Voluntary Planning

Your Vision: See comments below
Strengths:
Biodiversity – our environment is diverse and resilient; in terms of natural
regeneration following disturbance, and possibly in terms of climate
change, as we share many species in common with areas to the south
(maples, pines, etc.) that should be able to adapt better than the more
boreal species that we share with areas to the north; our provincial
species at risk work and ecosystem work, in addition to the work of
other conservation organizations, address the requirements of retaining
the most fragile components of biodiversity.

Forests – capacity and resources available to practice proactive, informed forest
management; large forest land base relative to the size of the
province; rural communities that provide manpower for forest work;
industrial investment in the forest sector, despite market challenges;
RPFANS has organized forest professionals, operating under association
bylaws and a code of ethics; the university of new brunswick and the
maritime forest ranger school provide forest management education in
local conditions

Minerals – I do not know enough about the minerals sector to comment

Parks – parks and campground network provide good outdoor recreation
opportunities. This is a good program. I have visited a number of these
sites and I am grateful that our province has these facilities.

Barriers and Issues:
I would consider the following as barriers or issues impacting the management of these resources (positively or negatively):
•Conflict
Development / land use issues
•Population increases
•Climate change and related environmental conditions and events
•Trade relations with the united states
•Markets for forest products (timber, other)
•Invasive pests / diseases
•Forest certification and chain of custody requirements
•Consumer demands

Community's Priorities:
I live in rural Nova Scotia. The forest products company that I work for
is a significant employer in my community. Aside from the pulp mill
jobs in the Pictou county area, and the woodlands jobs in the
Colchester county area, there is also a large contractor workforce
operating throughout central Nova Scotia. I would hope that my
community recognizes the value of a healthy forest industry in its
vision of the future.

I consider myself part of another
community within the province, a community of forest stakeholders.
There are many players within this community, who bring with them
viewpoints from a number of perspectives. Outside of the government’s
consultation process, the community is talking, discussing, and
cooperating in an effort to find that middle ground where industry can
function, people can enjoy the outdoors, and the quality and diversity
of our environment is sustained. People are cooperating because they
have to. Everyone realizes that the resource is finite. We are dealing
with the realities of economic, social and environmental pressures, and
trying to discover how they can constructively interface.

I
personally feel that maintaining a viable forest products industry
within the province is of benefit. And, I feel that a viable industry
should include some larger players. The forests can sustain a certain
level of annual harvest. Within this limit, I fully support a forest
products industry. Many of the larger forest products companies within
the province who manage forest lands are certified. Under the SFI
Program, those who are certified to the SFI standard work with smaller
enterprises to help them to operate under the principles of sustainable
forestry. Of course, there are also many small scale operators and
woodlot owners who are doing very well on their own due to their own
knowledge and interest in sustainability. Operations on crown lands
manage for integrated resource use, in cooperation with crown licence
holders, large and small. The outcome of all of this is not only that
the forest is, in general, conscientiously managed to provide the raw
materials that support a forest industry in the province, but
that it is viable to maintain large portions of the province as forest
land, free from the irreversible sprawl of development. I fear for the
day in this province when private lands cease to be valued and managed
for forest resources. That is the day that we will lose our expansive
forests, and see nature trimmed back to what we have preserved as
protected areas.

An added benefit of this economic and
management activity in the province are the resources that are directed
toward furthering the understanding of the forest environment and
developing tools to enhance its management. I work for my employer in
the field of sustainable long term forest management. Within this role,
I rely heavily on the work and expertise of others. One of my most
important resources is the department of natural resources. The work of
the renewable resources branch and the regional services branch has
been integral. From forest modeling, to growth and yield, to tree
improvement, to understanding ecosystems and wildlife, to accessing
inventory information and mapping, to managing for integrated use, and
beyond, my forest management plans have benefited from the work of the
department, and from the interest and dedication of the people who are
doing this work. There are also other important resources. Although
there are no accredited forestry university programs in the
province, many of the universities in the province study elements of
the forest and forest management. In addition, organizations such as
the CIF (canadian institute of forestry), the NFA (nova forest
alliance), the MTRI (mersey tobeatic research institute) and the RPFANS
(registered professional foresters association of nova scotia) bring
forest professionals, forest practitioners, and other forest
stakeholders together to learn and share. I feel that the scale of this
activity is related to the importance of the forest industry to our
province. If the forest industry were to fall to a position of low
importance in our provincial economy, the investment in further
development of management knowledge and support would be adversely
impacted. I feel that this would eventually impact the quality of
forest management within the province.

Guiding the health and sustainability:
I would consider the following key values:
•Honesty
•Science based and fact based decision making, not political decision making
•Sustainability – environmental, social, economic
•Provincial level industry analysis
•Resource use conflicts addressed by cooperation instead of confrontation
•Examination
of potential outcomes of decisions as part of the decision making /
policy making process (use modeling to analyze long term impacts)
•Beware
of creating an artificial environment through public policy that will
require tremendous resources to sustain and not be able to pay for its
self
•Respect an individual’s / organization’s right to manage
private property (assumes basic respect for legislation and the
environment)
•No bullying – ideas should float on their own merit