NSWOOA Update 25: July 2009

In this issue:
NSWOOA field day
Congratulations to the new minister of the Department of Natural Resources
Insect report from a NSWOOA member in the field
Sympathies
Comments on Acadian Forest restoration from Wade Prest
Uneven-aged management notes from Patricia Amero
How to reach us

Hello Woodlot Owners,

Well, the government has changed, “turned over” as they used to say. You, the reader, a woodlot owner, have received an invitation from the new Minister of Natural Resources to discuss the forestry industry. You know that Industry has well-prepared presentations and easy access to the minister. In preparation to the meeting, you make some notes on the present issues and opportunities.

You also know that contractors are going out of business, mills have been laying off workers or closing down. There is a great pressure for the new minister to boost forestry employment and to make changes that will make it easier and cheaper for large forest-based companies to operate profitably. The current pressure is to develop a biomass industry, and it is being sold as a “green” alternative. Large tracts of land are being sold off, possibly to foreign owners or to developers for non-forestry use. Nova Scotia is at the very bottom of the list for the number of jobs created per ton of timber harvested. What about climate change? Beetles? And the list goes on.

On the other side, DNR has recently put forth initiatives in multi-aged forest management, silviculture options, and certification. A review of forest policy has been under way, the first phase of which makes it very clear that there is a great deal of public interest in forestry, and a desire by the public to be involved in forestry-management decisions.

You will have half an hour. What will you advise the new minister?

Please let us know.


NSWOOA Field Day September 19, 2009
Woodlot of Marlene and Lloyd Langille
Hopewell Area, near New Glasgow

If you’re a landowner with a bog, swamp, marsh or other wetlands on your property, a mid-September field day in Pictou County will be of particular interest.

That’s because John Brazner, wetland and water specialist for Nova Scotia Environment, will be on hand to listen to comments or concerns and answer questions about a draft provincial wetland policy.

Mr. Brazner will be one of several presenters at a Nova Scotia Woodlot Owners and Operators Association field day on Saturday, Sept. 19. The event will be hosted by Lloyd and Marlene Langille of the Hopewell area, near New Glasgow.

Wetlands provide a wide range of ecosystem services, including cleaner drinking water, carbon storage, and wildlife habitat, often for rare or endangered species.

“For small woodlot owners . . . some of the key roles and services associated with wetlands include moderating the effects of large rains by storing water, stabilizing runoff and minimizing erosion and flooding,” said Mr. Brazner in an email interview.

“The policy will represent a commitment to managing Nova Scotia’s wetlands in a consistent manner and to balance the desire for maintaining a high level of wetland integrity for future generations with the current need for sustainable economic development in our communities,” said Mr. Brazner. “Ultimately, the policy is intended to prevent the net loss of Nova Scotia’s valuable wetlands.”

Mr. Brazner said that net loss doesn’t mean every wetland will be protected. He said government will continue to base project-development decisions on avoiding wetlands or requiring mitigation efforts or compensation when avoidance isn’t possible.

Developing a new wetland policy by the end of 2009 is a legislated commitment under the province’s Environmental Goals and Sustainable Prosperity Act. There will be public consultation before a policy is finalized.

More details on the field day, which will feature local food for lunch and wagon rides to different parts of the woodlot, will be released over the summer. The event will be held on a 130-acre mixed woodlot where the Langilles have been harvesting annually for more than 40 years. They’ve done so mainly through selection harvesting—cutting trees singly or in small groups—so wood volume has been retained and cut areas are vigorous and healthy with natural regeneration.

Also on the field day

NSWOOA member Rodney Spencer has agreed to participate in the field day on the Langille woodlot by demonstrating his Wood-Mizer bandsaw. He will bring some jigs to show how woodlot owners can produce value-added products, such as siding for buildings, etc. Rodney is well known for his sawing services and has been featured in the Update in past issues.

Information on registration, times, and the agenda will follow in a future Update, as well as directions to the site. Please make an effort to attend, and bring as many woodlot owner neighbours and interested folk as possible.

For more information on the field day, please contact George Johnson, chair of the NSWOOA field day committee, at 897-3750 (cell) or by email.

Congratulations

The Board and members of the NSWOOA offer hearty congratulations to John MacDonnell on his recent appointment to the position of Minister of the Department of Natural Resources. John’s approach to the management of the forests and the forest industry may well be different from that of many of our past ministers, as he began his experiences with woodlots as a horse logger. We wish him well in his new position and look forward to working with him for the betterment of the forests and woodlot owners.

