Above, the NSWOOA Board of Directors gathered recently to plan our April 12 Annual General Meeting. From left to right: NSWOOA Secretary Paul Brison, Vice President Ken MacRury, Barbara Gallagher, Jack McLellan (not visible), Treasurer Greg Amon, Charlie Baird, President Lorne Burrows, and Minga O’Brien. Board members not shown: Dave Parker, Austin Parsons, and Gerald Romsa.
Hello Woodlot Owners!
Here's a question for you: Why do you belong to an association, club or organization? What makes you join up and renew your membership? To put it another way, suppose you were selling a membership in the NSWOOA to your neighbor: What would he or she get in return for joining?
Probably you would point out that the NSWOOA represents woodlot owners on boards and committees at the local and provincial levels, that the NSWOOA has ties and possibly sway with other organizations that can work for you. Of course the NSWOOA has a long history of accomplishments and quite a bit of expertise on woodlot policy and management. Of course you could trot out the maxim that as a group, you have much more influence than as an individual. And then there are the field days and demonstration sites.
But have you included the opportunity to go to meetings? No, this is not sarcasm or even irony. As a member of the NSWOOA, you have the opportunity to attend meetings, especially the Annual General Meeting, to be updated on our work, learn from fellow woodlot owners, and have your input on topics of interest. At this year's AGM on April 12, we will have an update on the Uneven-Aged Management Outreach Project, a chance to fill out surveys that will be the basis of a report that will influence forest policy for years to come, and time to discuss thermal biomass harvesting/market, FSC regulation changes, and a proposed submission to the Voluntary Planning Forest Policy Review Panel.
There you have it: Join up and go to the event!
Tentative Agenda 2008 AGM
8:30 Registration
9:00 Housekeeping, welcome, President's address and welcome
9:10 Business Meeting
- Minutes from 2007 AGM
- Business arising
- Financial reports
- New business
- Resolutions from the floor
- Other
- Election of Directors
10:15 Coffee Break
10:45 Voluntary Planning Discussion
12:00 (12:15) Dinner
1:00 Discussion of "Hot Topics": Biomass, FSC, Other
Annual General Meeting Information
Where: Masonic Hall, Great Village
When: April 12, 8:30 AM
Cost: $20 Registration includes meal
Other: Memberships and membership renewals available at the meeting
Time to renew
NSWOOA memberships are by the calendar year, so if you have not renewed recently your membership may well have expired. Membership coordinator Flora Johnson will shortly be sending out renewal notices to former members who have not renewed for 2008. In the meantime, click here to find the information we need from you if you would like to join or renew by mail. Mail it with your cheque to the address provided. But better yet, bring it with you to the AGM!
Borealization
By Jamie Simpson, from the book Restoring the Acadian Forest.
Borealization is a term given by some to describe the increasing abundance in the Acadian Forest of tree species common to the Boreal Forest. These species are exposure-resistant trees such as poplar species, white birch, black spruce, jack pine and balsam fir, all of which are well adapted to frequent, large scale disturbances that are common in the Boreal Forest. Borealization of the Acadian Forest reduces the ecological resilience of the forest by making it more susceptible to large scale disturbances such as diseases, windstorms and insect infestation, a risky trend in the face of climate change. (p. 18)
Question: What are the driving factors of borealization?
Uneven-Aged Management Outreach Project
By Flora Johnson, NSWOOA Membership Services Coordinator
Looking for information on uneven-aged management or the Category 7 Quality Improvement Silviculture Program? Just look at the left side of this page. There you'll find links to our information package and reference list. Below that, you'll find links to articles and sources of information on uneven-aged management.
Interested in attending one of our free workshops? As a visitor to the NSWOOA website, you have an opportunity to pre-register for one of these programs before they are officially announced to the public.
Each program will begin with a morning workshop that will include both presentations and group discussion. This will be followed by an opportunity to visit a woodlot that has qualified for funding under the provincial funding program. There you will be able to see these treatments "on the ground" and have a chance to talk with the woodlot owner and/or contractor about the work and challenges involved in this approach.
Space in these programs is limited, so we encourage you to pre-register as soon as possible. Call 902-673-2278 or email nswooa@gmail.com
The programs are planned as follows:
- May 3 : Digby County, Richfield area
- May 10: Colchester County, Earltown area
- May 24: Queens County, North and South Brookfield area
- June 7: Victoria County, Middle River area.
- June 14: Antigonish County, St. Joseph area.
Lines of Communication
Members are encouraged to contact the Board of Directors, the Executive and other members through our email address (nswooa@gmail.com) or by phone (902-633-2108 or, for member services, 902-673-3009). Please feel free to use these methods to keep us informed of what is going on in your woodlot, in your community or area. We try to keep you informed through these updates, newsletters and mail outs, our column in Atlantic Forestry Review, the Annual General Meeting and this website.
