The HFC started in 2016, protesting the rampant clearcutting of Nova Scotia’s forests and increased harvesting of timber for biomass. We wanted to halt these practices and to ensure that our government’s policies would foster restoration of the Acadian forest, protection of special places, and maintenance of biodiversity.
In our first year of action:
In our first year of action:
- HFC became the Province’s only volunteer group focusing entirely on issues of forest health.
- A major petition, organized by Helga Guderlay, garnered over 30,000 signatures.
- We set up our website.
- Presentations were made to many citizens’ groups by HFC members, but especially by Bob Bancroft and Donna Crossland.
- HFC placed and inspired news stories and op eds in media across the Province.
- We met with local and provincial politicians, including Premier McNeil.
- We developed as a social media group.
- Our coalition grew: by 2018 it included Nature Nova Scotia and its affiliated local groups, the Ecology Action Centre and regional chapters of the Council of Canadians.
From the very first, we avoided formal organization. We felt that we agreed on the nature of the problem we wanted address and that we had a pretty good idea of how to go about doing that – i.e. by addressing politicians directly and through the media; by organizing public demonstrations, and so on.
As our numbers grew we realized that as a social media group we needed to communicate effectively with our supporters, and that we had to ground our positions in a group consensus. Informally an ‘executive’ emerged, centred on a coordinator and a number of very active supporters. Beyond this informal executive, whose membership varies according to current issues and personal participation, is a ‘working group’ which consists of supporters who want to be regularly involved with issues and our discussions.
A further group of supporters did not want to be inundated with the daily raft of messages, but did want monthly updates. This group, which numbers several hundred, receives ‘Reports to Members’, generally on a monthly basis.
Finally, we found that a number of supporters were willing to pitch when specific issues or activities demanded, but did not want to take part regularly. For this group we set up ‘Forest Alerts’ that we hope addresses their needs and ensures extensive participation when it is needed.
Through these networks we also maintain relations with a number of FB participants and followers of individual blogs, such as Woods and
Water and personal blogs, such as Nova Scotia Forest Notes.
Since 2016 we have focused on one central issue: clearcutting had become excessive.
It was harvesting timber at an unsustainable rate, destroying biodiversity and, because so much timber was being harvested for biomass, contributing to global warming. As the 2017 provincial election approached clearcutting became an election issue, with Premier McNeil committing to appointing an independent review of forest practices.
On August 30 Premier McNeil appointed William Lahey, President of King’s College and a well-known legal scholar, to carry out the review. HFC members contributed actively to the review, submitting personal briefs and a group brief; meeting with Professor Lahey and with members of his advisory group.
On October 19 we organized a major rally – A Forest Funeral – to mourn the loss of forests and wildlife. Tom Ayers, of the Chronicle Herald, reported that over 500 people took part in the procession which…… became a snake stretching longer than an entire city block. At one point
march leaders were stopped Prince Street, waiting for the tail end – still strung out more than half a block down Hollis Street – to pass by…
The Funeral was part of growing public concern about the state of our woodlands. Concerns that Professor Lahey concurred in when he delivered his review on August 29, 2018.
The Funeral was part of growing public concern about the state of our woodlands. Concerns that Professor Lahey concurred in when he delivered his review on August 29, 2018. Lahey’s criticism of current forest policy and his strong recommendation that the government promote ecological forestry led HFC supporters to hope that progressive policies would soon be adopted. As the months passed, however, it became clear that powerful forestry interests were not only winning delays, they were taking advantage of those delays to accelerate their harvesting.
HFC supporters, amongst others, redoubled their letters to editors and politicians as they realized that the government was backsliding. A government response to the review did not come until early December when Minister Rankin stated that the government accepted the ‘spirit and intent’ of the review and promised to reduce clearcutting. (Frances Campbell, ‘NS Vows to Lessen Clearcutting’, Chronicle Herald Dec. 4, 2018)
Raymond Plourde, of the EAC, spoke for HFC when he welcomed Rankin’s announcement and commended the government for ‘moving in the right direction’, but we all recognized that the delay had signaled that the struggle over forest policy – despite authoritative calls for reform through the Natural Resource Strategy consultation and the Lahey review – was by no means over. We would have to resume the intense advocacy that we had been engaged in since 2016.
