Association for Sustainable Forestry

Truro, N.S.

As the fall colours fade and mud turns to muck, it becomes increasingly important to properly time commercial thinning and selection harvesting, and to match machinery to site conditions. Many landowners are presently seeing the benefits of commercial thinning on plantations established during the 1980s, and on previously pre-commercially thinned sites. The depth, moisture content, fertility, and texture of forest soils on these sites are crucial to their productivity and ability to resist compaction and rutting during harvesting activities.

A group of forest technicians and foresters from industry, government, and the forestry consultant sector refreshed their forest soils and vegetation knowledge during a recent week of PTA (pre-treatment assessment) training hosted by ASF. With the assistance and expertise provided by Tim McGrath, Jane Kent, and Peter Neily of the Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forestry, trainees familiarized themselves with the relationships between vegetation and soil types, how to identify acceptable growing stock, and how to use the latest PTA software, among many other subjects. I think all participants would agree that it was an intensive five days of ecosystem-based learning, culminating in written exams and field testing.

As winter approaches, we at ASF have begun to see the customary sharp uptick in claims for pre-commercial thinning and early competition control. Commercial thinning and selection harvest claims usually prevail as the snow deepens. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for frozen ground and a decent winter for wood extraction, whether we’re using a horse, an iron mule, or a Deere!

David Sutherland, RPF

Coordinator, Association for Sustainable Forestry

P.O. Box 696

Truro, N.S. B2N 5E5

Phone 902-895-1179

www.asforestry.com

Breton Forest Innovation Cooperative

Middle River, N.S.

Reconnecting the partnership between folks and forests is essential to bridging gaps between ecological concerns, the economic needs of rural communities, and the social responsibility of the forest products sector. Here at Breton Forest, this remains our vision. We exist to provide practical solutions that address the environmental, economic, and social issues surrounding forest practices and forest products. Our purpose is to support the development of a vital forest movement here in Cape Breton (and beyond) – one that manages long-term forest health while sustaining rural communities for generations.

We are currently organizing our systems and collaborating with local businesses in their expansion. We also strive to foster new ventures in their development. We hope to act as the catalyst, and to incubate alternatives in forest management. We will focus on smaller harvests of hand-selected materials that will be sorted and utilized to their fullest potential, “from the forest floor to the wooden door,” and so much more. We are evaluating where the sector is lacking in skillsets that help achieve our objectives. Our next steps will be to offer training and development of these niche skills, and deliver programs here onsite and within our membership woodlands.

We now have a local miller on site with a portable mill, sawing live-edge, 2-inch lumber that is air drying at our facility – the start of our inventory for sales to crafters of many kinds. This spring we will be begin our Community Supported Membership Fuelwood Buying program, the first of its kind in Cape Breton. We continue to make connections. We are currently looking at our options for recruiting a local timber frame builder to work here, alongside wreath makers and a 3D designer. More announcements will be made soon.

On Saturday, Oct. 20, we hosted a Celebration of Our Forests, offering demonstrations on plant and tree identification, horse logging, milling, and young stand thinning, as well as competitive lumberjack skills in conjunction with the North Nova Lumberjacks Society.

We already have a healthy membership, and we continue to pick up momentum. For further information on how you can share ideas, become a member, invest in us, sign up for a local workshop this spring, buy sustainably managed wood products, or get on our newsletter mailing list, visit our website, www.bretonforest.org, or email stacie@bretonforest.org.

Stacie Carroll

Business Development Coordinator, BFIC

Email: stacie@bretonforest.org

Phone: 902-295-1093

www.bretonforest.org

New Brunswick Federation of Woodlot Owners

Fredericton, N.B.

Be Careful What You Wish For

As I write this, we are three weeks post-election, and we still have no idea who will be running the province of New Brunswick or if we will be forced to go back to the ballot box. Who knows how long it will take before we have a government in place, or how long it will last after one is in place.

The message that the political status quo is not working for a large proportion of the population should have been received by the MLAs on election night, but sadly that does not seem to be the case. It seems that the two major parties are only concerned with being in power. We heard a lot about how the voters wanted more collaboration between parties immediately after the election, but it seems that was just a sound bite. There has not been much movement toward working collaboratively for the good of all New Brunswickers in the last three weeks. Maybe by the time this is published we will have more clarity. One can only hope.

As the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for. Many people were hoping for a minority government, expecting that a minority government would mean that a wider range of viewpoints would be heard and used to move New Brunswick forward.

With five out of the six parties running in the last election stating that they were willing to review the Crown Lands and Forests Act, we were hopeful that there might be some improvement in how woodlot owners and all New Brunswickers are served by this Act. With the situation to date … who knows? We can still hope that, with three out of the four parties in the house supporting change, there might be some action, but we need to be very clear about what is not working and what we would like in a new Act.

We will need a coordinated effort, on behalf of all non-industrial stakeholders in the province, in order to ensure that any new Act better meets our objectives. If we, as a group, are not all on the same page, you can guess who will be happy with the changes, and I doubt very much that it will be woodlot owners or the general public.

Are you interested in helping to form the NBFWO vision for a new Crown Lands and Forests Act? If so, please contact us for an individual membership. Individual memberships will be an important avenue for you to participate in surveys and to have input into the Federation. We need ideas and participation to truly represent all woodlot owners. We hope to hear from you. Email nbfwo@nb.aibn.com or phone 506-459-2990.

