The Forest

The forests in this region are part of one of the most threatened forest systems in North America—the Acadian forest. This forest type contains a unique mixture of hard and softwood species found nowhere else on the planet and yielding a remarkable variety of forest ecosystems and wildlife habitats.

The 313 acres we are mobilizing to protect from being clear-cut can be described as an upland watershed with hilly terrain, deer runs, essential waterways and remnant stands of old growth forest. The forest mix is diverse in age and species and contains many hallmark Acadian species, including Eastern Hemlock, Yellow Birch, Red Spruce, Sugar Maple, White Pine and American Beech. Forest runoff and filtration create the basis for a healthy brook system, which traverses the area.

The area has escaped major impact and thus a significant portion of its Acadian forest system remains intact, providing a delicate habitat in a sea of human encroachment and worthy of protection from the deep and lasting scars of industrial forestry. To maintain a continuous tract of wild nature in tact, anywhere, is necessary. To restrict industrial harvesters is essential. To demonstrate an alternative way to interact with wild nature is possible. This land provides an opportunity to successfully challenge the status quo.

In June of 2006, US based Wagner Forest Nova Scotia Ltd purchased 500,000 acres of land from Neenah paper. These land holdings represent broad swathes of land throughout the entire province of Nova Scotia. In the MacBeth Road area, Wagner holds over 500 adjacent acres, a fraction of their holdings in Pictou County and elsewhere.

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The Acadian Forest

Acadian old-growth red spruce & eastern hemlock forest is characterized by...

• long-lived trees
• shade-tolerant species
• late-successional forest types
• natural regeneration via gap-replacement
• existing as a steady-state over long periods
• accumulation of biomass in varying states of decay
• old growth valued as habitat for associated or dependant species

Old growth acts as a reservoir of genetic diversity, reproductive fitness, and seed dispersal across the landscape - particularly important functions for rare and declining tree species and forest types in changing environments and across increasingly fragmented landscapes.

Old growth is in decline across Canada due to forestry practices (e.g., clear-cutting, selective harvesting, and short rotations) that select against long-lived, shade-tolerant, late-successional trees and forest types adapted to low light levels and high atmospheric moisture.

Source: http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/index/oldgrowthforests