Submitted by Garland Ingraham
Vision:
Like to see a natural forest without clear cutting which may be efficient to the lumber industry but extremely destructive to the forest. As a hunter and part time ATVer, I see huge areas of clear cutting with soil erosion, windfalls and damaged streams. Nova Scotia is open for business when it comes to giving away our resources. Has nothing been learned from the fiasco that took place within the fishing industry and that is still ongoing in depletion of anything with fins.
Strengths:
There are recognized ways to log such as selective logging which permits an industry while basically leaving the forest intact. A forest without biodiversity is like an ocean with no fish.
Barriers and Issues:
Industry control of government. Off shore owners who care less about the Province and more about the quick buck, get in, get out. Take the money, leave the mess for the tax payers to deal with. Jobs and a way of life are not sustainable without proper control. Letting industry have full control of the forest is no different than putting foxes in control of the the hen house. No different than industry control of the fisheries.
Community's Priorities:
Get more involved or watch it all cease to exist.
Guiding the health and sustainability:
Good Government that listens to its citizens and not blindly follow what the industry dictates. There needs to be a better balance between industry needs and what the forests and oceans can sustain. Jobs are certainly important but as with the fishing industry, as the bottom is destroyed by draggers so will the forests by clear cutting. Thousands of Nova Scotians and Newfoundlanders once worked in the fishing industry but no more and perhaps never again.
Additional Comments:
See any large numbers of birds lately. Maybe more spraying of chemicals will bring them back.???????