next message in archive
next message in thread
previous message in archive
previous message in thread
Index of Subjects
YXZlIG11Y2ggY2hhbmNlIHRvIHRha2UgYSBzZXJpb3VzIGxvb2sgYXQgdGhhdA0 Thanks for the advice, Fred. You're right, the follow-up documentation is essential (though perhaps less fun) and then after that there is the hurtle of having various decision-makers read and apply new facts/knowledge. Everyone is so reliant on GIS layers these days to supply all the points rendered in decisions. I suppose we will have to suggest that they be added to certain GIS layers or it will be over-looked, conveniently or otherwise. In this era of rapid decline of many species coupled with poor management, the initiative of casting a net to the widest possible group(s) of naturalists to help catalogue species obs- location and abundance, etc, is of increasing importance. I will forward your advice and Bev's new initiative to our group, Nature NS, as well. Donna Crossland On 2019-02-25 11:55 p.m., Frederick W. Schueler wrote: > On 25-Feb.-19 10:10 p.m., Donna Crossland wrote: >> This is a wonderful initiative. I will finally hone some skills with >> iNaturalist, so it seems. Bev and others will be good teachers. >> What better use of a naturalist's time than combing our public >> forests for nature's treasures? > > * but you're going to have to formalize your results in documents, > sent in multiple copies to the attention of the ministries in charge, > because, at least in Ontario, the environment ministries and > environmental assessment rackets are well-blinkered experts in > ignoring the ordinary sources of knowledge about biodiversity: museum > collections, the peer reviewed and local natural history published > literature, and online provincial & national databases. They only heed > their own internal grey literature unless their noses are rubbed in > some more conventional info. I bet they're almost as good at ignoring > eBird and iNat as they have been at ignoring the Ontario herp atlases. > > When we were reviewing http://www.dumpthisdump2.ca/ I published a > first record of a clover species for Ontario east of Windsor from the > proposed dump site in Trail & Landscape - the only local natural > history journal - and they missed both that and a paper about a SAR > we'd found, but they'd missed, at the site, that was peer-reviewed in > the Canadian Field-Naturalist. > > So call it a serial publication, "Ground-Truthing Nova Scotia Forests" > or something, and put out an issue for each of your trips, send pdf's > to ministry officials, and deposit a hard copy with Andrew Hebda at > the NS Museum, and maybe at the NB Museum so you'll have an out of > province repository. > > fred. > ================================================ > >> Song bird surveys and nest surveys will also be useful. The harvest >> at Corbett Lake will surely NOT take place during nesting season, yet >> another assault on a forest with old growth and plenty of nest cavity >> trees. >> >> It is a sad reflection on the lack of good governance over the >> 'peoples' forests' (public Crown lands), with continued clearcutting, >> particularly on very sensitive, poor soils in the southwest. And so >> it comes about that local folks feel the need to provide more >> oversight; a neighbourhood watch, of sorts, over nature's bounty. >> >> Thanks to Bev. >> >> Donna Crossland >> >> On 2019-02-25 10:24 a.m., Bev Wigney wrote: >>> 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 se