Nova Scotia Conservation & Biodiversity Network & Framework

Cape Breton Privateland Partnership has partnered with Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources to identify the needs for conservation and biodiversity across the province. By connecting with stakeholders such as Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute (MTRI), Nova Scotia Landowners and Forest Fibre Producers Association (NSLFFPA) and others, we will build a background of work done over the years. This will allow us to gain knowledge and understand what gaps need to be filled in terms of conservation and ecological needs for the province.

Our Goals

  • Establish a province-wide collaboration of organizations focused on biodiversity and conservation efforts in working woodlands in Nova Scotia. This will be referred to as the Nova Scotia Conservation and Biodiversity Network.

  • Inventory existing conservation project/initiatives across the province.

o   Resulting in a comprehensive summary of current projects/initiatives across the province. This will be referred to as the Nova Scotia Conservation and Biodiversity Framework.

o   Where applicable, include a summary of Crown Land initiatives and opportunities

o   Share and review ‘Framework’ summary with the ‘Network’ to identify knowledge gaps, geographic gaps, new project opportunities, and further next steps to compliment and expand existing initiatives.

  • Host a virtual conference for the organization network to review results and brainstorm next steps.

o   Incorporate results of the conference into the broad summary.

o   Identify potential future funding opportunities to expand these initiatives.

  • Connect boards and build relationships among organizations

  • Build individual organizational capacity in conservation and biodiversity efforts

Partners

  • Cape Breton Privateland Partnership (CBPP)

  • Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources (UINR)

  • Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute (MTRI)

  • Nova Scotia Landowners and Forest Fibre Producers Association (NSLFFPA)

Community Hall Woodlot Information Sessions

This spring will mark 5 years since the start of the Cape Breton Privateland Partnership, and to mark the occasion we wanted to go back to our local communities to both provide an update and to hear from you about where we should be going in the future.

Four community hall sessions are planned ass well as one online webinar. Each of these will take place from 6:30 pm until 8:30 pm with refreshment served (except online!)

We will be giving away a free woodlot management plan (valid only in Cape Breton!) as a door prize at each of the sessions, so remember to bring along a friend or neighbor you think could use one.

MARION BRIDGE COMM. CTR. - FEB 25

FRENCHVALE FIRE HALL - FEB 27

WEST BAY RD FIRE HALL- MARCH 4

MABOU PARISH HALL- MARCH 6

ONLINE - MARCH 12


Agenda:

6:30 - 7:15 Update on CBPP and discussion around future role and services. Sector update - Budworm, Northern Pulp, Carbon Management, Eastern NS service area proposal

7:15 - 7:45 Refreshment and open discussion

7:45 - 8:30 Introduction to woodlot management, and all the stuff you were afraid to ask.

For those wishing to join the online webinar, please follow the link below 15 minutes before the webinar starts at 6:30. This will allow time for gotomeeting, the service we are using, to set up on your laptop or tablet. We will probably have too many online guests to turn on guest audio, but we will be answering questions posted through the chat feature.

CBPP Woodlot Info Sessions 
Tue, Mar 12, 2019 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM ADT 
Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone. 
https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/721454173 
First GoToMeeting? Let's do a quick system check: 
https://link.gotomeeting.com/system-check 







New Web Portal Coming Spring 2018

NSLFFPA is releasing a new web portal for woodlot owners. The site will provide maps, charts and long term forecasts of woodlot conditions for your woodlot, including carbon storage. You will also be able to request services through the website, and produce a report of all services requested and provided.

The site will be open to woodlot owners on Cape Breton first, and at no charge, as part of a testing phase. If you are interested in taking part in the pilot please fill out the form below and we will let you know when it is ready.

 

Cape Breton Forestry Hub - Discussion Invitation

An exciting initiative is underway to purchase the former Finewood Flooring facility as a cooperative, and re-purpose it as the center of a local, small business hub. The hub would focus on supporting the development of small value adding wood businesses here on Cape Breton, as well as training and shared marketing.

A meeting will be held January 20th in Middle River to discuss the project and tour the facility. Anyone interested in the future of forestry and our rural communities on Cape Breton is strongly encouraged to attend. 

