The Latest Report
The Acadian Forest, it's demise to industrial forestry. from Mark Brennan on Vimeo.
The Friends of Redtail Society was formed to raise the necessary funds to purchase 313 acres of forested land in Pictou County to protect it from industrial clear-cutting, but we are concerned about the wellbeing of all forests and earth's other vital ecosystems. We recognize the importance of protected areas to help maintain some of the existing biodiversity in Nova Scotia, however, if a wide variety of ecosystems are to flourish, our society needs to radically change the way we interact with the rest of the natural world. As a priority, we need to stop the most destructive practices like clear-cutting.
Mark Brennan has created a video entitled "The Acadian Forest, the story so far". The film, which was officially released online in November, takes the viewer through the seasons in the Acadian Forest. It then goes on to look at the industrial forestry model of growing trees and how this impacts the indigenous hardwood forest eco-systems of the region. It includes footage of a recent clear-cut next to the Friends of Redtail Society land.
In mid-summer and early autumn a local contractor created a major clear-cut, cutting down trees on one side of the property line, and in fact on the property line. Some large old hemlocks were cut on the property line, we have been informed that this is now the industry practise. View photos.
This particular forested area was quite a special place for wildlife because it was close to a variety of food sources and a major tributary to the Black River passes through the land. The trees were cut up to steep slopes on both sides of this brook, which will lead to erosion. The controversial whole tree harvesting method was used, leaving very little organic matter to protect the land from erosion and help with re-growth.
An area of forested land, which had absorbed atmospheric carbon as it grew, has been turned into a carbon source (for now), emitting carbon into the atmosphere from the ex-forest's floor. These changes to the land that was clear-cut will also affect the Friends of Redtail Society land. Trees near the property line will be more vulnerable to blowing over in high winds. Erosion on one side of the line could lead to erosion on the other side of the line and silting of brooks downstream. Changes to the water table brought on by this cut could affect the whole area.
A clear-cut has no regard for the beings that have lived there for many years. The trees and other plant life had been growing in the area without regard for human designed property lines. The wild animals had lived in the habitats that best suited them and according to their own ways of determining territory. The forest was cut at a time when many animals were young and still being cared for. A lot of the cutting was done at night when nests and small animals could not be seen. A marshy area was included in the cut, putting wood frogs and other beings that live in forest wetlands at risk from falling trees and trampling by huge machines. A cut like this has enormous impacts on flora and fauna. There is no accountability here and the results cannot be reversed.
According to the new Natural Resources Strategy, Nova Scotia aims to limit clear-cutting to "no more than 50 per cent of all harvests" in the next five years. The province is considering implementing an "Annual Allowable Cut," has reduced the amount of biomass companies are allowed to take to generate electricity, and is developing rules about whole-tree harvesting. These could be steps in the right direction, but even when they are all in place, a lot of clear-cutting will be allowed and there are no plans to end the use of industrial scale whole-tree harvesting.
Clear-cutting is defined in the government manuals that explain the strategy and implementation plan*, but the percentage of forest biomass that can be cut down in a "non-clear cut" is not defined. How long will the kinds of cuts that can be seen in Mark Brennan's video be allowed in Nova Scotia?
While the Nova Scotia government moves toward legally protecting 12% of the province's land, we remain keenly committed to the other 88% and questioning the destructive practices that will continue to be permitted there.
In order for humans to survive on the land the relationship must on one hand lighten and on the other deepen. This is not a duality; in fact, you cannot have one without the other. Lighten is the impact of the human imprint. Deepen is the development of extended relationships with all other beings, flora and fauna. Through the act of extended relationship with both the animal and plant world we deepen our compassion and in so doing we are intrinsically compelled to lighten our impact.
It will be a challenge to achieve stable forests and sustainable forestry. To get there we must redefine our relationship with the forest and that begins with new stories. Stories come from time spent on the land and in relationship with the land.
