The Association for Sustainable Forestry

Truro, N.S.

Forest landowners and silviculture contractors will be pleased to hear that fresh funding for silviculture work is now available through ASF. Continual stewardship of forest resources remains a strong priority for landowners, reflected in the increasing numbers of applications received by ASF for follow-up treatments. For example, many older plantations and PCTs can benefit from commercial thinning. Species such as Red and White spruce, Sugar maple, and Yellow birch respond well to this treatment on good sites, resulting in significant surges in tree diameter growth.

Congratulations are extended to Kevin Veinotte of Northfield, Lunenburg County, for winning (a second time) the title of 2018 Provincial Woodland Owner of the Year. Kevin has completed selection management (with multiple entries) over large areas of his woodland with the assistance of ASF funding. Well deserved, Kevin! Congratulations also go to Bill and Ruth Oprel of Dunekin, Inverness County, and to Jaime Snell-Pollendine, whose woodlot is near Wentworth, Cumberland County, for being judged Regional Woodland Owners of the Year.

Applying for silviculture funding through ASF is an easy process. Simply go to our webpage (www.asforestry.com), fill out a funding request form, and send it. This can be done online or by printing and mailing or faxing the form. We’ll compile the received requests and get back to you with an amount that fits our budget. If you require assistance in completing the forms or have any questions about the incentives offered by ASF, please give Ed MacLean or myself a call.

Hope to see you in the woods this fall!

David Sutherland, R.P.F.

Coordinator, Association for Sustainable Forestry

P.O. Box 696

Truro, N.S. B2N 5E5

Phone 902-895-1179

www.asforestry.com

Registered Professional Foresters Association of Nova Scotia (RFPANS)

Truro, N.S.

At the annual general meeting in March, the RPFANS ushered in new members of the executive: vice-president Peter Burchill and councilor Andrew West. They join president Kevin Keys and councilors Jeremy MacDonald and Sheldon Connolly. Tim O’Brien is also assisting in the vacant role of past president. Mike Brown remains treasurer.

The website and committees have been a focus for the executive, and while the improvements to CFE reporting have been well accepted through the website, focus has now been turned to other areas of the site. The policy committee is well underway with a full review of all historical, standard, and reference documentation used by the association found on the website. Other committees have also been actively planning.

Please watch for announcement of the return of the fall field meeting in late September, hosted by the events committee in the western part of the province. The newly formed external communication committee, formed at the AGM, has been active in creating their terms of reference and setting goals for the balance of this year. It is very possible that you have seen or will begin to see articles on forestry in Nova Scotia originating from this committee.

If you are interested in serving on a committee, please reach out, as we would appreciate having your expertise.

On June 25, a luncheon was held in Truro to further commemorate Jonathan Kierstead, RPF, who was posthumously awarded the Achievement Award at the AGM. His wife Gail and his children proudly accepted the award. Jonathan was recognized for his dedication and leadership in promoting and advancing the use of ecosystem-based forest management in Nova Scotia, and he will be sadly missed.

Rob Young, RPF

Executive Director, RPFANS

contact@rpfans.ca

Breton Forest Innovation Cooperative

Middle River, N.S.

On July 31, the Breton Forest Innovation Cooperative (BFIC) formally began business planning by welcoming development coordinator Stacie Carroll to the task of setting up a viable “shop” in Middle River, Victoria County. Breton Forest believes in supporting healthy forest systems, and rural communities and their economies.

Breton Forest is a member co-op formed in March around the concept of adding value to our forest products as a tool to improve forest management as well as the economic health of our Cape Breton communities. BFIC is converting the former Finewood Flooring facility into a Forest Hub that will function to create locally made, valuable products, conduct forest education, and practise sustainable forest management.

Stacie Carroll comes to the task with 20 years of silvicultural and forest technician experience, ranging from active reforestation, private land management, and lobbying, as well as rural community development. She is a woodlot owner, entrepreneur, and food forest farmer, and is passionate about creating healthy forests that support flora, fauna, and folks. She is trained in forest ecosystem classification, and has worked directly with many forest-sector boards of directors across Nova Scotia. She believes in collaboration, and desires to empower rural vitality.

Forests provide so many things that people consume. Those trees that we can nurture and grow will, through ingenuity, turn into things like flooring, cutting boards, cooking utensils, carvings, lumber, furniture, musical instruments, packaging, toiletries, and automotive and heating fuels. Non-timber products include maple and birch syrup, mushrooms, herbs, reed baskets, and birch bark canoes, to name just a few. These various goods can be utilized while maintaining habitat for all living things, while simultaneously providing clean air, water, and shade. If we grow the things we consume, and utilize them first within our own community, we are making responsible decisions for generations to come.

BFIC believes that by bringing similar businesses together and sharing resources, we can continually increase our potential for improved forest health and rural economic prosperity.

