[NatureNS] Crown land forests - suggestions for ground-truthing sites

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From: Bev Wigney <bkwigney@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 25 Feb 2019 11:24:26 -0300
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Everyone,

I know there has been very little discussion about harvests of Crown
land forests here on NatureNS, but I'm putting out a somewhat related
request.   Here in Annapolis Royal area, we've been organizing a
ground-truthing group to make occasional forays to check out Crown
land forests that have a fair likelihood of being good candidates for
biodiversity - forests that would qualify as ecologically significant
under the Lahey triad model.  This group has come about after a couple
of previous forays to inspect forests that were slated for clearcuts
or uniform shelterwood cuts (2-stage clearcutting).  In the case of
the hardwood parcel at Corbett-Dalhousie Lake, we were astounded to
find multi-age "old forest" climax hardwood trees -- Yellow Birch that
were 8 feet in circumference, as well as many large Sugar Maple and
Red Spruce.  The fate of that forest is still somewhat uncertain - it
will be harvested in some way this spring, but we don't really know to
what extent.  In any case, our forays have taught us that there is a
need to know more about the Crown land forests in our region.  It is
not enough to wait for them to turn up on the Harvest Plan Map Viewer
(HPMV) list of "parcels" awaiting approval for harvest.  With a scant
40-day comment period, that doesn't give our group much time to get
out to ground-truth a forest, especially if it suddenly appears on the
list in mid-winter -- as was the case with the Corbett-Dalhousie Lake
forest - although 18 of us did go out to walk it on Boxing Day.
Unfortuantely, we still have no true idea of the extent of its
biodiversity and won't have much chance to take a serious look at that
before the harvest equipment moves in -- but we have learned from this
experience.  Waiting for forests to show up on the harvest lists is
not the way to go.

So, to cut to the chase -- what I am asking is that some on this group
may know of ecologically significant Crown land forests that you have
visited in the past.  Our Annapolis group is currently putting
together a list of "good candidate" forests to begin surveying over
the coming season - basically doing bioblitz-type visits to see what's
there -- take geo-referenced photos, measure trees, identify trees
species, look for signs of wildlife, breeding bird activity, native
plants, etc...  We realize that many of the forests people may suggest
might already be gone -- in fact, there's a pretty good chance that
they've been clearcut as there has been an incredible amount of
harvesting of Crown lands in Annapolis County.  If you haven't
actually been out to a favourite forest in recent months, you might be
in for a shock.  However, we'll consider any suggestions even if you
are unsure of the state of the forest.  We have a couple of ways of
checking to see if a standing forest is still there or if it's already
been clearcut.  I should mention that there are some people in the
Kings County area, and some in Digby County,  who have also started
or are forming ground-truthing groups, so if you know of forests in
those counties, you can send them along as well and I'll pass on the
prospective locations to them.

The other thing I should mention - related to the ground-truthing
groups -- is that there is, or will be, a need for good naturalists
who know their flora and fauna.  Our Annapolis group is fortunate to
have a good number of naturalists and biologists who are already on
board and keen to ground-truth our forests, but more are always
welcome, especially at the eastern end of the county.  That will also
be the case for other groups that are beginning to form around the
province. You need not come out as a group -- you can just do  your
own thing as always as you go about birding, herping botanizing,
etc.., but we are asking that people consider posting their
observations on iNaturalist, and make them available to be used in
"projects". If you're already an iNaturalist user, you probably know
what I'm describing, but if not, I will explain briefly.  When you
post observations to iNaturalist, you can make them available for use
in projects such as atlases, studies, surveys, etc...   For our
Annapolis group, I have already created a project for for Annapolis
County. It currently captures any observations made by anyone who has
made their observations available to projects.  You are welcome to
take a look at our project -- I believe even non-members of
iNaturalist should be able to see the project and observations.  Just
remember that when you contribute observations, it is wise to obscure
the locations of any sensitive species (there's a simple way of doing
so in the photo upload) - and, in fact, I think iNaturalist does that
automatically for some species, but do check, especially in the case
of herps and plants.  By the way, that really goes for anything you
contribute to iNaturalist even if you are not in projects.
https://inaturalist.ca/projects/annapolis-royal-and-area-environment-ecology-and-nature

If you wish to contact me with suggestions for forests, or to join our
Annapolis ground-truthing group, or to coordinate your own botanizing
or other field forays with the forests we are studying, just email me
off-list.

regards,
Bev Wigney
Round Hill, NS

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