CBC InfoAM interviews on Logging in Citizen-Proposed Protected Areas #1: the “Activists” 20Nov2024

Posted on November 20, 2024 by Admin

In the proposed Ingram River Wilderness Area From www.protecttheingram.com

CBC’s Carsten Knox interviewed St. Margaret’s Bay Stewardship Association Coordinator Mike Lancaster, and Ecology Action Centre’s Wilderness Coordinator Raymond Plourde on the topic of “Protecting Wilderness Areas” for Information Morning – NS with Portia Clarke, aired on Nov 19, 2024.

Forestry and conservation efforts are frequently at odds in Nova Scotia. Environmental groups are concerned about an uptick in forestry operations on public land that they’re working to protect. We hear from a couple of activists.

Lancaster has been actively involved in efforts to protect the citizen-proposed IRWA (Ingram River Wilderness Area), an approx 15000 ha area near Saint Margaret’s Bay.

As he described in a Facebook post reproduced on NS Forest Matters on Sep 23, 2024, Protect Ingram River Wilderness Areas supporters have been concerned about plans for logging in that area well before final boundaries are established for achieving the government’s legislated commitment to 20% Protection by 2030.

Similar concerns have been expressed about logging and plans for logging in the  Chain Lake Wilderness Area, the Goldsmith Lake Wilderness Area and the Tobeatic Wilderness Area Addition (view posts Oct 20, 2024, Nov 4, 2024).
Read more

Posted in Citizen Sceince, Conservation, Landscape Level planning, ProtectedAreas | Comments Off on CBC InfoAM interviews on Logging in Citizen-Proposed Protected Areas #1: the “Activists” 20Nov2024

“Landscape Ecologist Karen Beazley a candidate for the Green Party in Nova Scotia election” 16Nov2024

Posted on November 16, 2024 by Admin

At a time when “Environment” seems to have dropped off the list of priorities for most voters, the Climate and Biodiversity Crises notwithstanding, it’s encouraging to see such a high caliber candidate and champion of Nature AND People amongst our choices.

Karen Beazley sees a close linkage between Healing Nature & Healing People. View this presentation as an example of her clear thinking about complex ecological issues.

I learned recently that Karen Beazley, well known for her pioneering research on landscape-level processes affecting wildlife in Nova Scotia and more broadly, is running for the Green Party as a candidate for the Halifax Citadel-Sable Island riding in the current Nova Scotia election.

Born in Nova Scotia, Karen Beazley has had a  career that spanned the Real World and the Ivory Tower, first as a professional Landscape Architect in Ontario, followed by 25 years as a Professor (and at times Director) for Dalhousie University’s School for Resource and Environmental Studies. Continue reading →

Posted in Conservation, Landscape Level planning, Wildlife | Comments Off on “Landscape Ecologist Karen Beazley a candidate for the Green Party in Nova Scotia election” 16Nov2024

Healthy Forest Coalition to Nova Scotia Political Leaders: Nature Protection First not Last 8Nov2024

Posted on November 8, 2024 by Admin

Just received: this message which the Healthy Forest Coalition sent to party leaders yesterday (Nov 7, 2024):

NATURE PROTECTION FIRST
NOT LAST

The value of forests is changing. The way we treat them must change too.

We are all stakeholders in a livable planet. Protecting and restoring ecosystem health must be the overarching priority in how forests are managed.

We call on government to:

  • Meet the mandated targets of permanently protecting 15% of our lands and waters by March 2026 and 20% by 2030.

Continue reading →
Posted in Conservation, ProtectedAreas, Sustainable Wood Harvests, Wabanaki Forest | Comments Off on Healthy Forest Coalition to Nova Scotia Political Leaders: Nature Protection First not Last 8Nov2024

Sustainable Biomass Program launches public consultations on “Regional Risk Assessments” including one for Nova Scotia 7Nov2025

Posted on November 7, 2024 by Admin

As a compendium of ‘what’s broadly understood about NS forests & wood supply’ (my paraphrasing), this RRA warrants careful scrutiny by Nova Scotians – especially given that the “biomass issue” was not addressed by Lahey in the 2018 Forest Practices Review and given the several plus mega-projects that involve use of wood, wood processing byproducts or clearing of forested lands that have been proposed, discussed, and some approved recently coupled with our commitment to 20% Protection by 2030.