Read Mark Brennan's press release on the film: Artist Releases Film on Demise of the Acadian Forest (PDF 49KB)
* "The Path We Share, a Natural Resources Strategy for Nova Scotia 2011-2020" and "From Strategy to Action, An Action Plan for The Path We Share" can be found at http://www.gov.ns.ca/natr/strategy/ Copies are also available at the office of the Minister of Natural Resources and Energy, Charlie Parker: 49 Water Street, Pictou, N.S. (902)-485-4550
Friends of Redtail Society Statement on Onshore
Oil and Gas Development in Nova Scotia
The Friends of Redtail Society is the guardian and student of 313 acres of forested land in an upland watershed in Pictou County. This land was scheduled to be clear-cut before the Society made arrangements to purchase it. We recognize the inherent value of all living beings in the forest. We see the connections between the forest, air, water and wildlife, and we know that this forest cannot survive in isolation from other forests and ecosystems, nor without a healthy atmosphere and a healthy water system. We are therefore dismayed that Nova Scotia has opened up various areas of the province for onshore oil and gas exploration and has accepted a bid by St. Brendan's Exploration Ltd. for exploration in the "Scotsburn, Truemanville and Malagash Agreement Blocks." The Friends of Redtail land is located within the watershed area of the "Scotsburn Agreement Block."
According to the Canadian Society for Unconventional Gas, hydraulic fracturing needs to be used in nearly all onshore oil and gas deposits that are left in North America to make them profitable. We don't want to witness the industrialization of the landscape that comes with this type of development: construction of numerous well pads and new roads and an increase in heavy vehicle traffic. We are very concerned that oil and/or gas development with hydraulic fracturing could cause air pollution, earthquakes and depletion and/or toxic contamination of underground and surface water sources relied upon by humans and other living beings. All of the above consequences of oil and gas development would have widespread detrimental effects on the health of local ecosystems. The living beings of the Friends of Redtail Society forest could be irreparably damaged.
The extraction of the Nova Scotian recoverable portion of the estimated 3.7 trillion cubic metres of gas contained in Maritimes shale would contribute significantly to climate change. Due in large part to methane leaks during the production and marketing of the gas, shale gas emits green house gases on a scale as bad as or worse than coal, relative to the energy it produces. Shale gas cannot therefore be considered a good fuel to assist us in the transition to a sustainable energy system. It would be better to consider the gas trapped within shale rock as an excellent carbon sink that if left in place, can be helpful in preventing catastrophic climate change. Instead of promoting this new polluting extractive industry in the province, the Nova Scotia government should leave the gas where it is and work towards a community-based renewable energy strategy in which conservation is a top priority and local conditions are assessed so that small projects can provide the energy that is required for each community in a truly sustainable manner, creating long term work all around the province.
Friends of Redtail Society aims to connect people with each other and with nature and demonstrate that our lives can support, not degrade life on the planet. We feel that onshore oil and gas development and hydraulic fracturing will do the opposite. It will fracture the bedrock beneath us, and the landscape around us. It will fracture our communities by pitting those in favour of this development against those opposed to it. Overall it will decrease the life-supporting potential of this small part of the world. A variety of fragile ecosystems could suffer, including the 313 acres of forest we of Friends of Redtail Society have a responsibility towards. We are therefore opposed to this onshore oil and gas exploration and development.
10 Points on Forest Biomass
10 Points on Forest Biomass: Nova Scotia Biomass Information, EAC, 2011 (PDF 200KB)
The Latest Science
Information is courtesy Jamie Simpson at EAC
Latest science on biomass energy further confirms that biomass energy can increase carbon emissions for at least several decades relative to continued fossil fuel use. Unfortunately, the Nova Scotia government continues to ignore the implications of the growing body of science and its policy implications. Clearly, burning our forests for low-efficiency electricity production is not sensible by any stretch of reason. We need an intelligent biomass energy policy now.
From Ontario, a study by Jon McKechnie et al shows that replacing coal-fired electricity generation with biomass from tree stem-wood will increase carbon emissions for some 38 years, relative to emissions from a coal plant over that time period. The authors do point out that using tops and branches of trees only would reduce the lag-time significantly; however, removing tops and branches from the forest has negative implications for soil heath, productivity and biodiversity, and for these reasons the government of NS has committed to not allowing whole-tree harvesting (see www.flickr.com/photos/jamiesimpson/ for photos of whole-tree clearcutting).
Quoting from the study:
- "This study... shows that increasing biomass removals from the forest significantly reduces carbon stocks and delays and lessens the GHG mitigation potential of the bioenergy pathways studied."
- "This contradiction, also identified elsewhere, illustrates the misleading consequence of assuming immediate biomass carbon neutrality when quantifying emissions of some bioenergy pathways."
- "...effective deployment of bioenergy requires the thoughtful selection of appropriate pathways to achieve overall emissions reductions."
The study also looked at ethanol production from wood, and found that this form of biomass energy increases emissions relative to fossil fuels for over 100 years (the time-frame considered in the study).