At this point the debate was complicated by the looming crisis surrounding the closure of Northern Pulp’s settling pond at Boat Harbour, which would ensure the demise of the plant. Throughout 2019 intense lobbying was applied by the forest industry to persuade government to allow construction of a pipe that would carry mill effluent into the Northumberland Strait. Pressure from the aboriginal community, fishing interests and environmental groups was also intense. In the end, the government stuck with its commitment to close the pond and the mill closed in
early 2020.
Although HFC was part of the environmental coalition, our group was not directly involved. However, the debate and the uncertainty over mill’s fate made it extremely difficult to interest the public or the government in our campaign to implement the Lahey recommendations. An unsatisfactory interim set of guidelines was issued while working groups drafted new silvicultural guides, which have not been finalized.
Meanwhile harvest plans were approved at a pace that suggested that the industry was bent on obtaining permission to cut as much wood as possible before stricter rules would be imposed. It was not until after Boat Harbour was shut down that a Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC) was appointed. It includes a member from the Ecology Action Centre, one from Nature Nova Scotia and HFC, as well as several individuals selected from organizations that share our views and, of course, representatives of forest enterprises. It met during the summer of 2020, and so far it appears not to have made any major recommendations.
During 2019 and throughout the period during which the MAC has been meeting, the HFC continued to press the government to implement the Lahey recommendations with letters to officials, politicians and media.
In many of these presentations we have emphasized local situations and emergencies, all of the time drawing
attention to continued excessive harvesting, the failure of Lands and Forestry to respect the laws, such as the Endangered Species Act, that it has been mandated to carry out, and pointing out that most of the problems that have occurred at the local level would be resolved if the government were to implement the recommendations it has already accepted in principle.
Our priorities have been to:
Associated with all of these priorities has been the need to see Lands and Forestry address Lahey’s criticisms of its own internal culture and its apparent inability to communicate sympathetically with the general public.
So far the government has continued to delay and to maintain the harvesting practices that have prevailed since the 1980s. The public is increasingly dissatisfied and impatient.
The HFC continues to believe that political pressure will bring reform. For our recent communications to government, please check out ‘Our current campaign’ at the link below:
As our numbers grew we realized that as a social media group we needed to communicate effectively with our supporters, and that we had to ground our positions in a group consensus. Informally an ‘executive’ emerged, centred on a coordinator and a number of very active supporters. Beyond this informal executive, whose membership varies according to current issues and personal participation, is a ‘working group’ which consists of supporters who want to be regularly involved with issues and our discussions.
A further group of supporters did not want to be inundated with the daily raft of messages, but did want monthly updates. This group, which numbers several hundred, receives ‘Reports to Members’, generally on a monthly basis.
Finally, we found that a number of supporters were willing to pitch when specific issues or activities demanded, but did not want to take part regularly. For this group we set up ‘Forest Alerts’ that we hope addresses their needs and ensures extensive participation when it is needed.
Through these networks we also maintain relations with a number of FB participants and followers of individual blogs, such as Woods and
Water and personal blogs, such as Nova Scotia Forest Notes.
Since 2016 we have focused on one central issue: clearcutting had become excessive.
It was harvesting timber at an unsustainable rate, destroying biodiversity and, because so much timber was being harvested for biomass, contributing to global warming. As the 2017 provincial election approached clearcutting became an election issue, with Premier McNeil committing to appointing an independent review of forest practices.
On August 30 Premier McNeil appointed William Lahey, President of King’s College and a well-known legal scholar, to carry out the review. HFC members contributed actively to the review, submitting personal briefs and a group brief; meeting with Professor Lahey and with members of his advisory group.
