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It=E2=80=99s timely to read this exchange regarding conservation =
easements and other solutions to ensure that private woodlots continue =
to house biodiversity values and ecosystem services while perhaps =
continuing to provide a modest income, or otherwise remain a working =
woodlot. The issue of woodlot liquidation (or otherwise flattening =
woodlots) is a huge one that needs to be addressed quickly. Woodlots =
that were carefully managed for generations are now falling to =
clearcutting practices for a variety of reasons by the next generation. =
As we rapidly run out of Crown wood, DNR and the mills will count on =
getting wood from private land holdings (though presently private land =
wood is being froze out of the market in the southwest). How do we =
ensure that the last bits of mature forest in the province are managed =
sustainably for a variety of purposes other than the single-minded =
interests of =E2=80=98fiber production=E2=80=99?
=20
I=E2=80=99ve been whispering in the ears of some key people, hoping that =
someone, or some organizations who have earned public trust, will =
provide some useful and very practical legal advice on conservation =
easements very soon. Small woodlot owners, many of whom are now =
seniors, require the information now, rather than later. The obvious =
organizations we might have turned to, such as DNR, have lost public =
trust, and it would be best to obtain solid advice on conservation =
easements from elsewhere, from group(s) that will not directly profit =
from this/who are not in conflict of interest.
=20
For future generations, we need to preserve the last tiny bits of the =
old growth and intact wilderness, with sugar maples, yellow birch, red =
spruce, hemlock, and other living components of our forests. I am =
looking into a conservation easement for my tiny woodlot. I like the =
idea of providing some kind of lasting legacy in my will, while not =
shutting out the possibility of sensible, informed harvesting here and =
there in future generations. I=E2=80=99d like to stipulate the =
maintenance of a shaded forest floor (protecting soil carbon, nutrients, =
mycorrhizae, and other components perhaps as yet unnamed, as part of the =
sustainable solution), but I=E2=80=99ve got some homework to do first. =
We=E2=80=99ll have to share what we find out this fall-winter (the best =
time to do estate planning, I think).
=20
Donna Crossland
Tupperville
=20
From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca =
[mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] On Behalf Of =
plchalmers@ns.sympatico.ca
Sent: July-26-17 5:27 PM
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Subject: RE: [NatureNS] A Hopeful Perspective on NS Forestry
=20
Good points about preserving working woodland. I have the impression =
that working farmland is better protected, but maybe that is a matter of =
local zoning?=20
=20
I was once told about the fate of a mature sugar maple woodlot in the =
hardwood hills of Pictou County. It had been carefully managed for =
maple syrup production for generations. When Grandpa died, none of the =
family could take it on. They all agreed that it should only be sold to =
someone who planned to continue the operation. They found a buyer who =
promised to do so. The next year, he clearcut the acreage and sold 200 =
year old sugar maples for firewood. The granddaughter who told me this =
was alternately enraged, and teary-eyed, at the folly of it.
=20
Aldo Leopold's style may not be to your taste, Dave, but he was an early =
voice in proposing conservation. Have you ever read any of the essays =
of Wendell Berry? I'd recommend his earlier collections, beginning with =
The Unsettling of America (1977) and The Gift of Good Land (1981). The =
Library at Acadia has some of his books.
=20
Cheers,
=20
Patricia L. Chalmers
Halifax
=20
=20
On July 26, 2017 at 9:47 AM John Kearney <john.kearney@ns.sympatico.ca> =
wrote:=20
Hi Dave and all,
I agree that we need more alternatives for saving our patches of land =
for future generations.
A number of years ago, on one my birding field trips, I came upon a =
95-year old farmer working a small patch of land, surrounded by a mature =
Sugar Maple-Yellow Birch forest, in the high country of Pictou County =
with a beautiful view of the valley below. In the course of our =
conversation he expressed cynacism about what his relatives would do =
with the land when he passed away, and he lamented the fact that he knew =
of no way to ensure the protection of his lifetime of work in caring for =
the land. Today that land is part of an industrial-scale wind energy =
facility. It makes me wonder what Nova Scotia would be or could be like =
if all these patches were preserved. The choice is not between progress =
and a romantic clinging to the past as some might argue. Rather it is I =
believe, a choice between seeing the land as a commodity for our =
personal use and profit, or as a heritage, a work of art even, that we =
have a collective responsibility to care for and enhance during the time =
we dwell on the land.
John
=20
From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca =
[mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] On Behalf Of David
Sent: July-25-17 13:20
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Cc: David Webster <dwebster@glinx.com>
Subject: Re: [NatureNS] A Hopeful Perspective on NS Forestry
=20
Hi John & All,
I suspect conservation, and nature worship, rank high in the minds =
of most private woodlot owners.=20
I was fully disgusted with NS Nature Trust when they sniffed 'We =
don't protect that kind of woodland', when I made inquiries about =
protecting my woodlot permanently from residential/commercial =
development.=20
If you aim to protect 12% of an area then 78% is unprotected and =
what good is a pail if 78% of the bottom is missing ?
I never did read the second half of A Sand County Almanac, land =
ethic, because it was preachy and dry, but having read an old National =
Geographic article about Leopold, I now realize he preached conservation =
as a way of managing all landscapes.=20
Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville
=20
=20
------ Original Message ------
From: "John Kearney" < <mailto:john.kearney@ns.sympatico.ca> =
john.kearney@ns.sympatico.ca>
To: <mailto:naturens@chebucto.ns.ca> naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Sent: 7/25/2017 12:09:33 PM
Subject: [NatureNS] A Hopeful Perspective on NS Forestry
=20
School for Resource and Environmental Studies
MES Thesis Defence
=20
GIFTS TO A FUTURE WORLD: CONVERSATIONS WITH WOODLAND OWNERS IN NOVA =
SCOTIA
=20
By Andrew W. Kekacs
=20
Abstract:
=20
Private, non-industrial woodland owners provide more than half of the =
timber used by Nova Scotia=E2=80=99s forest products industry. Research, =
however, suggests many of these owners do not consider income from =
timber sales to be their primary reason for owning woodland. This study =
aimed to reach