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At 08:41 PM 4/3/98 -0400, Kevin Chisholm wrote: >The Nova Nada Monastery apparently own about 60 acres, but >to get the peace and tranquility they desire for their >operation, they have requested that a forestry company give >them control of all their lands within a 3 mile radius of >the Nova Nada Monastery. (A circle of a 3 mile radius has a >land area of about 18,000 acres) The forest company said no >to this demand but agreed to no harvesting within a mile of >the Monastery, and controlled harvesting between mile 1 and >mile 2 of the Monastery. Nova Nada is holding out for the >two mile gift from the forestry company. This is about 12.5 >square miles, or about 8,000 acres. Apparently, Nova Nada >has made no attempt to purchase the land from the forestry >company. > >This seems very generous of the forest company. The gift of >control over the lands within a 1 mile radius of the >Monastery is virtual gift of about 2,000 acres. However, by >retaining ownership, the forestry company has to pay the >taxes. This is a good deal for the Nova Nada people, but >they want more. Sister Bielecki appears to be a very >accomplished negotiator. Just a few more points to add to Colins: To my knowledge the monks have never asked Irving to grant them control of the land. Irving would still own it and control it, but not harvest if NN had their way. Irving is attempting to get certified by a certifier accredited by the Forest Stewardship Council, so they will probably be required to set aside a portion of their lands anyway. Clearly that's not their first choice for the block next to NN, but they would get credit - it wouldn't become "useless" to them. When throwing around numbers like 8,000 and 2,000 acres you have to remember that NN is surrounded by things other than Irving land. A 2 mile buffer does not equate to an 8,000 acre "gift" (or a 1 mile buffer a 2000 acre gift) because Irving does not own South Carrying Road Lake which borders the monks to the north or the Crown land to the south and east. When you take out the lake and the public land, 1 mile really means less than 1000 acres (or 400 hectares) of Irving land, a nice gesture but not a huge sacrifice. Similarly, Irving only owns 1/3 of the 2 mile "pie". 2600 acres (1000 hectares) is probably more realistic. They have a lease on some of the public land, but typically there is a clause in these leases that lets the Province find other land to substitute. The tax issue is a good point. Although resource lands are taxed at literally pennies per acre, it would be nice to see them tax exempt if protected. Kermit. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kermit deGooyer Hailfax, NS (902) 492-4340 Help save Canada's threatened wilderness hotspots! Check it out: www.wwfcanada.org/hotspots/index.html
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