On October 19 we organized a major rally – A Forest Funeral – to mourn the loss of forests and wildlife. Tom Ayers, of the Chronicle Herald, reported that over 500 people took part in the procession which…… became a snake stretching longer than an entire city block. At one point
march leaders were stopped Prince Street, waiting for the tail end – still strung out more than half a block down Hollis Street – to pass by…
The Funeral was part of growing public concern about the state of our woodlands. Concerns that Professor Lahey concurred in when he delivered his review on August 29, 2018.
The Funeral was part of growing public concern about the state of our woodlands. Concerns that Professor Lahey concurred in when he delivered his review on August 29, 2018. Lahey’s criticism of current forest policy and his strong recommendation that the government promote ecological forestry led HFC supporters to hope that progressive policies would soon be adopted. As the months passed, however, it became clear that powerful forestry interests were not only winning delays, they were taking advantage of those delays to accelerate their harvesting.
HFC supporters, amongst others, redoubled their letters to editors and politicians as they realized that the government was backsliding. A government response to the review did not come until early December when Minister Rankin stated that the government accepted the ‘spirit and intent’ of the review and promised to reduce clearcutting. (Frances Campbell, ‘NS Vows to Lessen Clearcutting’, Chronicle Herald Dec. 4, 2018)
Raymond Plourde, of the EAC, spoke for HFC when he welcomed Rankin’s announcement and commended the government for ‘moving in the right direction’, but we all recognized that the delay had signaled that the struggle over forest policy – despite authoritative calls for reform through the Natural Resource Strategy consultation and the Lahey review – was by no means over. We would have to resume the intense advocacy that we had been engaged in since 2016.
At this point the debate was complicated by the looming crisis surrounding the closure of Northern Pulp’s settling pond at Boat Harbour, which would ensure the demise of the plant. Throughout 2019 intense lobbying was applied by the forest industry to persuade government to allow construction of a pipe that would carry mill effluent into the Northumberland Strait. Pressure from the aboriginal community, fishing interests and environmental groups was also intense. In the end, the government stuck with its commitment to close the pond and the mill closed in
early 2020.
Although HFC was part of the environmental coalition, our group was not directly involved. However, the debate and the uncertainty over mill’s fate made it extremely difficult to interest the public or the government in our campaign to implement the Lahey recommendations. An unsatisfactory interim set of guidelines was issued while working groups drafted new silvicultural guides, which have not been finalized.
Meanwhile harvest plans were approved at a pace that suggested that the industry was bent on obtaining permission to cut as much wood as possible before stricter rules would be imposed. It was not until after Boat Harbour was shut down that a Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC) was appointed. It includes a member from the Ecology Action Centre, one from Nature Nova Scotia and HFC, as well as several individuals selected from organizations that share our views and, of course, representatives of forest enterprises. It met during the summer of 2020, and so far it appears not to have made any major recommendations.
During 2019 and throughout the period during which the MAC has been meeting, the HFC continued to press the government to implement the Lahey recommendations with letters to officials, politicians and media.
In many of these presentations we have emphasized local situations and emergencies, all of the time drawing
attention to continued excessive harvesting, the failure of Lands and Forestry to respect the laws, such as the Endangered Species Act, that it has been mandated to carry out, and pointing out that most of the problems that have occurred at the local level would be resolved if the government were to implement the recommendations it has already accepted in principle.
Our priorities have been to:
- Get the Lahey recommendations implemented.
- Secure a moratorium on even-age treatments on Crown land.
- Obtain revision of the Crown Lands Act and the Forests Act.
- Address the biodiversity crisis in the province.
Associated with all of these priorities has been the need to see Lands and Forestry address Lahey’s criticisms of its own internal culture and its apparent inability to communicate sympathetically with the general public.
So far the government has continued to delay and to maintain the harvesting practices that have prevailed since the 1980s. The public is increasingly dissatisfied and impatient.
The HFC continues to believe that political pressure will bring reform. For our recent communications to government, please check out ‘Our current campaign’ at the link below:
