‘A huge relief’

Lichen discovery puts Crown land logging plan on hold in Annapolis County

Tree harvesting plans approved for portions of Crown land in the Goldsmith Lake area have been put on hold.

“Ten days ago, we discovered logging starting up in one of the parcels near Goldsmith and got quite worried,” said Lisa Proulx, a member of the group that has been pushing for a suspension of the planned cuts.

“Learning that (the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables) has put a hold on all the harvests planned for the area right around the lake is a huge relief,” Proulx said.

“Even better is learning that they are not just applying individual buffers, they are reconsidering how to manage this forest.”

Proulx and the group, which encompasses members of Extinction Rebellion, said they learned March 1 that, thanks to their efforts and the existence of rare and atrisk lichens in the area, the department has suspended harvest plans.

The department confirmed in an email that harvests in blocks around Goldsmith Lake were approved in May and June 2022 after having gone through the entire review process.

"Areas of old-growth forest were removed from the approval during this process," the department said. "Also, as part of this process, the blocks were posted to the Harvest Plan Map Viewer where people have opportunity to contribute local area knowledge.

"The logging road was cut out in June/July and completed in October. Months after the whole process concluded and approvals were issued, new information was reported to the department in November. We put the harvest on hold at that time and directed WestFor to engage a lichenologist to survey the area in question. When they confirmed some areas with the lichen, these pieces of land were removed from the approval."

The department said the approved harvest is proceeding in the rest of the block, in accordance with the Silvicultural Guide for the Ecological Matrix, which requires lower intensity harvesting practices.

“The lichens we’ve been finding have a story to tell,” Proulx said in a news release.

“It’s a story about old forests and what makes them special. The frosted glasswhiskers, for example, is a species at risk because it needs a very specific habitat which has become quite rare: it needs old hardwood trees in undisturbed forest.”

Proulx said Environment Canada considers the frosted glass-whiskers an indicator of old-growth forest habitats.

“So, when you find it, it tells you this patch of forest has been allowed to develop without much human interference for a very long time,” she said.

“That’s called forest continuity and it’s rare in Nova Scotia. Any logging activity will destroy it. So far, we have found 11 frosted glasswhiskers at Goldsmith, plus another couple that haven’t been confirmed yet.”

AT-RISK SPECIES

Proulx and the group said 17 species at risk, including two blue felt lichen and 12 frosted glass-whiskers lichen, have been identified in the area that encompasses a patch of Crown land on the South Mountain inland from Tupperville, known to biologists and local residents for its old, relatively undisturbed forests.

The group said the province was alerted to the high conservation value of the area last year but a group of citizen scientists out exploring and documenting the biodiversity of the western side of the lake came upon a new logging road in October.

SPECIAL FOREST

“The forest around Goldsmith is special,” said Nina Newington, a member of Extinction Rebellion who has for years been part of protest camps set up in all kinds of weather in Crown land areas where harvests have been planned.

“There are sweeps that have escaped the heavy-handed forestry that has degraded so much of the Wabanaki forest,” Newington said.

“That’s not to say it’s been untouched by all logging but when you compare the relatively undisturbed parts with the areas that were clearcut 50 years ago, well you can see why old forests are so critical to protecting biodiversity.”

Newington said the Goldsmith area is home to every age of tree, from seedlings to fallen giants.

“They are such rich, complex places, with the sorts of nooks and crannies that only develop over long stretches of time,” Newington said.

“It’s not just lichens that need those habitats. The populations of almost all the creatures that depend on old forests are declining, from birds to moose to martens.”

Proulx said the group asked Environment Minister Tim Halman in November to place the whole area under consideration for protection, but they were told there would be a process in place to select areas for protection to meet the province’s 20 per cent target by the end of this year.

LICHEN SEARCH

“Of course, that was going to be too late for Goldsmith as logging activity had already been approved,” Proulx said.

“We didn’t give up, we redoubled our efforts to find these special little stubbles like the frosted glass-whiskers that live in the cracks and hollows of old trees. I love searching for lichens but hunting for stubbles is a slow, almost Zen-like process.

“Doing it in sub-zero temperatures and up to eight inches of wet snow can be quite chilling. But the excitement of finding one is pretty motivating. Now that it looks as though we will succeed in protecting at least some of the area, it makes all those long, cold days worthwhile.”

Newington said it’s not known how much oldgrowth forest is left in Nova Scotia but it is estimated to be less than one per cent outside of protected areas.

She said two patches on the west side of Goldsmith Lake have been classified as oldgrowth forest for a couple of decades and another parcel northeast of the lake is under review.

“The real deal is that, whether or not any more of the forest around Goldsmith qualifies as old-growth now, it certainly qualifies as an excellent old-growth forest restoration opportunity, based on the species-at-risk discoveries we’ve already made,” Newington said.

In a letter to Natural Resources and Renewables Minister Tory Rushton, the group urgently requested the forest surrounding Goldsmith Lake be granted policy protection.

“Based on the multiple occurrences of an old-growth indicator lichen such as the frosted glass-whiskers, the forest surrounding Goldsmith Lake is eminently qualified for policy protection by your department,” the letter reads.

“Please, as minister of Natural Resources and Renewables, follow the precautionary principle and safeguard this area of endangered biodiversity.”