Ecology Action Centre applauds Nova Scotia’s move toward new forestry practices

The Ecology Action Centre is applauding a decision by the province to shift toward more eco-friendly forestry practices over clear cutting.

The Nova Scotia government announced that as of June 1, those cutting on Crown land will have to start moving towards ecological forestry practices that use lower impact forestry and reduces clear cutting.

“We are moving ahead with a fundamental shift in how forestry is done in this province, placing a higher priority on biodiversity and protecting healthy ecosystems within our provincial forests,” said Tory Rushton, Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables. 

Raymond Plourde, senior wilderness coordinator at the Ecology Action Centre in Halifax, told CityNews Halifax his organization is happy with the province's decision.

“It's been four years since the Lahey report was released and it's just good to finally see a date horizon very soon where practices should start to change for the majority of Crown land harvests,” said Plourde. 

Plourde said this is the first concrete step toward preserving the Acadian ecosystem as an overall management objective while still allowing some forest timber products to be harvested.

“This is one of the most important starting points where we actually see a shift away from clear cutting and towards uneven aged management,” he said.

Plourde believes the province now needs to start looking at implementing other recommendations in the Lahey report in addition to bringing in holistic multi-use planning for Crown land use.