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HARVESTINGIsn't the amount of Nova Scotia forests being clearcut increasing every year? No. Our industry seeks to intensively manage our forest resource. With more and more demands being placed on our forests (i.e. protected areas, green belts, special management zones, parks, protection of water quality, provision for wildlife habitat protection, and provision of recreational opportunities) it is becoming increasingly important that foresters be permitted to manage the diminishing areas available for fibre production, as intensively as possible. Such management must be achieved through sustainable forestry practices. It is important to note that some of FPANS members have 25, 50, and sometimes 100-year land management plans in place for their own lands. They plan on being in Nova Scotia for the long term. It is also important to highlight that the practice of clearcutting actually uses less land base than selection harvesting for example. Selection harvesting requires more land to produce the same volume of fibre as that of a clearcut situation. More land usually equals more roads. It is important to realize that the forestry debate is very complicated and that there are no easy answers. Clearcutting itself is not the problem or the issue. How it is carried out is the issue.
Forest stakeholders and observers claim 98 per cent of timber harvesting in Nova Scotia today is clearcuts. Are they right? No. According to our recent studies, the number is actually closer to 80 per cent. However, what we should focus on is that only 1.7 per cent of Nova Scotia's operable forests are harvested each year and only 1 per cent of Nova Scotia's total forest lands are harvested. It is also important to note that 85 per cent of all harvested areas will grow back naturally, leaving only 15 per cent to be planted. Unfortunately the general public has the perception that clearcutting equals overcutting and that is not the case at all. Scientific evidence clearly supports the fact that we are not overcutting our forests with current silviculture practices that are in place. Indeed, the industry is now beginning to see the fruits of its past labour as we are beginning to see a decline in the amount of clearcutting taking place in Nova Scotia.
Another commonly held perception by industry observers is that perhaps as much as half of the clearcutting that takes place occurs in stands where other prescriptions would be preferable. What is FPANS' view of this perception? This is a very difficult question to answer based on its subjectivity. There are a great deal of views and feelings regarding the forest industry and forest industry practices and often these feelings or perceptions are not based on facts. Very often there is more than one harvesting technique that can be utilized on a stand. Often the technique or application is based on landowner objectives. So when you say preferable one has to ask preferable to whom? The most important thing to keep in mind is that regardless of the harvesting application, the top priority is that they are executed properly and in a sustainable manner. Today's forestry operations are science based with management plans that are representative of the next 50-100 years.
Is the level of clearcutting going to be reduced now that forestry workers say they are going to be using techniques more sensitive to ecological concerns? The forest industry agrees that we need to consider all other alternative methods of forest harvesting when preparing management plans. However, we also recognize that in most cases clearcutting makes scientific sense when considering issues like stand conditions in many areas of Nova Scotia, past harvesting practices and existing species conditions. Unfortunately our forefathers harvested only the best and left us with the rest. In areas that have experienced poor past harvesting practices, or have undergone large insect infestations or have experienced large forest fire devastation, what is left behind today is a large area of forest stands in very poor condition. In these instances the most efficient harvesting method is clearcutting. This way the forest slate is indeed cleaned and we are presented with an opportunity to start fresh and create a new healthier and more diverse forest, which will result in greater forestry management options for the future. Clearcutting is not the end of a management cycle but merely the beginning of a new life cycle of a new generation of forest resource. The new healthier forest that results from this will provide the opportunity to implement alternative methods of harvesting, i.e., selective harvesting, pre commercial thinning, commercial thinning, and shelterwood harvesting. Over the last ten to 20 years we have seen dramatic changes in the way we manage our forest resource. Many of these changes have taken place in the way we clearcut. Today's clearcuts are much smaller in acreage. Clearcut shapes have also changed. No longer are we witnessing square blocks of large cutovers, rather we are seeing edges now irregular in shape allowing for greater habitat area. More land is being left for wildlife habitat, wildlife clumps, wildlife corridors, special management zones, buffer areas along streams, and protection of special habitat areas. There is also greater protection of waterways with green belts and buffer areas that enhance water quality. It is indeed true that professional loggers are using techniques that are more sensitive to the ecology of an area. Such practices would include (1) leaving green belts along waterways for purposes of erosion control and protection of water quality, (2) leaving "wildlife clumps" in harvest areas to increase wildlife diversity, (3) providing for wildlife corridors within harvest areas to maintain habitat, (4) leaving "special management zones" to protect existing habitat features (i.e. deer yards, rapture nest habitats), (5) undertaking management planning with "landscape or viewscape" priorities in mind, (6) increasing the use of alternative harvesting techniques such as selection harvesting, shelterwood harvesting, and thinning operations. However, it must be emphasized that most clearcutting is not insensitive to ecological concerns and it is not going to disappear. It is important to realize that clearcutting, if done properly, is a very responsible approach to forest management.