Wildlife Report

Actual correspondence from a NSWOOA member in the field/woods June 10 .

"The mosquitoes have basically joined in with the blackflies, and now horseflies are part of the mix. Let's not forget the ticks. It depends on where you are and what kind of woods you are in. The no-seeums should arrive soon. Thanks goodness for this cool, damp weather. Really!! "

Sympathies

The Board and members of the NSWOOA extend sincere sympathies to former NSWOOA president Tom Miller and his family on the passing of Tom’s father.

Something to Think About

Jamie Simpson’s book Restoring the Acadian Forest contains several interviews with woodlot owners who have been involved in the restoration struggle. One interview is with Wade Prest:
“Prest has seen a gradual decline in the value of woodlots in the Acadian Forest causing higher volume harvesting of low value wood. He believes this trend towards quantity over quality prevents woodlot owners from managing their woodlots the way they would like. Instead they are forced to compete with contractors harvesting wood fibre on sites that would otherwise be uneconomical to harvest. ‘This leads to the fact that the benefits of owning land are being taken out private ownership … and being transferred to big companies, and this is not good for the forests or society.’” (Page 106. Copies of this book are available from Jamie.)

UAM Notes: Using silviculture funding to help offset restoration costs, part two
By Patricia Amero, RPF

In the previous newsletter, I discussed the silviculture treatment of fill planting—particularly underplanting, a type of fill planting that involves planting desired species under partial tree canopy. For this issue, I will discuss how fill planting can be used together with selection management to help you offset the cost of restoration and improvement efforts.

Selection management is part of the silviculture funding Category 7, Forest Quality Improvement, of the province’s Forest Sustainability Regulations and is available through the Association for Sustainable Forestry’s silviculture program as well as various Registered Buyers’ silviculture programs. Selection management involves the periodic harvest of trees that will not improve in growth or quality by means of individual tree selection and/or harvesting small groups of trees through patch cuts of various sizes. The aim is to create growing space for various aged and sized trees that are vigorous and are of good quality, often referred to as crop trees, promoting their growth and quality development, producing high-value forest products, and encouraging the regenerating class. Selection management is generally practiced in uneven-aged stands, but it also can be used to achieve multi-aged and structured forest conditions.

Take, for instance, a forest stand that contains an upper canopy of mature trees such as Balsam fir, White spruce, Red maple, and scattered Yellow birch and White ash with an intermediate class of immature spruce, Red maple, and some birches. Primarily Balsam fir, Red maple, and some Yellow birch are regenerating under canopy. A selection harvest could be used to salvage a portion of the maturing Balsam fir and White spruce while leaving partial canopy to provide conditions in which shade-tolerant species would be encouraged to fill in and establish.

However, because Balsam fir and Red maple are fairly shade-tolerant and aggressive, it might be difficult for Yellow birch regeneration to emerge and might be especially difficult for other desired species such as Red spruce, Hemlock, Sugar maple, and White ash to fill in, due not only to the prevalence of the Balsam Fir and Red maple but also because of the lack of desired seed sources in the area. In this case, fill planting (in the form of underplanting), as discussed in part one, can be used together with selection management to help move succession along for the next-generation forest.

Funding is available for both treatments as long as the criteria associated with each of these silviculture treatments are achievable. The criteria for fill planting, silviculture Category 1, were outlined in part one. In order to qualify for selection management, Category 7c, the following criteria must be met:

• Three different height classes must be present with one height class being at least 10 meters (33 feet). (Height classes are essentially the same as age classes.)
• At least 80% of the area must be covered by trees, but the height doesn’t matter.
• After treatment, the basal area must average 16-30 m2 per hectare, of which 5 m2 per hectare must consist of qualifying shade-tolerant species.
• After treatment, areas of dense young softwoods 3-7 meters (10-23 feet) tall and hardwoods 6-9 meters (20-30 feet) tall must be spaced 1.5 meters (5 feet) apart.

For more detailed information regarding selection management and criteria to be eligible for silviculture funding, please refer to this website. For a pdf on uneven-aged management, click here.

Lines of Communication

Members are encouraged to contact the Board of Directors, the Executive, and other members through our email address or by phone (902-633-2108 or, for member services, 902-673-2278). Please feel free to use these methods to keep us informed of what is going on in your woodlot or in your community or area. We try to keep you informed through these updates, newsletters and mailouts, our column in Atlantic Forestry Review, the Annual General Meeting, and this website.

