Spring Newsletter 2023
Annual General Meeting
Join us for our Annual General Meeting on Saturday, May 27th from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at Maitland Bridge Community Hall!
We have lots to discuss including updates to operations and new research. The event with feature a special guest presentation by Melissa Labrador and a tour of the Stave Lake Campground & Trails. Coffee, snacks and lunch will be provided! You can register for the event here.
Operations update
Springtime is an exciting time in the woods as the forest comes back to life after the winter freeze. During this important time for wildlife MCFC will respect our annual “Singing Season” pause in forest operations. This year we have expanded this shutdown in harvesting, road building and silviculture activities to cover May 15th to July 15th.
We’re excited to continue with our Species-at-Risk (SAR) Birds Beneficial Management Practices partnership with Dr. Cindy Stacier from Dalhousie University and the Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute (MTRI). This spring our team will be deploying automated acoustic monitoring devices to monitor upcoming harvest sites for the presence of SAR birds. We then work collaboratively to implement special measures to conserve and improve habitat for these important species.
During the spring and early summer, we’ll be busy planning forestry operations throughout our license area. As with all MCFC’s forestry operations we’ll be encouraging feedback from our local community, so stay tuned to our website and social media to learn about opportunities to review and comment on our proposed operations.
Photo: Hemlock Conservation Strike Team using basal bark spray to help treat trees
Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Treatment Program
On May 8th, Nova Scotia’s first ‘Hemlock Conservation Strike Team’ moved into the former bank building (9853 Hwy 8) located next to the pharmacy in Caledonia. Our team has begun intensive training to become the first official full-time crew to tackle Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA), an invasive insect that is rapidly infesting and killing Eastern Hemlock forests in seven southwestern counties. Their objective, as supported by Environment and Climate Change Canada and funded federally by Nature Smart Climate Solutions, is to conserve as much old growth hemlock as possible in Provincial Protected Areas.
For the next eight months, the Hemlock Conservation Strike Team, consisting of 3-4 staff and Donna Crossland, Hemlock Conservation Coordinator, will focus on rendering chemical treatments to some of the most high-value hemlocks remaining in the province. At times, they may work alongside two Provincial Strike Teams from Natural Resources and Renewables as they also prepare to conduct similar work on HWA.
Help for private landowners with hemlock forests: While the Hemlock Conservation Strike Team will be primarily treating hemlock forests in Provincial Protected areas, they will:
Host demonstration and training days to aid private landowners to gain the knowledge and skills required for potentially treating their own trees.
Welcome volunteers to learn how to conserve hemlocks through helping the Strike Team to treat trees.
While the Strike Team cannot treat privately-owned hemlocks without some security on cost expenditures for this long-term investment, there are opportunities arising that can help ensure that treated trees will not be cut by future landowners. For e.g., landowners who join the NS Working Woodlands Trust or a conservation easement could be eligible for treatments.
Become a Hemlock Hero!
We will be reaching out to folks who sign up as Hemlock Heroes to aid with hemlock conservation. Hemlock Heroes will be invited for volunteer training, so they are ready to join the Hemlock Conservation Strike Team to perform tasks such as tree-marking, tree injections and ‘timing’ the basal bark spray operations. There is a suitable task for nearly everyone! Spending a day under the protective canopy and soft, filtered light of hemlocks is an unforgettable experience.
Hemlock Conservation will welcome local interests and the Mi’kmaq and conservation community from everywhere to work together to save as many of our most precious and beautiful old growth pockets of remaining forests as we can.
Community Outreach
MCFC will be hosting several community events this summer
June 11th - Nature Notebooking with Kalen Roblee
July 9th - Build Your Own Bee Hotel
August 27th - 7th Annual Forest Market Fair at Annapolis Royal Square
September/ October - MCFC Forest Operations Tour
Stay tuned for more information throughout the summer!