Is there enough uneven-aged management being executed in Nova Scotia? This is a question that has been around for a considerable period of time with no one answer being applicable across the province. Forest stand conditions vary considerably from one end of Nova Scotia to the other. The popular belief seems to be that all even aged forests are the result of high grading by the forest industry. In fact, while past harvesting practices have played a part, most of the forests we deal with today are even-aged, because of wildfires (i.e. the Liscomb Game Sanctuary), insect infestation (i.e. Cape Breton Highlands), major windstorms (i.e. Hurricane Edna and most recently Hurricane Juan) and wide spread clearing of land by previous generations for farm operations. These events that may have happened 80 to 100 years ago dictate the stand conditions that exist today. Subsequently, these events also dictate the harvest method, which is normally to clearcut the area or face massive blow-down of trees left standing. Our industry continues to progress from environmental management systems to what is termed sustainable management systems. With such systems, biodiversity within eco-regions will begin to retain a more diverse overall forest. It must also be recognized that landowners have the right to "manage" their woodlands by whatever method they choose. There is a need to educate landowners to the fact that they have a number of options as to how best to manage those properties. For most forest stands, there is more than one acceptable management option - there is not a single "right method" - and the landowner has the right to choose. Clearcutting need not be the only method of harvest to use. In fact, the harvesting method used on any stand, even-aged or uneven-aged, depends on making informed choices. These factors include location, exposure to wind, elevation, soil type, species, habitat, tree health and age. The goals and objectives of the landowner are also a major consideration - whether the property is being managed for a long-term investment, as a cash crop, or as a means of providing a quick source of income for emergency situations. In many cases, clearcutting could be the preferred method of harvest - for even-aged or uneven-aged stands.
Hasn't the introduction of chip mills and satellite chippers increased the amount of clearcutting of stands that would have been considered marginal or too young previously? Satellite chippers are not a common practice in Nova Scotia. Wood chips are a by-product created by sawmills. Sawlogs are milled and the wastes that these create are used to produce chips. For example, the production of Kraft paper used in the Pulp and Paper industry requires a lower quality of wood. This is wood that in the past would not have been harvested. Today, marginal forests are being harvested and regenerated, resulting in new, healthier and more vibrant forests. Today we have healthier forests than we did thirty years ago.
Wouldn't there be more forestry jobs if clearcutting were banned? The number of forestry and forestry related jobs in Nova Scotia has varied over the years depending on several factors such as availability of trained workers, the cost to employers of workers compensation rates, the overall rate of employment in the province, market conditions, and the number and type of jobs available in the forest industry. It is difficult to determine if there would be more jobs available in forestry if clearcutting was banned. Today's forestry operations are much more highly mechanized - even in thinning, shelterwood and selection harvesting - and they require a much higher skilled and better-trained forestry worker than ever before. The forestry industry has become extremely high-tech in order to remain competitive in today's global economy. It is not unlike the advancements in technology in any other industry. Imagine the employment possibilities if we reverted to the days when farming was carried out without the modern equipment it uses today. Or should we build highways like we did eighty years ago. The fact is that primary forestry and related manufacturing is the industrial anchor of the provincial economy. Some 11,000 jobs rely directly and indirectly on forestry.
In forestry type scientific studies, the terms whole tree harvesting (everything above the ground), complete tree harvesting (everything, including below ground parts, removed) and bole-only harvesting (i.e. just the trunks) are referred to. When has the industry used these practices and what is industry using today? There is no complete tree harvesting (everything, including below ground parts) being practiced in Nova Scotia. A very small amount of whole tree harvesting is conducted on some holdings throughout the province. In these instances the trees are hauled out to the roadside landing where they are delimbed and chipped. The resulting debris (branches and limbs) is hauled back to the woods and deposited on the site. Most cases, the method of harvest is "bole-only" harvesting where the trees are cut, limbed and cut-to-length at the site with resulting debris at the stump.
Industry observers have noted that clearcutting and reforestation has worked really well in Holland. Can Nova Scotia learn anything from the Holland example? Indeed, it has worked well in Holland. However, it would be misleading to make the comparison for Nova Scotia. It is important to stress that Nova Scotia forest is very different than that in Holland. In fact, we cannot even make any comparisons between other provinces in Canada. Nova Scotia has an Acadian forest unlike the rest of Canada that has Boreal Forests. The size of our clearcuts are much smaller than in other provinces, however, their circumstances are different. It is important to ensure when making any forestry comparisons that we compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges. Are red spruce stands in Nova Scotia being harvested before they mature? Red spruce, young or old, is the preferred species in many jurisdictions because of its strength characteristics as a building material. Many of the answers to this question are similar to those previous questions that pertains to landowner objectives, land tenure and site specific species. If we accept that the ultimate management decision rests with the landowner and if that landowner is allowed to productively manage only a limited piece of ground and wishes to maximize his production, then he/she may well want to harvest his crop as it is beginning to slow down in growth - i.e. at 60 to 80 years of age. Stands exist in areas such as those at St. Margaret's Bay, where the red spruce reproduction is so plentiful that it requires thinning at an early age to grow to its' maximum potential. These are areas that regenerate naturally in red spruce all with an even-aged stand structure and ready to provide a product ready for harvest within a reasonable time frame. Many markets today that purchase Nova Scotia lumber are not looking for large building materials (i.e. 2 x 10 or 2 x 12). The demand today for I-joists (which are replacing 2 x 10's and 2 x 12's), mean that the marketplace demand is for smaller materials (2 x 4's and 2 x 6's), which come from smaller trees. It's interesting that environmental groups claim that trees over 80 years old are rare, but that red spruce are too young to harvest at age 75.
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