BFIC will be hosting another open house soon. Please check for details at www.bretonforest.org.

Stacie Carroll

Business Development Coordinator, BFIC

Email: stacie@bretonforest.org

Phone: 902-295-1093.

New Brunswick Federation of Woodlot Owners

Fredericton, N.B.

Where do the leaders of New Brunswick’s political parties stand in relation to private woodlot issues?

The New Brunswick Federation of Woodlot Owners, which represents 42,000 woodlot owners in New Brunswick, has conducted a survey of each of our political parties on their positions concerning issues that affect our members as well as the overall economy of New Brunswick. The parties were questioned on silviculture funding, ensuring market access, marketing boards, the Crown Lands and Forests Act, and alternative uses for forest products.

With the election quickly approaching, this information can be of help in making your final independent decision. The full survey can be found on our website, www.nbwoodlotowners.ca.

In summary, here are the general responses from our political parties.

Green Party: The Green Party feels that the current silviculture program is inadequate, and the party encourages enforcement of the relevant provisions of the Crown Lands and Forests Act to ensure proportional access to the wood market. The party supports the restoration of private woodlots as the primary source of supply, and its support for the marketing board system is strong. It believes the current Crown Lands and Forests Act should be re-written, as it is outdated, unfair, and unsustainable. The Green party deems that woodlot owners, farmers, and fisherman are vital to the health of rural economies.

People’s Alliance Party: The People’s Alliance of New Brunswick states that private woodlots should be the primary source of wood, and volumes and values must be established prior to any Crown land licensee operating approvals. The party believes that it is necessary for a provincial marketing board group to be in place to determine a fair value for products, and that the Crown Lands and Forests Act should be amended. Its platform is for the re-establishment of forest extension services for woodlot owners and small businesses, to help them develop their woodlots and optimize the benefits.

Progressive Conservative Party: The PC Party of New Brunswick understands the importance of silviculture and is committed to working to ensure necessary support is provided. It is committed to analyzing the 2014 forestry deal. Its support for marketing boards is unclear, as is its interest in amending the Crown Lands and Forests Act. It supports innovation in the use of primary forest products. The PC party is committed to standing up for private woodlot owners, and will work with provincial and federal partners to ensure the industry is defended. I find this to be a very interesting position, given that the PCs would not come out and say they were in support of either marketing boards or amendments to the Crown Lands and Forests Act. It would seem to me that they are potentially only interested in verbal support, not actual action. This would be good to clarify with your local candidate.

Liberal Party: The Liberal Party will continue to contribute to the private woodlot silviculture program, but it has not indicated at what level this would be. It would be good to clarify this with your candidate, to see if the current funding level and ratio will be maintained. The Liberals see the potential for greater use for private wood, but state that they are bound by the 2014 agreement. They will direct the minister to monitor and respect the proportional supply statement of the Crown Lands and Forests Act. They are very focused on international trade, and will work to ensure the appropriate infrastructure for the transportation of products from all industries, through ports, rails, and roads. They believe that it is vital to our economy that we take advantage of new technologies to boost our innovative capacity as a province.

NDP: The New Democratic Party is in support of programs that assist private woodlot owners in managing and increasing the value of their woodlots, while providing employment to New Brunswick’s woodland workers. The party encourages the enforcement of provisions of the Crown Lands and Forests Act that give marketing boards the ability to negotiate on behalf of all private woodlot owners. It recognizes the need to regulate the amount of wood being taken from Crown land. The NDP believes that the current Crown Lands and Forests Act does not serve the needs of the province and should be overhauled in consultation with woodlot owners and other forest users to allow better forest management practices to be implemented. The NDP proposes to implement a new forestry strategy, review best practices, and find a made-in-New Brunswick solution to provide the best economic advantage possible to as many people as possible.

If you wish to view the full survey, visit our website: www.nbwoodlotowners.ca.

NBFWO will be holding its annual general meeting at the Fredericton Inn on October 11, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Join us to learn what is new in the private woodlot sector, hear interesting speakers, and network with other private woodlot owners. This is your opportunity to help shape the work of the federation for the coming year. We want to hear from you! Come one, come all. If you have an interest in the private woodlot sector, we would love to have you attend. More detail will be available on our Facebook page as we confirm our guest speakers.

Anyone interested in attending can register by emailing nbfwo@nb.aibn.com or by calling 506-459-2990. A complimentary lunch is provided, so please let us know if you are planning to attend.

Susannah Banks

Executive Director, NBFWO

506-459-2990

nbfwo@aibn.com

nbwoodlotowners.ca

North Nova Lumberjacks Society

Truro, N.S.