NSWOOA Update, October 2007

Hello, woodlot owners:

This past summer provided an opportunity to visit Newfoundland, and of course a woodlot owner would be expected to check out the forests!

Ninety-two percent of that island's forests are Crown Lands, so there is no real woodlot owner culture there. Grey and dying spruce was noted scattered all along the Trans Canada, virtually from ferry terminal to St. John's. It seems they may have some of the same insect and climate challenges we have.

History books describe Newfoundland's forests as dominated by pines, and many stories recorded in the variety of books on Newfoundland verify this observation. However, today's visitors would have a difficult time spotting any pine that were not in obvious small plantations. Near Glenwood, Central Newfoundland, a Bowater Company Road permitted access deeper into the forests. There between kilometer 14 and kilometer 16 (distances are posted) a few medium sized pines were noted. Smaller pines and seedlings clustered around the larger pines. Obviously these trees had been spared when the surrounding area had been harvested. Why? Around Nova Scotia it is common to see pine left on acreage that has been otherwise clear cut, but the situation was different there. A local man who runs a processor in the woods near this area explained that they, harvester operators and contractors, were forbidden to cut pine. "If Forestry checks the worksite and finds a pine tree cut, you get a $500 fine," he explained. Those contractors and their operators have to be commended, as does the province's protection policy, for their efforts to protect such a valuable tree species. Whether we here in Nova Scotia would be as successful protecting a tree species miles deep in the woods is a question to ponder.

Here at Home

Speaking of grey and dying spruce, NSWOOA President Lorne Burrows has been noticing that there are dead and dying spruce in many places throughout the province. Some areas are affected more than others.

Is this an issue we should be following? How are woodlot owners dealing with this problem on their lands? We would like to start gathering information on this issue. Talk to a director, call us, or use our email address.

Acadian Forest Science Conference

Minga O'Brien, one of the organizers, tells us that there are a number of spaces available for the big conference slated for Oct. 10-13 in Fredericton. Especially she warns us not to be put off by that word science, as the idea of the conference is to bring us practical and useful information that we--ordinary woodlot owners--can use on our land. The public forum and field trips should make this a useful conference. For more information visit the website.

Category 7 Silviculture

Director Austin Parsons is now our representative on the oversight committee that administers the new dedicated funding for Category 7, Forest Quality Improvement, silviculture treatments. This category includes crop tree release, crop tree pruning, and selection management for tolerant softwood, mixed wood, or hardwood stands. It is more or less up to woodlot owners and the contractors who work suitable lands to make sure that these funds are used, and used effectively. High demand for these funds will show that a permanent and growing fund is needed. The NSWOOA supports woodlot owners who wish to avail themselves of these funds and is taking steps to familiarize members with the process and regulations. Stay tuned, or contact us directly.

A Rose is a Rose?

Shakespeare asked the question "What's in a name?" At its Sept. 20 meeting, the Board of Directors wrestled briefly with this question.

For some time, it has been apparent that using our full name on a crest, badge, or other item is difficult because the name is so long.Some members thought we should use only "NSWOOA," while others proposed adopting the brand name "NS WOODS" as a short way of designating our Association. In the end it was decided to consult you, our members, for input and reactions. What are the arguments for and against? (Shakespeare's answer, of course, was that "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.") Let any of our directors know your thoughts; inform us by telephone or email. Perhaps you have a logo or emblem idea that we should consider.

Stora Sale

Like everybody else, the NSWOOA is waiting to see whether the sale of the local Stora mill is going to be a good thing. The concern for jobs at the mill is a very real worry, but our concerns do not end there. Not only has the contracting industry already suffered a major hit, but there is also great concern for the woodlot owner. In any event, there is at present every reason to view the sale in a favorable light, and to hope for the best.

Tax Changes for Firewood Suppliers

As of June 21, 2007, any wood vendor that is HST registered is required to provide the customer with a rebate of 8% of the purchase price of firewood delivered to a qualified residential property.

This is because of recent changes in the Point of Sale Rebate portion of the Nova Scotia Government's Your Energy Rebate Program. Since Dec. 1, 2006, the program has given a rebate to residential energy customers equal to the provincial portion of the HST charged on their home energy purchases. Until recently, purchasers of home-delivered firewood had to fill out an application form and send it along with their receipts into Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations to receive their rebate.

