Nova Scotia's forests are a mainstay of life. While the requirement to provide wood fibre to support our forest economy is still a primary concern, there is a need to sustain the quality and character of our forest resource and maintain a varied forest ecosystem.
Therein lies our challenge...
Forestry Reports and Links
Forest Biomass of Living Merchantable Trees in Nova Scotia. (July 2008)
Nova Scotia Forest Industry Joint Task Force Recommendations and Provincial Response
An action plan, based on recommendations from industry and government, will be implemented to continue supporting the forestry industry as it deals with changes in global market conditions.
State of the Forest (April 2008)
Forestry and forests in Nova Scotia have experienced a considerable transition during the period, 1995 to 2005. Detailed information forests and forest activities are described in the Department's first State of the Forest report which was mandated in the Department white paper entitled Towards Sustainable Forestry .
Code of Forest Practice - Interim Guidelines For Crown Land - April 2008
Code of Forest Practice Guidelines:
The second component of the Code of Forest Practice entitled "Interim Guidelines for Crown Land" is now available as a working paper intended for use by the Department to implement forest management practices through the IRM planning process. It describes the general guidelines for Ecosystem Management, Forest Products, Wildlife Habitat and Integrated Forest Use. The guidelines document is being implemented as interim policy on Crown land only throughout the period of development of a new Forest Strategy for the province.
Nova Scotia's Forest Strategy
The Forest Strategy ensures that harvesting on all woodlands does not exceed the capacity to grow timber, help to maintain jobs and incomes for thousands of people who rely on forestry for their livelihood, as well as, help protect the forest environment and wildlife habitat.
Nova Scotia's Code of Forest Practice
The framework document for the implementation of sustainable forest management on Crown lands is now available online.
New Forest Research Reports
Three new report have been recently published on line( pdf) More...
Ecological Land Classification Map and Database
In an Ecological Land Classification (ELC) areas of similar ecology are identified and mapped within a hierarchy of ecosystems where broad to specific levels of detail are presented on a series of maps. More .
Wildlife Habitat & Watercourses Protection Regulations
The new Wildlife Habitat and Watercourses Protection Regulations came into effect January 14 2002. The regulations make guidelines for forestry operations mandatory on all lands. They provide for the protection of water quality, biodiversity and wildlife habitat.