Susannah Banks

Executive Director, NBFWO

Phone 506-459-2990

Email nbfwo@aibn.com

www.nbwoodlotonwers.ca

North Nova Lumberjacks Society

Truro, N.S.

The largest and most prestigious axe throwing contest in Canada, the inaugural Canadian Axe Throwing Championships, was held on the shores of the Mersey River in downtown Liverpool, Nova Scotia, on Aug. 25-26. It’s safe to say the event could not have gone better. The weather was perfect for the stellar crowd that came out for two days to watch 54 competitors representing four countries compete in this historic event.

Hosted by the NNLS with support from many generous sponsors, including Atlantic Forestry Review and the Region of Queens Municipality, this event featured some of the best axe throwers on the planet, going head-to-head in the quest for prestige and prize money – a lofty $11,000 purse split amongst the top placing competitors. In the end, as expected, the Europeans came out on top. Udo Hoffman of Germany took Gold in the men’s division, with Anki Hedberg of Sweden winning Gold in the women’s division, and Finn Standing of Ireland the best junior (under 16) in the field.

With our 2018 events behind us, our society is looking ahead to the future. We’re pleased to officially announce that we will host the 4th annual Nova Scotia Lumberjack Championships to be held July 6-7, 2019, and we’ll host the 2nd annual Canadian Axe Throwing Championships on Aug. 24-25, 2019! We will be looking for volunteers and sponsors for both events, so if you or your organization is interested in being a part of either of these fantastic sporting events, please contact us.

We want to once again recognize the generosity of all the organizations that chose to support our events in 2018 – 17 of which were directly related to forestry! The events we host are not just about promoting lumberjack sports, but are also about bringing entertainment to communities, along with the associated positive economic impact. We plan to continue to grow our events, and we look forward to promoting our beautiful province to the competitors and spectators who come here to enjoy them!

To learn more about our society, visit www.novalumberjacks.com.

Stay sharp, folks.

Ryan McIntyre

President, North Nova Lumberjacks Society

Phone 902-499-2727

Email novalumberjacks@gmail.com

www.novalumberjacks.com

Federation of Nova Scotia Woodland Owners

Truro, N.S.

The long-awaited report by William Lahey, president and vice-chancellor of the University of King’s College, was released on Aug. 21. The report, “An Independent Review of Forest Practices in Nova Scotia,” recommends that the province adopt a triad model of forest management, based on balancing ecological concerns with the economic benefits of forestry. “Ecological forestry’s objective is not to protect the environment by eliminating or prohibiting forestry,” said Dr. Lahey. “It seeks to combine conservation of nature with a productive and profitable forestry industry. It is a model that is designed to emulate the natural processes, development, and lifespans of forests.”

The report continues, “… government, industry, and foresters must more actively and seriously seek to encourage, enable, and support private landowners to manage their forested land in accordance with the principles of an ecological forestry triad paradigm. Nova Scotia Lands and Forestry (NSLAF) should continue to strongly support the efforts of woodlot owner membership-based organizations, including regionally based woodlot service organizations, to support and promote effective and responsible forestry management among their members. The condition and accountability for this support should be demonstrated organizational commitment to a triad model of ecological forestry. NSLAF should work to ensure that private landowners have better access to tools, information, and assistance to engage in effective and responsible forest management, such as forest professionals trained to work with landowners in the principles and methods of ecological forestry; simplified versions of the pre-treatment assessment tools applicable on Crown Lands; and improved access to the data and technology resources, including guidance from NSLAF’s network of permanent sample plots and from LiDAR technology analysis, that can facilitate better decision making and more effective forest management on private lands.”

Coming out the other side of this report and adopting its recommendations leaves much to be seen. We at the Federation are calling for all woodland owners to step up to the plate to weigh in on their approaches to forest management. We will be holding three information sessions across the province on Dec. 4, 5, and 6 to address forest management issues, including the benefits to woodlot owner group membership, Forest Stewardship Council certification, helping each other create better markets, as well as how to implement the triad model of forest management on your woodlot. Locations will be announced soon. Please check out www.fnswo.ca for details on the events page, or email stacie@fnswo.ca.

Are you interested in having input into how to encourage the federal government create a tree-planting and silviculture investment savings program? FNSWO has been working with the Canadian Federation of Woodland Owners to develop a framework to allow us to invest in our woodland and extract value and avoid large capital-gains taxation. Your input on this is valued, so please be in touch.

FNSWO remains active in encouraging more woodlot owner engagement around working woodlots. We aim to aggregate woodlot owners and connect them to required services. We hope to encourage small-scale contractors to coordinate with us, to help identify the appropriate gear for required treatments. FNSWO continues to encourage small regional enterprises to function in a closed-loop product chain (from forest floor to your door). We also continue to work towards finding higher value for our products by connecting high-end crafters and producers with the specialized materials they need (hardwood countertops, live-edge crafter’s wood, etc.). We remain open to researching new marketing opportunities for timber and non-timber products, and we reach out our arms in the hope that you will get involved. Please do.

Stacie Carroll

Executive Director, FNSWO

Phone 1-844-966-3568

Email stacie@fnswo.ca