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--000000000000e56bf5057b06ea10 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Has anyone made any progress in the estate planning including preservation of woodlots for future generations, as mentioned by Donna and others here? On Thu, Jul 27, 2017 at 10:50 AM Donna Crossland <dcrossland@eastlink.ca> wrote: > It=E2=80=99s timely to read this exchange regarding conservation easement= s 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 issu= e > 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 o= f > 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 (thou= gh > 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? > > > > 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. > > > > 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 f= orest > floor (protecting soil carbon, nutrients, mycorrhizae, and other componen= ts > 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). > > > > Donna Crossland > > Tupperville > > > > *From:* naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca [ > mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca <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 > > > > Good points about preserving working woodland. I have the impression tha= t > working *farmland* is better protected, but maybe that is a matter of > local zoning? > > > > 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 t= o > do so. The next year, he clearcut the acreage and sold 200 year old suga= r > maples *for firewood. *The granddaughter who told me this was > alternately enraged, and teary-eyed, at the folly of it. > > > > 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 *Th= e > Unsettling of America* (1977) and *The Gift of Good Land* (1981). The > Library at Acadia has some of his books. > > > > Cheers, > > > > Patricia L. Chalmers > > Halifax > > > > > > On July 26, 2017 at 9:47 AM John Kearney <john.kearney@ns.sympatico.ca> > wrote: > > 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 wit= h > a beautiful view of the valley below. In the course of our conversation h= e > expressed cynacism about what his relatives would do with the land when h= e > passed away, and he lamented the fact that he knew of no way to ensure th= e > protection of his lifetime of work in caring for the land. Today that lan= d > 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 > > > > *From:* naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca [ > mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca <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 > > > > Hi John & All, > > I suspect conservation, and nature worship, rank high in the minds of > most private woodlot owners. > > 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. > > 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 Geographi= c > article about Leopold, I now realize he preached conservation as a way of > managing all landscapes. > > Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville > >