NEWS... No to clearcutting in Shelburne County, say muni councils and forestry experts
OPINION: Lands & Forestry minister Rankin should resign today
STOP CLEARCUTTING signs going up in Shelburne County.
Concerns appear to be rising again in Shelburne County about what appears to be the Department of Lands and Forestry (L&F) minister Iain Rankin's determination to clearcut thousands of acres of Nova Scotia forests, including several clear cuts planned for Shelburne County. The concerns are evidenced by a series of signs appearing this week near several planned clear cuts in the County.
During the past week, L&F announced on ther web site yet another harvest near Deception Lake in Upper Ohio. The harvest, according to the web site, will encompass 227 acres. Additional cuts are planned for Upper Clyde, Allendale and Sable River.
Recent cuts of more than 500 hectares announced by L&F are detailed on Facebook page for People for Ecological Forestry.
Graphic: People for Ecological Forestry.
Minister Rankin on CBC March 25: https://www.stopclearcuts.com/cbcrankin
Community Forests' Carmen Williams on CBC discussing the devastating clear-cuts in SW Nova and the open letter demanding a clear-cutting halt until the minister meets with us to hear the community concerns. https://www.cbc.ca/listen/shows/information-morning-ns/segment/15680411
Community Forests' Shelly Hipson on Rick Howe Show on News 95.7
Shelburne County has become the beachhead for what appears to be the McNeil government's war against the woodlands and forests of the province - and the nearby communities who have been given no say in the deforestation programme..
A ten-year harvesting concession worth tens of millions of dollars has been granted to a consortium of 13 large, industrial lumber interests, led by Northern Pulp and Paper, whose massive furnaces require millions of tonnes of wood fibre per year and whose ink-black effluent has been choking the Northumberland Straight for years. Northern Pulp is owned by Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), a multi-billion dollar, Indonesia-based multinational implicated by the World Wildlife Fund and others in the rapid deforestation of 80,000 acres of prime rainforest in Indonesian in the past four years. APP claims to operate in 26 countries the world over.
Send your message to the McNeil government that their current plan to allow thousands of acres of woods and forests in this province to be clearcut by a is SIMPLY NOT ACCEPTABLE. These are the woods and forests we grew up in and around; that we still walk and hike in; snowshoe and ski in; hunt and fish in. There has been NO CONSULTATION with us whatsoever. Click on the image above of Minister Iain Rankin to let him know that he must stop the clearcutting rampage and sit down with us to hear what kind of future WE WANT for the woods and forests in OUR COMMUNITIES. Read the letter and ADD YOUR NAME here: https://www.stopclearcuts.com/letter
This page is designed as a resource for those who are seeking information about the rapid deforestation of Nova Scotia's woodlands and who support a reasonable and responsible forest harvesting policy in the province. Here, you will find links to news stories, petitions, personal accounts, forest and harvesting policy and science and other matters of interest.
NEWS
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To Block a Clearcut: story by journalist Zack Metcalfe about citizen action to block planned clear cutting in Shelburne County
read in Halifax Magazine -
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By Any Other Name: Nova Scotia’s Department of Lands and Forestry just made “Clearcuts” disappear
Nova Scotians who signed up to receive proposed harvest plans on Crown land might have noticed some disturbing changes recently. As of a few days ago the maps no longer specify whether a proposed cut is a “clearcut” or not. The word was removed from the legend and the list of harvest prescription types. Full story @ Halifax Examiner (behind paywall): https://www.halifaxexaminer.ca/province-house/by-any-other-name-nova-sco...
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WestFor 5-year clearcut plan for Shelburne
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Herbicide Trials: A film
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Stop the biomassacre: Op-ed about the huge biomass plant in Port Hawkesbury contining to burn large amounts of our forests every day. Other forests in Nova Scotia - including those in Shelburne County, are being clearcut, chipped and shipped to Europe
RESOURCES
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NS FOREST NOTES
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HEALTHY FOREST COALITION
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ECOLOGICAL FORESTRY IN SW NOVA FACEBOOK
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MEDWAY COMMUNITY FOREST CO-OP
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COMMUNITY FORESTS INTERNATIONAL
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STOP SPRAYING & CLEAR-CUTTING NS FACEBOOK
East Coast Environmental Law (ECELAW) 2015 Report
Forest Biomass Energy Policy in the Maritime Provinces: Accounting for Science
Trees, Trash, and Toxics: How Biomass Energy Has Become the New Coal
Biomass Information: Ecology Action Centre, March 2011, Jamie Simpson
FRIENDS OF NATURE: NOVA SCOTIA - blog posts on Forest Biomass
THE NATURALIST: Facebook Group
EVENTS
March 12-13, 2019: Forested Wetlands in Atlantic Canada Concluding Project Workshop
LAHEY REPORT: Independent Review of Forest Practices
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Review, report and recommendations on forestry practices in Nova Scotia. Prof William Lahey recommends drastic reductions in clear cutting in the Province [see report here] Includes Report, Government Response, Executive Summary, Harvesting Guidelines, Conclusions & Recommendations
ECOLOGY ACTION CENTRE response to Lahey Report.
Immediate action needed, including:
- Reform DNR’s function, policies and processes as per the Lahey report remedy package.
- Immediate end to clearcutting on sensitive/thin soils, particularly in western Nova Scotia.
- Immediate ban on whole tree harvesting. This was announced in 2013 but never enacted.
- Immediate expansion of Medway Community Forest as per Lahey's recommendation.
- Throw out the useless “western Crown lands plan” and start working on something to replace it that is guided by the principles in the Lahey report, including doing it collaboratively with stakeholders. More public influence into managing these lands was the promise and expectation following the Bowater land purchase. As recommended by Lahey, the western Crown land plan needs a complete redo.
- The Lahey report concluded that protected areas designations are unfinished (pg.18). Get moving with implementing the long overdue parks & protected areas plan in full. The plan is only two-thirds implemented and more than three years behind schedule. The government should concentrate on protecting forested sites, especially old forests which the Lahey report also singles out for more protection — e.g., Giants Lake, Barneys River, Wentworth Valley and long delayed additions to Bornish Hills, Portapique and Economy River Wilderness Areas. Many of these sites were purchased from forestry companies specifically for conservation. The McNeil government has been dawdling on these sites, and a long list of sites like them, for long enough. It’s time to get on with it. Just designate them already.
- An immediate end to clearcutting adjacent to protected areas (pgs.15, 64). (It is instructive to note that the recent Paunke Lake report also singled out this issue and recommended a minimum 300 metre buffer around parks and wilderness areas.)
- Quickly identify and protect all remaining old growth forest stands on Crown land as per Lahey. There is only a tiny bit left so it is tremendously important. Government must absolutely ensure that no more old growth forests are “accidently” approved for harvesting (oops). Especially for biomass.
- No long-term wood supply agreements (e.g., WestFor) until the report is fully implemented and public trust is restored.
- Get serious about seriously reducing clearcutting on Crown land now. Stop waiting. It’s time to act decisively.
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