Well, if you missed the 2018 Nova Scotia Lumberjack Championships in Barrington, you missed a heck of a show. Fifty of the best lumberjack athletes from across Canada competed in a jam-packed contest for two days. Top honours went to Caitlin Carroll of Truro, N.S., for winning the Women’s Overall Championship; Marcel Dupuis of Memramcook, N.B., for winning the Men’s title; and Donald Lambert from St. Gilles, Que., for taking the Overall in the Master’s (Over 55) Division. The weather was perfect, the crowd was huge, and no one went home disappointed – there was more chopping and sawing action than has been seen in the Maritimes in years. We’d like to extend a huge thank-you to all of our generous sponsors and to all the fantastic volunteers who made the show a success! Be sure to watch for episodes of “Lumberjacks,” produced from the competition, on Game network and Wild TV later this year.

Next up for our group is the inaugural Canadian Axe Throwing Championships in Liverpool, N.S., on Aug. 24-25. Competitors from across the country and as far away as Ireland, Germany, and Sweden are competing in this historic event. It is the first event of its kind in Canada, and the first national championship in lumberjack sports ever to be held in Nova Scotia!

Reigning World Axe Throwing Champion Daniel Hedberg, of Sweden, will attempt to take home the Gold in the Men’s division, while local favourite Suzy Atwood will attempt to keep the big prize in the Women’s division here in Nova Scotia. More than $11,000 in total prize money will be awarded! We will have the results in the next edition of AFR, as well as on our website, www.novalumberjacks.com, and our Facebook page, so keep your eyes peeled.

Stay sharp folks.

Ryan McIntyre

President, North Nova Lumberjacks Society

902-499-2727

novalumberjacks@gmail.com

Federation of Nova Scotia Woodland Owners

Truro, N.S.

Consumer demand for all types of commodities is expected to triple by 2050. Let that sink into the “grey matter,” and just think about the amount of stress that will put on the world’s natural resources. We as North Americans are largely to blame. Lack of sustainable consumption in our “quest for more” material lives has us, instead, using the natural resources of developing nations – for two main reasons: to save a few pennies, and because we are stuck in a “not in my backyard” arrogance (contrary to our delusion that we live in a “support local” community). We are over-using resources that support dirty energy – permanently altering forests for farming and ranching, continually polluting water and soil by mining minerals with little to no environmental regulations, for sale abroad – with very little concern for the long-term health of our resource structures. This creates an unfortunate cycle. As resources are depleted, biodiversity wanes; eventually we are left trying to provide the most basic of needs – clean air, water, and food – for an ever-increasing number of people.

Why is this an important fact for all of us? Human consumption patterns affect us all at every moment of every day, regardless of whether we explore the consequences. Developing countries, in their struggle to improve their standard of living in the quickest possible way, are scrambling to catch up. In the meantime, though they may be rich in natural resources such as fuels, minerals, or timber – because of economic hardships and societal problems like poverty or lack of food or clean water – environmental integrity is likely to suffer as people attempt to improve their living conditions.

Why is it important for you to think about this? We all need clothing, food, shelter, and water. It is up to us as individuals to support resource streams that are responsible; the consumer has the ultimate choice. We need to be innovative and continually improve our product selections through more localized production. Forests can provide so many of the items that we use daily.

What does this mean for a small province such as Nova Scotia? With a provincial land base that’s 60 percent privately owned, in a country whose land base is only six percent privately owned, we have a unique opportunity to take matters into our own hands. Nova Scotians have the potential to grow and manufacture all we need from our own sustainable forests. In return, we are continually renewing forest structures and supporting local communities. From root to roof, tree to table, bark to mulch, mushroom to medicine, sap to syrup, and chips to fuel, we can produce it all, including clothing, instruments, paper, and other items – products that are needed to support other industries such as tourism. An increase in visitors to our beautiful province also increases the demand for toiletries, as well as disposable food and beverage containers, maps, brochures, field guides, and business directories.

What should we consider while planning a future for our forests that continues to provide a rich ecosystem for us all? We need to promote forestry that’s done in a sustainable manner. Sustainable development is considered the balanced approach to achieving a better quality of life while maintaining environmental integrity. The three aspects to sustainable development are economic, social, and environmental. These three aspects are commonly referred to as the “three-legged stool.” It is this three-legged stool upon which a healthy society can be built.

By investing in regional forestry, farming, and local development, shortening transportation options where possible, investing in better sources of energy, and choosing not to live in areas far from the resources we are dependent upon, we are building this stool. When we support local, we are investing in the long-term health of our communities by supporting healthier environments that allow us all to benefit from and enjoy a healthy ecosystem – clean air and water, healthful food, and recreational opportunities. Forests provide the answers to our consumption behaviours.

Nova Scotia woodland owners have the potential to provide our communities with almost everything we consume. The time to think about how to support local forest owners, producers, and silviculturists – so they have better access to markets and product sets – is now. In return they can better support all of us. We are private land managers committed to growing healthy forests for future generations. Together we can.

Stacie Carroll

Executive Director, FNSWO

Phone 1-844-966-3568

Email stacie@fnswo.ca