When I began my forestry career 40 years ago, forest harvesting was predominately clear cutting, much like today. (Though back then, when we removed 85 percent of the volume from a site, we thought of it as a clear cut, unlike today's definition from the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources.)

 In that era, restoration of the Acadian Forest (our region's natural forest) wasn't even a concept. It did not become a tool in the forestry toolbox until widespread clear cutting reduced the remaining natural forest to an endangered forest type, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

In the early 2000s, the Nova Scotia Woodlot Owners and Operators Association started heavily promoting the concept of restoration in concert with the Forest Stewardship Council's Maritime Standard. It's somewhat "all the rage" today.

Although my forestry training at the Maritime Forest Ranger School in 1976 was heavily biased toward industrial forestry, and my subsequent employment with the Scott Maritimes Woodlands Department and as a silviculture contractor continued that bias, something started to shift inside me in the 1990s. I was ripe for change when Windhorse Farm's Jim Drescher spoke at the NSWOOA annual meeting in the late 1990s about the FSC and the Acadian Forest. The lightbulb went on for me after that talk, and I dove right in to the restoration idea.

As president of the NSWOOA at that time, I started bringing that agenda to our board meetings, and it was met with enthusiastic approval by the board and the membership. I really feel we (and by that I mean members of the NSWOOA) led the way in this.

We were greatly helped by Jamie Simpson's excellent book on the subject, "Restoring the Acadian Forest - a Guide to Forest Stewardship in the Maritimes." Get this book, it'll be the best $20 you ever spent. Jamie's first book led to another, "Journeys Through Eastern Old-Growth Forests," which is also an excellent read.

The paucity of this forest condition is exactly why we need restoration work. The Acadian Forest is a very long-lived type, not at all compatible with our most-used harvesting system. Most, if not all, woodlot owner groups now talk about the need for restoration as part - at least - of any woodlot owners' objectives.

Even more important is the fact that the NSDNR is promoting the Category 7 section of the Timber Supply Sustainability Regulations.  I say "more important" because this is where the money hits the woods. Through the Association of Sustainable Forestry and most Registered Buyers of forest products, woodlot owners can access funding to carry out various silviculture treatments on their land. Fully 50 percent of the funding available from the ASF is expected to be spent in this category, which is about promoting long-lived, high-value trees - perfectly suited for restoration work in the Acadian Forest.

Category 7(c) is Selection Management, where the woodlot owner works in stands conducive to creating and maintaining uneven-aged forest conditions, enhancing tree growth and encouraging natural regeneration. The "eye-level" view will be basically three stages of forest growth, corresponding to young, middle-aged and older trees.

As with most forestry efforts, this will take some time to fully accomplish. At first, the three (or more) levels may not be present throughout the forest, only in clumps or patches. Over time, however, the right conditions will develop.

"Forest time" is truly long term, and not much in keeping with our "hurry up" world. Patience will be required, along with a clear understanding of what you're trying to achieve.

A natural forest is made up of five basic layers: An overstory of the tallest trees (the "roof," if you will); an understory, which is all the trees beneath the tallest ones; a shrub layer, for example, alders; an herb layer (like ferns); and the forest floor (not the soil, but the debris composting above the soil, the "duff" layer).

A natural forest is quite diverse and wonderful. It also gives woodlot owners the most opportunities that forests can offer. A follow-up article will discuss some techniques that I use to create a more natural forest type on my woodlot.

Editor's note: Tom Miller is a longtime member of the Nova Scotia Woodlot Owners and Operators Association and a former provincial Woodlot Owner of the Year.

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.

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)