This initiative for Nova Scotia was announced back in mid-June with the public consultation process then expected to begin in mid-Aug (NSFM Post, June 16, 2024).

The release of a Draft RRA for public review was finally announced yesterday, not only for Nova Scotia but for 6 other regions as well (Provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Quebec; plus Denmark – Trees Outside Forests, & US – Primary Sourcing Regions).

THE DOCUMENT TO BE REVIEWED:
Draft Regional Risk Assessment for the province of Nova Scotia, Canada
Version draft for Stakeholder Consultation, September 4, 2024. The Wood Pellet Association of Canada (WPAC)
A 254 page document with 19 Figures, 8 Tables and 6 Annex sections.

FOR A LINK TO SUBMIT COMMENTS:
View this page on the Sustainable Biomass Program Website :
SBP Launches Public Consultations on Seven Regional Risk Assessments

As a compendium of ‘what’s broadly understood about NS forests & wood supply’ (my paraphrasing), it definitely warrants careful scrutiny by Nova Scotians – especially given all of the mega-projects that involve use of wood, wood processing byproducts or clearing of forested lands that have been proposed, discussed, and some approved recently coupled with our commitment to 20% Protection by 2030.

The deadline for response is Dec 6, 2024.

– David P Continue reading →

Posted in Bioeconomy, carbon, Low Grade Wood, Sustainable Wood Harvests | Comments Off on Sustainable Biomass Program launches public consultations on “Regional Risk Assessments” including one for Nova Scotia 7Nov2025

Harvesting in citizen-proposed Nova Scotia Protected Area continued…Goldsmith Lake Wilderness Area4Nov2024

Posted on November 5, 2024 by Admin

Post by David Patriquin

Map of the 3900 hectare proposed Goldsmith Lake Wilderness Area View Post Oct 1, 2024 for details.

Citizens have 40 days and 40 nights to comment on the proposed harvest but only comments specific to the site will be answered; in the meantime it’s not clear whether the parcel in question will remain in the Ecological Matrix or will become a High Production Forestry site or will eventually become part of the Conservation Zone. The venue by which citizens were to be informed and involved in long term planning, the Forestry EA (recommended by Lahey), now seems simply to have been dropped, and it’s not clear whether there is any ongoing landscape level planning for biodiversity conservation at NRR.

When I received the “New-Crown Land Harvest Plans” notice today (Nov 4, 2024) and saw 9 parcels totaling 345.65 ha listed for Annapolis Co.,  I wondered  whether those would include at least one within the citizen-proposed Goldsmith Lake Wilderness Area (re Open letter to Nova Scotia Premier Houston requesting cessation of logging in areas that are prime candidates for protection – post on this website Oct 17, 2024).

Indeed that is the case: Continue reading →

Posted in Conservation, NS NRR, ProtectedAreas | Comments Off on Harvesting in citizen-proposed Nova Scotia Protected Area continued…Goldsmith Lake Wilderness Area4Nov2024

A second scientific paper by MG Betts & colleagues further documents “Forest Degradation” in Maritime Canada 31Oct2024

Posted on November 1, 2024 by Admin

It’s difficult to understate the significance of this paper given the recent efforts of the E.U. to bring in regulations that limit exports and imports of forest products associated with “deforestation” and “forest degradation” while the Canadian forest industry and the federal government contend that our forestry practices are fully sustainable and express concern that such regulations would create unfair trade barriers for Canadian wood exports. The results and conclusions from this recent “Carbon Paper” and an earlier “Bird Paper” by MG Betts & colleagues, both based on data for forests in Maritime Canada, lend a lot of credence to recent protests in Nova Scotia over forest degradation associated with harvesting of remaining patches of Old Forest in landscapes on Crown lands. Likewise, the 2024 “Carbon Paper” does not support the contention of Forest NS that growing secondary forests lock carbon away more effectively than unharvested forests in Protected Areas.

“New Brunswick forests are losing, not storing, carbon. But conservation could have benefits for the climate and biodiversity”

So reads a News Release citing a paper published on Oct 30, 2024 in Global Change Biology by M.G. Betts et al.

