription Required), Summary from Tree Frog Forestru News: “An international report published Wednesday found that Canada’s 2023 wildfire season burned six times more area than usual and released nine times the usual amount of carbon, ranking it as one of the worst across the globe. These wildfires, which raged from Nova Scotia to Vancouver Island, emitted almost a decade’s worth of carbon dioxide, compared to the average for the area, said the inaugural State of Wildfires report, published in the journal Earth System Science Data which included expert panels from continents across the globe. “Whatever statistic you look at for Canada last year is absolutely striking,” said Dr. Matthew Jones, lead author of the report and research fellow at the Tyndall Center for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia in Britain. “If you look at the number of fires, the area burned, emissions, the size of the fires … pretty much every record was smashed.” Cites this paper: State of Wildfires 2023–2024 by MW Jones et al., in Earth System Science Data
– Logging after wildfires is a hot industry in B.C. Could it do more harm than good?
By Zoë Yunker in The Narwhal “This story is part of In the Line of Fire, a series from The Narwhal digging into what is being done to prepare for — and survive — wildfires…Forestry companies get a slew of profitable perks to harvest areas burned by B.C. wildfires. They’re also allowed to log living trees that could be key to species and ecosystem recovery in burn zones”
– Will logging more in healthy forests reduce wildfire risk?
On www.davidsuzuki.org “…There is no one-treatment-fits-all approach to address wildfires; we are likely to have failures along the way and we must learn to adapt. But increased wildfire activity should not be used as a Trojan horse to give the forestry industry even more power over decisions that affect forests in Canada under the guise of “fixing” a problem. Expanding industrial logging into remaining unlogged forests is not the solution; more comprehensive forest management is.”
Aug 12, 2024:
– Logging industry’s wildfire claims are misleading the public
Chad Hanson in The Hill. “The Park Fire in northern California has reached approximately 400,000 acres in size, and already logging industry advocates are pushing out misinformation about the fire in an attempt to promote their deceptively-named Fix Our Forests Act logging bill. The timber industry’s political apologists tell us that the Park Fire grew so big, so fast ostensibly because public forestlands are “overgrown” and in need of “thinning…The truth is that this “overgrown forests” narrative, which is being spun by the logging industry and its political apologists, is a new and insidious type of climate change denialism.”
Chad Hanson, Ph.D., is a forest and fire ecologist with the John Muir Project, based in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, and is the author of the book, “Smokescreen: Debunking Wildfire Myths to Save Our Forests and Our Climate.”
Aug 9, 2024:
– Biomass power station produced four times emissions of UK coal plant, says report
By Jillian Ambrose for The Guardian UK. “UK — The Drax power station was responsible for four times more carbon emissions than the UK’s last remaining coal-fired plant last year, despite taking more than £0.5bn in clean-energy subsidies in 2023, according to a report.”
Jul 25, 2024
– Insurance claims from last year’s floods, wildfires in Nova Scotia total $490 million
Michael MacDonald · The Canadian Press on cbc.ca “Canada isn’t ready to deal with more severe weather from climate change, Insurance Bureau VP says”
Jul 23, 2024:
– Conservation North conference talks negative impacts of salvage forestry
Staff at www.princegeorgecitizen.com “Some scientists are calling for a drastic change to the way B.C. deals with forests burned by fire and affected by insects. The remarks came as the scientists took part in a webinar organized by the volunteer group Conservation North and virtually attended by more than 200 people on Monday, July 22. During the meeting, they said “salvage” logging after a fire usually causes more damage to a forest than the fire itself, and explained that logging reduces biodiversity, contributes to climate change, increases the vulnerability of the forest to further fires, and often causes soil degradation and erosion…The webinar recording is available on the Conservation North YouTube channel” – See Gaming the ecosystem: the truth about salvage logging “Have you ever wondered what “salvage” logging is, and how it affects communities, ecosystems and the climate? This webinar, held on July 15th, 2024, answers these questions. The session featured Seraphine Munroe (Maiyoo Keyoh Society), Dr. Karen Price (independent ecologist), Dr. Phil Burton (emeritus University of Northern BC professor), Dr. Diana Six (University of Montana) and Dr. Dominick DellaSala (Wild Heritage).”
– Climate change likely influenced forest fires in Labrador, says ecologist
Abby Cole · CBC News “Anthony Taylor says forest fires will likely become more common…”Newfoundland and Labrador as a whole has warmed by more than two degrees Celsius since the … late 1800s,” he said. “And in fact, Labrador itself has warmed more than a degree since the 1960s.” Although there has been close to normal amounts of rainfall in Labrador, he said, higher temperatures cause increased evaporation and drier forests, likely contributing to conditions that are conducive to fire…”While large fires do occur in Labrador from time to time, I don’t want to undersell the influence of human-caused climate change on this because it is very likely that these fires we’re seeing this year are influenced by climate change,” he said. “We just haven’t been as a society taking our role in preventing and slowing climate change enough.… And that’s primarily by reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and reducing those greenhouse gas emissions.””