Clear cut by Northern Pulp Corp.
This campagin to pressure the NDP to keep their promises is coordinated by Jamie Simpson. Funds for the first month of billboard time comes from individuals across Nova Scotia who care about our forests, and are frustrated by the NDP's failure to improve practices. Jamie can be reached at 902-817-1737, or by email at acadianforest@gmail.com. Get in touch and lend a hand!
Nothing has changed in Nova Scotia’s forests. Despite the NDP government’s promises to rein in damaging forestry practices, clearcutting and whole-tree harvesting continue unabated. Nova Scotia’s government recently completed a three-year process to develop a new Natural Resources strategy, resulting in promises to end whole-tree harvesting and limit clearcutting to 50% of harvests. The government put the statements in writing on the Department of Natural Resources' website. Even the most cynical among us thought they just might follow through with these commitments.
But no. The promise to stop whole-tree harvesting was replaced with a suggestion that the government would work on guidelines for whole-tree harvesting. This sounds distressingly familiar. The Department of Natural Resources has already spent years working on guidelines for whole-tree harvesting, while forestry companies continue this practice that makes traditional clearcutting look kind and gentle in comparison.
And the clearcutting target? A look at the fine print reveals that this promise is nearly meaningless. The government defined a clearcut so narrowly that the 50% target may have already been reached, simply by changing the definition of a clearcut. If there is a scattering of poor-quality trees left behind, it might not be a clearcut. If there's a bunch of seedlings over 3 millimetres in height, it's not a clearcut. If it's a 2-step shelterwood cut that removes the forest and leaves behind a bunch of 4.5 foot saplings, then it's not a clearcut. Previously, all such cutting would be considered clearcutting. Under the government's new definition, they can claim only a hollow success. Shameful.
I recently visited a fresh whole-tree clearcut. Before being mowed down, this forest was a healthy mix of red spruce, eastern hemlock, yellow birch, sugar maple, red maple, a perfect forest for partial harvest techniques. If managed with foresight, this forest would have provided employment and high-value trees indefinitely. Now it’s not much more than a mud pit. So much for the NDP government commitment to improving forestry practices and sustainable rural economies.
Nothing has changed in Nova Scotia’s forests. Despite the NDP government’s promises to rein in damaging forestry practices, clearcutting and whole-tree harvesting continue unabated. Nova Scotia’s government recently completed a three-year process to develop a new Natural Resources strategy, resulting in promises to end whole-tree harvesting and limit clearcutting to 50% of harvests. The government put the statements in writing on the Department of Natural Resources' website. Even the most cynical among us thought they just might follow through with these commitments.
But no. The promise to stop whole-tree harvesting was replaced with a suggestion that the government would work on guidelines for whole-tree harvesting. This sounds distressingly familiar. The Department of Natural Resources has already spent years working on guidelines for whole-tree harvesting, while forestry companies continue this practice that makes traditional clearcutting look kind and gentle in comparison.
And the clearcutting target? A look at the fine print reveals that this promise is nearly meaningless. The government defined a clearcut so narrowly that the 50% target may have already been reached, simply by changing the definition of a clearcut. If there is a scattering of poor-quality trees left behind, it might not be a clearcut. If there's a bunch of seedlings over 3 millimetres in height, it's not a clearcut. If it's a 2-step shelterwood cut that removes the forest and leaves behind a bunch of 4.5 foot saplings, then it's not a clearcut. Previously, all such cutting would be considered clearcutting. Under the government's new definition, they can claim only a hollow success. Shameful.
I recently visited a fresh whole-tree clearcut. Before being mowed down, this forest was a healthy mix of red spruce, eastern hemlock, yellow birch, sugar maple, red maple, a perfect forest for partial harvest techniques. If managed with foresight, this forest would have provided employment and high-value trees indefinitely. Now it’s not much more than a mud pit. So much for the NDP government commitment to improving forestry practices and sustainable rural economies.