M.G. Betts et al., 2024. “Congruent Long-Term Declines in Carbon and Biodiversity Are a Signature of Forest Degradation”Global Change Biology Oct 30, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.17541

The Full Text (graphics inserted): Continue reading →

Posted in carbon, Conservation, NS NRR, ProtectedAreas, Sustainable Wood Harvests, Triad, Wabanaki Forest | Tagged | Comments Off on A second scientific paper by MG Betts & colleagues further documents “Forest Degradation” in Maritime Canada 31Oct2024

Special Announcement – Public Meeting on the proposed Chain Lakes Wilderness Area Mon Oct 28, 2024

Posted on October 28, 2024 by Admin

Rutted logging road on Crown lands in the proposed Chain Lakes Wilderness Area

The province has promised to protect 20% of the land area of Nova Scotia by 2030, but government folks are evidently not taking their promise very seriously.

It appears that the intent of DNRR is to cut the best of the remaining public forests before protection is fully evaluated or finalized.

There are harvest proposals put forth within several proposed wilderness areas. The harvests would remove roughly half the forest each time under the guise of ecological forestry, but leave a degraded and fragmented landscape behind. Continue reading →

Posted in Conservation, Forest Roads, NS NRR, ProtectedAreas, Triad, Wabanaki Forest | Comments Off on Special Announcement – Public Meeting on the proposed Chain Lakes Wilderness Area Mon Oct 28, 2024

Open letter to Nova Scotia Premier Houston requesting cessation of logging in areas that are prime candidates for protection 17Oct2024

Posted on October 20, 2024 by David Patriquin


The letter from The Save our Old Forest Association (SOOF) with 17 co-sponsors requests cessation of logging in areas that are prime candidates for protection by 2030.

View Original Letter

View expanded version with photos & links below: Continue reading →

Posted in Citizen Sceince, Conservation, ProtectedAreas, Wabanaki Forest | Comments Off on Open letter to Nova Scotia Premier Houston requesting cessation of logging in areas that are prime candidates for protection 17Oct2024

Nova Scotia Government responds to Questions about the Sustainable Forest Harvest Level 16Oct2024

Posted on October 16, 2024 by David Patriquin

2014 Clearcut on Crown land, viewed in 2015 (Google Earth).  The oft-cited figure of “5.7 million cubic meters/annum” for the Sustainable Harvest Level for Nova Scotia was formulated in 2016, well before the Lahey Recommendations (2018) and the NS Government’s commitment (2021) to 20% Protection by 2030 (currently just under 14% of the NS landscape is protected).

The number that is being cited as the Sustainable Harvest Level for Nova Scotia, 5.7 million cubic meters/annum,  dates from NS Government sources in 2016. It surely does not represent what’s available today, what could be sustained well into the future  and what Nova Scotians wish to be available for harvesting, while allowing for other uses and values of our forested landscape.  For the sake of Nova Scotians at large and to provide credible numbers to the forest industry and investors, the government is urged to move quickly on its “Work [that] is underway to develop a new number based on the triad model”, and to follow the related recommendations of Bill Lahey. Continue reading →

Posted in NS NRR, ProtectedAreas, Soil & Aquatic Acidifcation, Sustainable Wood Harvests, Triad | Comments Off on Nova Scotia Government responds to Questions about the Sustainable Forest Harvest Level 16Oct2024

Lichen Camp at Goldsmith Lake, Nova Scotia, Celebrates and Packs Up 1Oct2024

Posted on October 1, 2024 by David Patriquin

By Nina Newington, Citizen Scientist and Lichen Camp Coordinator
and Lisa Proulx – Citizen Scientist

Nina Newington

Our new map of the 3900 hectare proposed Goldsmith Lake Wilderness Area
Click on images for larger versions

On Saturday September 28th, after 210 days camping on a logging road in Annapolis County, Citizen Scientists and our many allies came together to celebrate the achievements of Lichen Camp.

When we set up camp on March 2nd, there was an imminent threat of logging in the forest west of Goldsmith Lake. Our goal was to keep the forest standing while we researched and documented the biodiversity of the area, and to educate both people and government about its extraordinary conservation value.

The forests are still standing around the camp, and we have put Goldsmith Lake on the map, literally. Our new map of the 3900 hectare proposed Goldsmith Lake Wilderness Area shows not only the 77 species at risk occurrences we have identified to date, but also 20 stands of old-growth forest. Continue reading →

Posted in Citizen Sceince, Conservation, ProtectedAreas, Species At Risk, Wabanaki Forest | Comments Off on Lichen Camp at Goldsmith Lake, Nova Scotia, Celebrates and Packs Up 1Oct2024