Forestry report of the Nova Scotia Royal Commission on Forestry.
Nova Scotia. Royal Commission on Forestry. 1984 Available at Dalhosuie University Library. Or view here as Photographs of newspaper ed.
Recommendations are made with respect to: (a) The present and projected forest inventory, its quantity, quality, distribution, value, and availability, and the sustainable harvest levels for products of the forests in relation to present and future industrial and other demands; (b) The most appropriate forest management procedures, including protection and the utilization of the forest resources of Nova Scotia, to ensure maximum future benefits; (c) The impact of land ownership and tenure, competing uses and forest management practices on the future supply of forest products, fish and wildlife population, and recreational opportunities in Nova Scotia; (d) The role of Governments, atall levels, in relation to all aspects of the use and management of the resources of the forests of Nova Scotia, including taxation, and the most appropriate regulatory framework for the Province.
Comments re: Goldsmith’s criticisms leading to the Royal Commission
by Duinker et al., 2023. Forest conservation through protection of old growth:the case of Nova Scotia. In The Forestry Chronicle
Policy evolution in Nova Scotia of relevance to old-growth forest
Just as he left Dalhousie University to return to the UK in
1979, Barry Goldsmith (1980) dropped a bomb on the Nova
Scotia forest sector. He pointed out that the province’s forests
were in dire condition and would need large investments in
restoration. While he did not directly address issues of old-
growth forest, he pointed out the diminishing size of mature
trees over the centuries and the trend toward a greater pro-
portion of woodland growing pioneer species such as red
maple (Acer rubrum L.) and white birch (Betula papyrifera
Marsh.) and much less of the long-lived species such as sugar
maple, yellow birch, beech, white pine, eastern hemlock, and
red spruce. These are clear signs of a steady diminution of
old-growth forest across Nova Scotia. Curiously, Goldsmith
(1980) focused mainly on timber supply, both past and
future, rather than on what to do about the declining state of
the forest.
Goldsmith’s criticisms may have been the catalyst for the
Government of Nova Scotia to establish, in 1982, a Royal
Commission on Forestry. The Commission was instructed to
“…inquire into and make recommendations to the Governor
in Council respecting all forest and related resources of Nova
Scotia, their present and future importance to the economy
and people of Nova Scotia, and the measures most appropri-
ate to the preservation, protection, regeneration, enhance-
ment, use and production of from forest lands and resources
…”. While the charge from the Lieutenant-Governor did not
admit to any problems in the “whereas” clauses, the Commis-
sion opened Chapter 1 of its report by saying
“Everyone ought to be concerned about the present con-
dition of Nova Scotia’s forests. This resource has been dimin-
ished by highgrading, the ravages of fire, insects, diseases,
weeds, and wind, and the failure of society to make the best
use of the remaining trees and to restore forest losses. In con-
sequence, many forest-related jobs are in jeopardy, and the
environment is deteriorating.” (Royal Commission on
Forestry 1984, p. 9).
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View Goldsmith 1980