"What is the purpose of the giant sequoia tree? The purpose of the giant sequoia tree is to provide shade for the tiny titmouse." 

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By Andrew Kekacs

Program Director, NSWOOA

For more than a year, the Nova Scotia Woodlot Owners and Operators Association has been meeting with a large and diverse group of organizations that provide services to the owners of private forestland. Members of the Small Private Woodland Owners Forum -- known informally as the NFA Process -- have been discussing ways to balance the forest products industry's need for timber with small landowners' desires to achieve broader goals while managing their woodlands.

Funded by the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and administered by the Nova Forest Alliance, the group includes the Association for Sustainable Forestry; Athol Forestry Cooperative; Baddeck Valley Wood Producers Co-op; Conform Ltd.; Ecology Action Centre; Federation of Nova Scotia Woodland Owners; La For�t Acadienne; Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute; North Inverness Forest Management; North Nova Forest Owners Co-Op.; Nova Scotia Landowners and Forest Fibre Producers Association; and the Nova Scotia Silviculture Contractors Association.

"This is the first time in decades, or perhaps ever, that all these groups have sat down at the same table to discuss these issues," said Matt Miller, vice president of NSWOOA and forestry coordinator for the Ecology Action Centre.

NSWOOA Director Lorne Burrows said that addressing problems that have developed over the last 35 or 40 years in the business relationships among landowners and mills is a key goal of the NFA Process. 

Burrows and Miller have played leading roles in the discussions. "Early on, the group identified changes in provincial silviculture programs as a priority," said Miller.

According to Burrows, the group has invested significant effort in reviewing the Nova Scotia Registry of Buyers system, the Primary Forest Products Marketing Act and Board, the Natural Products Marketing Act and Council, and other key laws and regulations. 

As this issue of Legacy was going to press, the NFA Process participants were preparing for a key vote that would recommend changes to the way silviculture funds are administered. Said Miller: "Industry and landowner goals often don't match up ... [so] changes in the organizational landscape are in order."

Meanwhile, there is an ongoing -- but unrelated -- process at the Department of Natural Resources to change how technical and harvesting services are provided to small landowners. NSWOOA has been collaborating with several other groups in trying to address problems there, too.

The NFA Process vote and an update on other provincial developments that will affect small-forest landowners will be discussed at the NSWOOA's Annual General Meeting, which will be held Saturday, April 12, in Old Barns. "There will be an in-depth presentation at the AGM," said Burrows. "We want to involve members in the discussion and receive direct input from landowners."

A full agenda for the AGM will be published in the next issue of Legacy. Directors hope that NSWOOA members and others who are interested in Nova Scotia's forests will make plans to join us.

The Canadian Institute of Forestry (CIF) is organizing a series of workshops throughout the province during March on Forest Ecosystem Classification.

Professional and technical people are encouraged to participate in the Technical Workshops, while landowners and others who are interested in forest management are invited to attend the Evening Forums.

For more information, including dates and locations, click here.

NSWOOA is committed to being your best source for information about sustainable forestry. We do not offer silviculture or harvesting services; our interest is only in the protection and enhancement of the native forest ecosystems of Nova Scotia.

Truly sustainable management requires that all the values of our woodlands -- ecological, social, and economic -- be preserved for future generations. That's a complex undertaking.

Current forest conditions, markets, soils, an owner's personal goals, tax planning and many other factors influence which activities should be considered in any stand of trees.

If you have questions about sustainable management of the Acadian Forest, we want to hear from you! Give us a call at:

1-855-NS-WOODS

(1-855-679-6637)