With changes to the program made on June 21, vendors are now responsible for providing the 8% rebate directly to qualified purchasers. Once the rebate has been issued, the vendor has up to 24 months from the date of sale to file a claim for reimbursement from the government. A vendor may file up to four claims per month. As part of the program, any HST-registered vendor who delivers firewood to qualified residential customers must register with Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations. If you have questions about the program you can call (902) 424-5200 in the metro area or 1-888-928-8080 (toll free).

Improving Membership Services

The Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Flora Johnson has decided to help us with membership services. Her job will involve preparing and circulating newsletters and notices for meetings, acknowledging membership applications (providing new members with by laws and memoranda of association), tracking membership and other such duties. If you have questions about your membership, please contact Flora at 902-673-2278 or by email at the NSWOOA email address. Thank you, Flora, for accepting this challenge and bringing your skills and abilities to our cause.

Can You Hear Us?

Thanks to the diligent work of Flora Johnson we are adding new email addresses to our mail out list. Some members may have received this update via email for the first time this month. If you are not receiving it by email and would like to join them, please let Flora know. We will not give your email address to anyone outside of the Association.

Good News

We received word last week that Bill MacKay has come through his surgery and is on the way to feeling better. So far he admits to being well enough to work on his computer, but he is not yet up to walks in the woods.

Pam Langille writes that they have caught her cancer in its earliest stage, and her prognosis is good. She very much appreciates all the support her friends and acquaintances give her. We look forward to further positive reports.

Lines of Communication

Members are encouraged to contact the Board of Directors, the Executive and other members through our email address or by phone (902-633-2108). Please feel free to use these methods to keep us informed of what is going on in your woodlot, 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.

NSWOOA Update, August 2007

Hello, woodlot owners:

Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash may not be with us anymore, but his signature song " I'll Walk The Line" still is. Perhaps we woodlot owners identify with this song, or at least the title, more than most other songs, as it seems we are always walking the line. Sure there is the literal line, the boundary line that always needs cleaning and remarking, but also the line between harvesting it all now or doing what is truly sustainable and good for the planet by leaving some for tomorrow. Also that line between drudgery and renewal, between back breaking work and the peace of the woodland. You get the picture. It seems woodlot owners are faced with many trade-offs, or lines. Good luck as you walk the lines on you woodlot.

Director George Johnson refers to walking the line in his woodlot this way: "I feel the decision to clear cut versus selection management is akin to the young man who believes he will not live to be forty so he spends every cent he makes now. Later he realizes he is not only past forty, he is past his working years, and he has set nothing aside. When his friends are going south for the winter, he bemoans his hard luck and expresses jealousy to compensate for his lack of foresight and planning."

A Global Forest Convention?
One of our directors has forwarded an article which is drumming up support to oppose a proposed global forest convention. He recommends that we study the article, and the issue. At a time when "global" has come to mean "lowest common denominator," we should be cautious of what covenants our government signs us up for. It's a long article so we do not include it here, but please check it out at this website. We would like to know what you think of it.

Seminar News
Wade Prest informs us that his crop tree management seminar is a go. He is finalizing details, and we will get them out ASAP. Meanwhile, if interested contact us at nswooa@gmail.ca. There will be a registration fee, and a limited number of participants. We have some names already.

Acadian Forest Seminar
The first Acadian Forest Science Conference will be held October 10-13, 2007, in Fredericton, New Brunswick. The main goal of the conference is to showcase scientific research on the Acadian Forest, increasing awareness of its character and potential. The conference will also provide a regional forum for the exchange of ideas among scientists, forestry professionals, land stewards, environmentalists, policy makers, aboriginal peoples, and others interested in our forests. Online registration and abstract submission are preferred. Seating is limited so please register early. For more information, please click on the following to visit the web site.

We need to recommend a variety of people to sit on the Voluntary Planning Natural Resources Strategy task force. NSWOOA members should consider themselves and/or ask neighbours and friends. Names should be passed along to Voluntary Planning staff. The selection of individuals will be crucial.

A Piece of Your Mind
The NSWOOA is a member of the FSC Maritime Steering Committee of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). We have supported this movement, and some of our members have certified their woodlots. Is it time to promote FSC products in some organized manner, either among our members or to the population at large? If so, how should this be done? Give us a piece of your mind. Email your views.

