Program to Receive International Standard-Setters Award

We received word this week that the NSLFFPA FSC® program will receive a Rainforest Alliance 'Sustainable Standard-Setter' award. This presitigious international award is to "... recognize the outstanding achievements made by individuals and companies in the areas of sustainable agriculture, forestry and tourism." The announcement noted that the award was based on the Associations “vision to make sustainability a priority and the dynamism to make it a reality. Its continued success protecting both the environment and the interests of woodlot owners has made the NSLFFPA a sterling example to the industry”. 

The award will be presented at a ceremony in New York this coming May. Congratulations to everyone on this significant recognition. It is our common comittment to better forests and communities that will be spotlighted on this international stage.

(Information on previous years awards is here. We will let you know when more infomation is available for 2014)

Woodlot of the Year Winners

Congratulations to two of our members for being awarded 'Woodlot of the Year' for their respective regions!

Eastern Region: Henry and Elaine Van Berkel (Ashdale, Antigonish County)

Field Day: September 21, 2013

Central Region: Karl and Faye Crawford (Scotsburn, Pictou County)

Field day: September 28, 2013

Follow the link for their stories: http://www.gov.ns.ca/natr/woodlot/woya/2013.asp

The field days are a great learning experience and networking opportunities.  The winners are more often than not recognized for what they've achieved with what they've got to work with.  You don't need acres and acres of late successional forest to manage well.  Mark these dates on your calendar and tell everyone you know!

We'll be involved with the field days to promote the program and answer questions.  

Tolerant Hardwood Silviculture in Ontario

Please click on the link below for some insights on tolerant hardwood management gained from a workshop in Huntsville, Ontario last month. 

Tolerant Hardwood Workshop Summary

We're constantly learning and trying to implement best practices here so please get in touch with us to learn more about management in Nova Scotia or comment on your own experiences.

Peter

Extension Project Report

Most of you have had the opportunity to meet with Bill or Dave over the last 6 months. We were able to hire them through a project funded by DNR to look at the impact this type of assistance would have on landowner engagement and activity. 

The project has been a huge success from many points of view. Feedback from members has indicated that the support they have received has been very appreciated. In the past our funding has really only enabled us to write management plans, and provide a minimum of support. It is clear that this has not been enough, and that we need to provide a more complete follow up service.

The most important result has been the project clearly demonstrating to government and industry that extension and support are necessary if we want to have an active private woodlot sector. It is very unfortunate that funding for Dave and Bill will end this month. However, we are confident that we will be able to bring them back in the future as the provinces' forest strategy unfolds.

We are posting the final report for the project here. Thanks to all of you who participated, and esecially to Bill and Dave. Their experience and professionalism are what truely made it a success.

Extension Project Report

Don't Let This Happen to You

In early 2009, a member engaged a contractor to harvest a portion of his woodlot in a specific way.  The main goal was to harvest a portion of the maturing white spruce while leaving enough residual stems to encourage tolerant regeneration.  One of the landowners primary objectives was restoration management.  

Trust was put in the contractor to meet these objectives while adhering to best management practices for the province.  No formal agreement (contract) was used.

Before he knew it, the job was on the verge of completion with no ongoing consultation or involvement with the landowner.  The contractor did not follow expectations, rather went for as much standing timber as possible while leaving scattered residuals and immature stems for appearances.  On top of this, there was severe rutting across the length of half the lot and significant ephemeral stream damage where a temporary stream crossing should have been used but was not.  In the end, the contractor was gone with no attempt at mitigating the damage.  

I'm sure we've all heard a horror story like this one or worse.

How can this be prevented?

1.  Call NSLFFPA to arrange a pre-work inspection - As is often the case, it takes something bad to happen to make changes in the status quo.  Over the past 3 years, NSLFFPA has taken steps to be very involved in the planning stages, start up of jobs, and ongoing monitoring services.  We now require notification of planned activity so we can check health and safety requirements and help achieve management plan objectives, including environmental concerns.

2.  Get  references - Be sure your contractor is reputable and can provide recent references.  Be diligent on the pre-work.  Expectations on both sides need to be agreed upon and clearly communicated.

3.  Use a contract - Document all expectations and agreements in a formal agreement.  

We're here to help.  If you're planning a harvest, let us know.