Province's forests are in bad shape

BY DONNA SMYTH

“We’re at the crossroads in terms of Nova Scotia’s natural resources,” says Joanne Cook, former coordinator of the Ecology Action Centre’s ‘Standing Tall: Forests for Life’ campaign.

That’s what she told an audience at the Dr. Arthur Hines School in Summerville last Thursday night, Feb. 28. Around 30 people came out on a wintry evening to attend the Citizen Action to Protect the Environment (CAPE)-sponsored presentation.

She said the N.S. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is planning a new 10-year Natural Resources Strategy that will determine what we do about forestry, mining, parks and biodiversity. After strenuous lobbying from many interested environmental and citizens’ groups, the government has agreed to let the public have direct input into the process through presentations to a Voluntary Planning Committee, which will hold consultations throughout the province between April and June of this year.

Focusing on the forestry sector, Cook said the province’s forests are in bad shape because the native Acadian Forest - once a healthy and diverse mix of hardwoods and softwoods - has been systematically cut and replaced by spruce and balsam fir farms.

“We’ve put all our forestry eggs in the softwood basket,” she said, “and now, because of global economic and market forces, the industry is teetering on the brink of disaster across Canada. In Nova Scotia, Mactara is bankrupt and other major players are on the edge, with a 35-40 per cent job loss in the forestry sector.”

Climate change complicates things

Cook pointed out that climate change complicates the basic problems because, according to 2007 modeling by UNB forestry experts, spruce and fir habitat will shrink dramatically over the next 50 years. Also, there’s a growing body of research showing that clearcuts are net carbon emitters even when regrowth is taken into account. Therefore, doing forestry ‘business as usual’ is not an appropriate or even smart response to the crisis.

The growing trend toward clearcuts for so-called “biomass energy use” is also not an option if Nova Scotia is to restore a healthy, diverse forest able to tolerate climate change.

The restoration forestry model that involves select cutting and careful management of woodlots without large clearcuts/spraying/plantation planting is part of the obvious change needed for future management of the province’s forests. “But,” Cook said, “this means changing the way things are done, not only in this province, but within DNR. The only way to do this is for the citizens to make their concerns and solutions known through the consultation process. Whenever Voluntary Planning comes knocking, we have to be there.

“It doesn’t matter if you can’t grasp all the technical arguments. Go with your heart and the knowledge that things have to change. That change begins with us.”

For information about the consultations, contact the Ecology Action Centre’s Standing Tall: Forests for Life campaign www.novascotiaforests.ca) or call 902-429-1335. For local information, call CAPE (Citizen Action to Protect the Environment) at 633-2513.