Reference: McKechnie, Jon, et al. 2011. Forest Bioenergy or Forest Carbon? Assessing the Trade-offs in Greenhouse Gas Mitigation with Wood-based Fuels. Environ. Sci. Technol. 45: 789-795.
************************
In another recent study, scientists report that heavy forest cutting (in a northern hardwood forest) results in loss of carbon from the soil, thereby increasing carbon emissions to the atmosphere. The researchers concluded their study as follows:
"Thus, we demonstrate that removal of woody biomass to be used as fuel cannot be claimed as carbon neutral, despite active regeneration of harvested forests. Changes in land associated with harvest, especially increased soil respiration, must be incorporated into carbon budget calculations."
reference: Zummoa, L.M. and A.J. Friedland. 2011. Soil carbon release along a gradient of physical disturbance in a harvested northern hardwood forest. Forestry Ecology and Management. [in press]
And for you academics in the crowd, here's another one on modelling carbon emissions and biomass energy:
Cherubini, F., et al. 2011. CO2 emissions from biomass combustion for bioenergy: atmospheric decay and contribution to global warming. GCB Bioenergy, doi: 10.1111/j.1757-1707.2011.01102.x.
News Archives
In Memory of our Friend, David Orton (PDF 676KB)
David Myles Live @ The Celtic Circle June 24, 2011 (PDF 586KB)
Hike organized to celebrate land's purchase by Monica Graham, Chronicle Herald, Sunday, December 19, 2010
Merry Christmas to Friends of Redtail by Silver Donald Cameron, The Nova Scotian, Sunday, December 19, 2010
Friends of Redtail Announces Success of its Campaign, Nov 2010 (PDF 586KB)
Read Mark Brennan's Blog: Losing a Loved One — Opposing Values in the Forest
Green Alert: A Scientific Report on the Forest of Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada by Diana Beresford-Kroeger
An Evening with Diana Beresford-Kroeger (PDF 586KB)
Dear Premier & Minister of Natural Resources (PDF 545KB)
David Myles “Live @ Your House”: Society announces 2nd annual lotto fundraiser (PDF 573KB)
Sheltering Forests Campaign Hits Milestone, August 16, 2010 (PDF 578KB)
Friends of Redtail featured on CBC News @ 6, July 21, 2010
Forest Friendly Exhibit at River John Festival Days (PDF, 569KB)
4 guys, 4 causes, 1 bike: Cross Canada Tandem Tour Nearing Nova Scotia (PDF, 565KB)
Respected Land Ethicist Speaks at Society AGM
Dave Gunning Live @ Your House Winners Announced, February 5, 2010 (PDF, 422KB)
CBC Maritime Magazine, December 13, 2009, Friends of Redtail Radio Documentary (link to CBC website) OR download (12.5 MB)
CBC Information Morning, December 8, 2009, Line to Pictou County interview with Lesley Sobey (MP3, 5.7MB)
More time for Sheltering Forests Campaign (PDF, 416KB)
Sheltering Forests Enters Final Phase of Campaign (PDF, 416KB)
Summer Market & Fair Re-Scheduled (PDF 448KB)
Summer Market & Fair Fundraising Event, May 2009 (PDF 152KB)
Society Launches YouTube Video to Support Fundraising Goal, May 2009 (PDF 192KB)
Society AGM, New Directors Installed, April 2009 (PDF 288KB)
Notice of AGM, Tea & Social, March 2009 (PDF 81KB)
Society Launches Website to Support Fundraising Goal, March 2009 (PDF 192KB)
Picnic Event, October 2008 (PDF 84KB)
Land Deal Announcement, August 2008 (PDF 75KB)
Society Seeking Fair Market Value, January 2008 (PDF 84KB)
Friends of Redtail Society Formed, June 2007 (PDF 70KB)
Related News
Into the Woods Part 1: The Enduring Power of Trees Sarah Hampson, The Globe & Mail, Saturday, August 20, 2011
Nova Scotia Forest Figures 2010 Prepared by the Ecology Action Centre (PDF 152KB)
Two Forestry Studies Released: Alternatives to Clearcutting and Questioning Herbicides, May 20, 2010, Ecology Action Centre
Cutting Concerns Residents, Article, Amherst Citizen, August 2007
Submissions
Green Web Bulletin #65 Redtail Wilderness Camp and Pipeline Route Hearings, by David Orton (PDF 144KB)
Read the Appendix to our original purchase offer, submitted to Wagner, October 2007 (PDF 18KB)
Our submission to Voluntary Planning, The Future of Nova Scotia's Natural Resources, July 2008 (PDF 88KB)