Summer Newsletter 2022
Here at the Community Forest, we’re celebrating a fun summer of community gathering and events, exciting ongoing research, and are looking forward to harvest operations getting going again. We hope you’re enjoying a summer of forest walks, birding, campfires, or camping out… any way to enjoy the Wabanaki-Acadian forest in your backyard or across the province!
Photo: Harvest Operations tour July 23rd, 2022 at a recent selection harvest with special management for at-risk bird species breeding in the adjacent wetland.
Outreach update
We started off summer events stretching and flowing under the old growth hemlock canopy alongside the Mersey River with Andrea Wegerer, certified yoga instructor at the Fourmile Stillwater Trail. In July we hosted an operations tour with a great mixed group of forest stewards and interested community members. We showcased a recent harvest where we have completed our first special management trial for at-risk birds in partnership with Dr. Cindy Staicer (Dalhousie University). Last spring, we placed remote acoustic monitoring devices in all of our upcoming harvest sites and Cindy's team found a Species at Risk (SAR) bird in nearly every block. Knowing the bird is there if the first step to protecting and promoting its preferred habitat.
We will host another operations tour Sunday October 2nd and with operations gearing up we may be visiting an active harvest site. The details for the day will be posted in the coming weeks. Save your spot and register today!
In August we hosted the 6th Annual Forest Market in Annapolis Royal for a fun day with great vendors. We host this market every year to bring the community together and showcase local talent, traditions, and organizations that stem from the forest. The aim of the Forest Market is not only to feature amazing vendors but also to increase awareness of non-timber forest products and value-added wood products. This year we had vendors offer lathe demonstrations turning lighthouses, UFOs, and trees, along with sawing fun as pictured below.
Photo: Annual Forest Market in Annapolis Royal with the Bruce Family farm saw demonstration.
It’s been great to gather community around ecosystem-based forestry and exchange strategies for promoting uneven-aged, diverse, healthy forests as we work to restore stands from past intensive management practices.
In June our staff and a few executive board members met with NS Environment and Climate Change (NSECC) staff and Minister Halman at the Four Mile Stillwater Trail to talk about the impacts of the invasive pest Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA), treatment options, and the threat on old growth forests across the province. In mid-August an announcement was made from Environment and Climate Change Canada who will be working together with NSECC to conserve old-growth forests and address the hemlock woolly adelgid. Under the Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund, Environment and Climate Change Canada has agreed to commit up to $10 million, which will contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing carbon sequestration, while also providing benefits for biodiversity and human wellbeing. This is great news for hemlock trees and we’re grateful for the time spent with Minister Halman and the NSECC team!
Photo: Board member Donna Crossland showing varying degrees of HWA infestation on the undersides of hemlock branches nearby to Minister Halman and NS Environment and Climate Change staff.
Operations Update
With our annual Singing Season past now - which halts all machine operations, road work, or anything that would disturb or harm migratory breeding birds, their eggs, and nests - we’re gearing up for harvesting. We’ve been able to learn a lot about at-risk bird species and their habitat while partnering with Dr. Cindy Staicer. Since we know which bird species are in upcoming harvest blocks and where they are, we can apply specific tree marking retention with our prescriptions to ensure harvesting conducted in the fall doesn’t destroy habitat and those at-risk birds return in the spring to breed and feed there again. These special considerations are applied to our management practices which aim to promote wildlife habitat generally for a diversity of species.
We have several harvests in the Northfield and East Branch Medway districts planned for this fall that involve a variety of harvest prescriptions, including Commercial Thinning and Restoration Shelterwood treatments. The fall is a great time for tending our young forest areas as well and we will be moving forward several silviculture operations throughout the license area. In addition to Pre-Commercial Thinning we will be implementing our first Crop Tree Release treatment. Crop Tree Release is a thinning technique used to promote the growth of selected trees through the removal of less desirable trees. Crop Tree Release increases the health and present value of a stand, and also enhances the stand’s future value, by concentrating growth on the most desirable trees. We have selected several sites around the license area to pilot this approach, with a focus on young hardwood stands that present opportunities to promote long-lived, shade-tolerant species like yellow birch and sugar maple.
Photo: July’s Harvest Operations Tour lunch spot in a young hardwood stand which could benefit from a crop tree release in a few more years.
NS Working Woodlands Trust
Do you own and steward woodlands in Nova Scotia and are uncertain of the future management of the forest or you are interested in protecting the forest and building resiliency for the long-term. Check out NSWWT to see how a Working Forest Community Easement protects your stewardship legacy and the forest in perpetuity.
We will soon be able to offer an easement to eligible woodlands at no cost to the landowner, while connecting them to a network of forest professionals and ensuring the property is monitored annually forever – keeping the forest healthy and productive!
