Good News (with reservations) for Goldsmith Lake

​Good news. The Goldsmith Lake Wilderness Area is now under formal evaluation for permanent protection by Environment and Climate Change, with the Department of Natural Resources collaborating. The Citizen Scientists of Southwest Nova Scotia proposed the area for protection in 2022. Considering that, until recently, the Minister of Natural Resources claimed not to know anything about that proposal, the news that the area is now being treated as a candidate for permanent protection is very good news indeed.

The process by which candidate areas are evaluated is led by the Protected Areas Branch of ECC. It includes assessing the ecological, cultural and socio-economic value of the area as well as conducting formal consultations with the public. According to Craig Smith, the director of the Protected Areas Branch, it takes about a year to move an area from newly identified candidate into permanent protection as a designated Wilderness Area.

The bad news is that logging of existing approved harvest plans will continue in the area while it is being evaluated. In the two previous rounds of significant land protection conducted by ECC in Nova Scotia, a moratorium was placed on logging, road-building and industrial activities in the areas being assessed for permanent protection. This  is normal practice in other parts of the world, for good reason. It makes no sense to actively degrade the conservation value of an area while it is being evaluated for protection.

This news about Goldsmith Lake, good and bad, did not come from a public announcement. Instead it was contained in an email Annapolis MLA David Bowlby sent out on April 23rd in response to a flood of letters he received when constituents learned that logging was happening in the proposed Wilderness Area. Mr. Bowlby’s letter deliberately downplays the newsworthiness of the information, but newsworthy it is. Of the crown land Wilderness Areas proposed by groups of citizens since this government put into law its commitment to protect 20% of Nova Scotia’s lands and waters, Goldsmith Lake is the first to advance to formal assessment for permanent protection. That we know of. Let’s hope that others are in the works.

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Letter from MLA David L. Bowlby (Annapolis)

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​Good afternoon,__________ ,

​Thank you for your email and for sharing your concerns about forestry activity
near Goldsmith Lake. I appreciate your advocacy for Nova Scotia’s natural
spaces and understand the urgency many feel to protect ecologically significant
areas while balancing sustainable forest management.

I fully understand the frustration expressed regarding the perceived “Log Now,
Protect Later” approach. Let me assure you that the current harvesting activity is
confined to areas already assessed as ecologically compliant, with stringent
safeguards in place for species at risk and old-growth stands. Goldsmith Lake
remains under active evaluation for permanent protection, a process that
requires thorough ecological, cultural, and socio-economic analysis to
ensure durable outcomes. The Department of Natural Resources and
Environment and Climate Change collaborate closely to advance protection
priorities while respecting existing legal harvest approvals. Your call for
urgency is noted, and I have shared your request with both ministers and my
friends in DNR to reinforce the need for expedited assessment where possible.
Public input, like yours, is vital to this process, and I encourage you to
continue contributing through formal consultations.

The Department of Natural Resources takes its role in stewardship seriously. All
harvest plans, including those near Goldsmith Lake, undergo a rigorous review
process that includes consultation with the Mi’kmaq, public input via the Harvest
Plan Map Viewer, and assessments to identify and protect sensitive ecological
features.

In this case, the approved harvest near Goldsmith Lake involves a 32-hectare
thinning operation within a 350-hectare area that was originally clearcut in 1972,
replanted, and subsequently managed through herbicide treatments in the early
1980s and pre-commercial thinning (PCT) in the late 1980s. This stand is now 53
years old and is being managed to promote healthier forest growth. Importantly,
all areas with confirmed rare lichens and other sensitive features—including
those identified by the public—have been protected with 100-meter buffers and
excluded from harvesting.

This site has been continually assessed and reassessed over the past four years
by WestFor, DNR, professional lichenologists, and independent consultants. Any
new information brought forward by the public, including reports received as
recently as yesterday, is carefully examined, verified, and incorporated into
planning.

Areas with confirmed old-growth forests in the Goldsmith Lake region were
excluded from harvest plans and protected during initial reviews. Later, public
input in November 2022 led to the identification of rare lichens and black ash
trees, which were promptly safeguarded. Harvesting was paused during this
verification process and resumed only in areas deemed compliant after thorough
review.

In winter 2024, new reports of rare lichens prompted additional holds. Those
areas will remain on hold while rare lichens are identified and associated buffer
zones are put in place. This ensures lower-intensity harvesting aligned with
ecological forestry principles.

I share your desire to protect ecosystems like Goldsmith Lake. Again, public
input continues to play a vital role in identifying sensitive features, and I
encourage ongoing engagement through DNR’s consultation channels.

​Thank you again for writing. Please know that your voice is critical to shaping
balanced, sustainable policies.

Sincerely,
David L. Bowlby

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This letter was undoubtedly crafted by DNR and government communications strategists. It was sent out on April 23rd , mostly in exactly this form but sometimes with other interesting information. One letter to a constituent concerned that logging would harm nesting birds stated, “All operations adhere to federal migratory bird regulations, including seasonal restrictions to avoid nesting periods.” That is welcome news too!

It's a relief to see some progress at last, however imperfect. And it is none too soon, given that the government needs to add 60,000 ha to Protected Areas by the end of next year if it is to meet the 15% interim target established by the Nova Scotia-Canada Nature Agreement in 2023. At 3900 ha, the Goldsmith Lake Wilderness Area, if  approved, will be one small step in the right direction. Others, including Ingram River and Chain Lakes Wilderness Areas should not be far behind.