WEST FOR NOT LOGGING PRISTINE LANDS

The area around Goldsmith Lake in Annapolis County has caught the eye of antiforestry perspectives here in Nova Scotia.

These 10,000 acres of Crown land have been painted in the media as old, untouched pieces of forest that should be protected because of these qualities. We thought it would be important for the public to know this is just not true.

This area was previously owned by the Bowater Mersey forestry company and used extensively for forestry. This area was clearcut in 1975-76 and sprayed with herbicide and had several silviculture treatments applied in the 1980s and 1990s.

The roads in the area were created for forestry and, as mentioned before, the area has been extensively managed for timber production for over 100 years. The well-managed forests have grown mature again, which is what happens with a renewable resource like forests.

In the 10,000 acres of Crown land that Westfor manages in the area, about eight per cent (846 acres) has been approved for partial harvests over the next several years after much analysis by the experts at the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and Renewables (DNRR).

Even in those blocks designated for harvest, two-thirds of the trees will be left standing. The planned harvest is based on ecological forestry guidelines recommended in the Lahey report, leaving most of the trees in the area unharvested with no clearcuts.

No old-growth areas will be harvested or affected and any species at risk found will be protected.

The modest and approved harvest will be done by a local contractor and the timber supplied to Freeman Lumber in Greenfield, Elmsdale Lumber Company, Ledwidge Lumber in Enfield, and Maibec Canexel in Lunenburg County, where more value will be added to the natural resource by turning the sawlogs into lumber, siding and bedding for farm animals. Imagine, a local renewable resource ecologically harvested, permanently storing carbon in the products, and used locally for the benefit of Nova Scotia’s forestry families and businesses.

Breck Stuart, general manager, Westfor Management Inc.