This CBC item of a few years ago is a wonderful and “seasonally appropriate” introduction to the Mik’maq language.
To delve further into this language, as a settler descendant I highly recommend The Language of this Land, Mi’kma’ki
by Trudy Sable and Bernie Francis (2012 and 2018): Continue reading
The Big Question: Will we see an end to “Highgrading at the Landscape Level” on Crown lands on Jan 1, 2023?
‘Just wonderin’ re: items (c) and (d) below and ‘The Big Question” (right).
The current* NS Government’s Commitment (clause 10 in the Environmental Goals and Climate Change Reduction Act, As Passed on Nov 5, 2021, bolding inserted):
*A PC Government was elected with a majority on Aug 17, 2021, replacing two successive Liberal Governments (2013-2019).
The Government’s goals with respect to the protection of land are
(a) to conserve at least 20% of the total land and water mass of the Province by 2030 as protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, including Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas, in a manner consistent with national reporting criteria;
(b) to support the goal in clause (a) with a collaborative protected areas strategy to be released by December 31, 2023;
—->(c) to implement by 2023 an ecological forestry approach for Crown lands, consistent with the recommendations in “An Independent Review of Forest Practices in Nova Scotia” prepared by William Lahey in 2018, through the triad model of forest management that prioritizes the sustainability of ecosystems and biodiversity in the Province; and
—->(d) to identify by 2023 the percentage allocation of Crown land dedicated to each pillar of the triad model of forest management referred to in clause (c).
There was lots left to do as of July 13, 2022
There has been very little info and essentially no public consultation coming from the government through 2022 in regard to fully implementing the Triad system of forest management by the beginning of 2023 (re: commitment stated in item 10c in the Environmental Goals and Climate Change Reduction Act of Oct 2021, and lots remains to be done (View post July 13, 2022).
A related commitment under item 10 – (a) the protection of 20% of land and water area by 2030 and (b) a strategy for the same by December 31, 2023 – is highly relevant to implementing the Triad.
The scuttle has been that “nothing is really happening” in regard to new Protected Areas but it seems the pressure is on, with the release of ad for a Planner to play a “leading role in developing and implementing various priorities directed towards legally designating new areas.” It’s a Term Position – a sign, I guess, that this government has no plans to go beyond 20% Protection (the national goal is 30%).
UPDATE Nov 3, 2022:
The presentation and discussion was recorded and is available at https://fb.watch/gA2Fg2Fclo/.
The discussion was limited and did not address Bev Wigney’s important question, submitted ahead of time, in brief that was: “Shouldn’t the “almost old growth forests” be where we are finding these restoration opportunities?” Detailed at the end of this post *
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A notice about this talk was posted today on the MTRI Facebook Page. From that page:
Don’t miss your chance to learn more about Nova Scotia’s Old-Growth Forest Policy this Thursday, Nov. 3 from 7-8 PM with Peter Bush, Old-Growth Forest Coordinator with the province. Peter will give an overview of the policy and give an opportunity to answer any questions you may have. Continue reading
The Online Survey is open until Oct 25, 2022. I did the survey & felt it is well designed and worthwhile doing – if they actually follow up on it. I encourage the Forestry Economic Task Force to publish a report on the results.
We are hearing next to nothing about the final stages in implementation of the Lahey Recommendations with now less than 3 months to the complete actions promised in the Environmental Goals and Climate Change Reduction Act (bolding inserted):
10 (c) to implement by 2023 an ecological forestry approach for Crown lands, consistent with the recommendations in “An Independent Review of Forest Practices in Nova Scotia” prepared by William Lahey in 2018, through the triad model of forest management that prioritizes the sustainability of ecosystems and biodiversity in the Province; and
10 (d) to identify by 2023 the percentage allocation of Crown land dedicated to each pillar of the triad model of forest management referred to in clause (c).
Click on image for larger version
UPDATE: A video of this really excellent webinar is posted on the MTRI Facebook Page; View Sit Back Seminar: Healthy Soils – Healthy Woodlands
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Received from Family Forests@FamilyForestNetwork (FB Page, Environmental Conservation Organization):
“Healthy soils are the foundation of healthy forests. The Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and Renewables is collaborating on two new projects with researchers at the Halifax and Truro campuses of Dalhousie University to learn more about nutrients and organisms in forested soils across the province.
“The Family Forest Network strongly encourages woodland owners, contractors and forest professionals to attend a webinar at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20, to hear more about this groundbreaking project directly from the researchers who are leading it.
Continue reading
“Highgrading at the Landscape Level” (Landscape Level Planning for short term Wood Supply) in the vicinity of Crown land block AP068499 Beals Meadow. More Info
The recommendation to implement a “Forest Triad” in NS was a central recommendation of the Forest Practices Review (aka the Lahey report, The Independent Review of Forest Practices in Nova Scotia) tabled on Aug 21, 2018.
Under the Liberals (2013-2021) a process was set up to implement the recommendations, all the while logging as normal continued. While the practices to be applied to the Ecological Matrix were fully worked out and published in July of 2021, it was not until recently, under the new PC Government (elected in Aug 2021) that those became required practices on new Crown land harvests as of June 1, 2022– with a last ditch grab-the-old-way on already approved harvests.
So with less than 6 months left to 2023, what’s still needs to be done to implement the Triad by 2023?
Plenty.
I am setting up this website as a more focussed successor to Nova Scotia Forest Notes, a blog/website I began on June 21, 2016 and which I will not be updating after June 21, 2022.
more to follow…
– DGP June 9, 2022