Herbicide Spraying*
In our July Update (#4) woodlot owners were encouraged to spend time with family members in their woodlots. Before doing so in August and September, you may want to check this website to see if herbicide spraying applications are under review in your area. Applications to spray thousands of hectares of NS forests have been received. Information such as the area (in hectares) to be sprayed, the communities where the spraying is being proposed, the type of application (aerial or ground), the type of product to be applied, and the approximate start date for the spraying will be provided.

The Department of Environment and Labour informed Director Barbara Gallagher that it is a requirement for applicators to provide pre-notification when it is requested. This should make it easier to avoid spray sites if you have concerns about health impacts from accidental exposure to herbicides. For example, if family members have medical conditions (such as asthma, or other respiratory problems, chemical sensitivities, receiving cancer treatments, etc), or include children or pregnant women, you will be contacted before the spraying takes place if it is requested. Others may want pre-notification if worried about drift near FSC certified woodlots, or organic crops, so that they can monitor buffer zones and wind conditions.

To request pre-notification, you are advised to contact the Approval holders once the Approval is issued and a pdf copy is placed on the website. If you are unable to access this information on a computer, updated information should be available from your closest Department of Environment and Labour office.

* The NSWOOA endorses truly sustainable forestry management, which includes diversity of species, a multi-generational forest, low impact forestry, and ecodiversity that make the application of herbicides unnecessary.

A Contractor's Views
A local forestry contractor was contacted for his views of the state of the industry in Nova Scotia just now. There is more than a hint of irony/sarcasm in his summary of what contractors are facing, and his own involvement. Sometimes humor is the best way to deal with serious topics.

This is his report:

Not much to report on in the forest industry. Prices for studs and logs are down to where you should leave them standing if you can. Low grade pulp prices have picked up to almost a break even place. The bugs are eating well, so wood quality is down Expenses are up, making it hard to make a living. On the positive side, work is picking up with many of the other contractors going out of business.

What Holidays?
Sure, it is the dog days of summer, but that does not mean your interests and concerns have been ignored. Yes, things do come to life again in September, stirred no doubt by lower temperatures and the return of children to schools. In the meantime, meetings go on, councils meet, working sessions are called, and so on. President Lorne Burrows has represented us on the Stora FSC certification hearings. Particularly active on our behalf has been Ken MacRury, VP, who has been temporarily representing us on the Sustainable Forest oversight committee for the new dedicated funds for Section 7(c) silviculture work. We thank Ken and the other Board members who work for us over the summer when it would be easier to wait until September.

Here is Ken's report:

Someone wants to spend money on your woodlot!

There have been two meetings of the Category 7 ad hoc steering committee so far. The primary objective has been to finalize the process to get the new category (7) funding in place by completing a contract between DNR and ASF (Association for Sustainable Forestry) and secondly to complete development of a job description for the Outreach Coordinator that will be hired to promote and oversee the new program. Both of these documents are now finalized and will be presented to the ASF Board on Aug. 7 for their approval. The budget for the program is $570k for this year and next. Of this, $443k is allocated for actual silviculture treatments. This is a very large amount when you consider that based on best available records only $84k was spent on category 7 treatments over the last three years. The Outreach Coordinator position is critical to the success of this program and woodlot owners will have to be made aware that funds are available to assist them in upgrading their woodlots.

I also attended my first meeting of the FTAC on July 26 at the DNR Training Centre in Shubenacadie. There were a number of items on the agenda, most of which will take some time to become familiar with. The one item that was of most interest was a report by DNR on the Category 7 changes and the new program with dedicated funding that will be coming on stream this year. It appears to me there is a significant trend to encourage uneven aged management on the part of DNR and while clearcuts remain at 91% of all areas harvested this is down from 98% ten years ago. The new emphasis on category 7 will hopefully move these figures even further in favor in uneven aged harvest practices.

Participation on the FTAC, with the appointment of several new members, has become more diverse and over time I expect the committee will change the emphasis of the technical standards to favor more uneven aged management of the forests. We can all hope and work to better the health of the forests.

Ken

Want to know how to access these funds? Contact Ken at nswooa@gmail.com

Lines of Communication (more lines for woodlot owners)

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). 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, through newsletters and mail outs, our column in Atlantic Forestry Review, the Annual General Meeting, and this website.

Paul Brison

Looking for earlier updates?

July 2007

June 2007

May 2007