A more detailed invitation to the event is here, as well as some background to the initiative here, and a poster describing the concept here.

 

 

 

2017 Eastern Hardwood Conference: Exploring Hardwood Potential and Innovation

CBPP, along with NSLFFPA and a variety of other partners is very excited to be hosting an important conference March 2nd, “2017 Eastern Hardwood Conference: Exploring Hardwood Potential and Innovation”.

A theme we continue to see in our work with woodlots in our area is the underutilized potential of our hardwood resource. Appropriate hardwood management can provide an opportunity to develop high value forest products in a way that also promotes forest health and maintains the beautiful vistas that define our region. Our hope, through this conference, is to raise awareness about these opportunities, and begin a discussion around how we can best move forward.

We have an excellent line-up of speakers and topics, ranging from hardwood management treatments and how to do them economically, to hardwood markets and where they are headed, to potential supply here in Eastern Nova Scotia. We will also be looking at challenges facing contractors and how they can be overcome, non-timber hardwood opportunities, how developing carbon markets could be used to fund hardwood management, and how to achieve highest value from our local resource.

As a keynote presentation, Al Stinson will discuss hardwood management in Ontario’s Algonquin Park. The park has been able to develop a very successful hardwood management program that is carried out in harmony with its goal of providing outdoor recreational opportunities.

Additionally, for those new to their woodlot or wondering how best to manage it, staff from both CBPP and WoodsCamp will be available throughout the day to answer any questions you might have.

Through concurrent sessions we hope to have sessions of interest for a variety of audiences, from new woodlot owners to experienced, forest contractors to those interested in hardwood business opportunities.

The cost of the conference, including lunch and refreshments, will be $40. Space is limited, so please make sure you register early. For more information or to register please visit:

https://www.easternhardwood.info/

CBPP Woodlot Field Day and General Meeting

We are really excited to announce a field day / workshop and general meeting, Saturday May 14 in Port Hawkesbury. We have a wide variety of great topics and presenters planned - Everything from technology in your forest, to non-timber forest products to selection management. The workshop will take place at the Centennial Trails woodlot; an introduction as well as lunch and an update on CBPP projects will be held at the Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre.

The event is open to anyone, but does require pre-registration and space is limited. The cost for the day, including lunch, will be $15. The last date for registration is May 9, but we encourage you to register early to ensure a spot.

 

Click here for schedule and further information.

 

You can register here, or call Shelly at 902-623-1132.

 

Wood Hub Project - Moving Forward

You may remember last spring CBPP and NSLFFPA held a number of information sessions around the concept of ‘wood yards’. The concept was to open a number of small wood yards where we could buy / aggregate (collect) high value hardwood logs. The hope was that this would provide economic opportunities for contractors and woodlot owners on Cape Breton that aren’t currently available, and, ultimately, lead to a healthier and more diversified forest industry on Cape Breton.

Since that time we have spent a lot of time talking to woodlot owners and industry people, visiting wood yards in other jurisdictions and closely examining the economic viability of the project. Based on that work the project has changed focus, but the ultimate goals have remained the same.

We are pleased to let everyone know that we have received funding from both ACOA and the NS Department of Natural Resources for the project. The project, which is beginning immediately and will run for one year, is designed to provide contractor and woodlot owner education on hardwood opportunities and also allow CBPP to open market opportunities for high value hardwood products. It is our belief that this initial project is the first step towards a healthy, diversified and sustainable hardwood industry on Cape Breton.

 

Education

 

Through the project, Peter Christiano (formerly of Finewood Flooring) will be available to all woodlot owners and contractors on Cape Breton at no charge as a resource around forest management and market opportunities for hardwood logs. Peter has a wealth of experience and has always been a strong advocate of the potential for hardwood on Cape Breton, and we are very excited to have his assistance on this project.

Darryl Byers will be available to CBPP members and contractors to provide specific operational and grading assistance. Darryl will also be available at no charge to members to ‘tree mark’ hardwood areas they are thinking of having selectively harvested, and to provide a detailed estimate of what hardwood products and value are on a woodlot. (Tree marking is the process of flagging the trees to be removed in a stand. This allows the woodlot owner to see exactly what will be removed, makes the harvesting of the area easier for the contractor, and helps ensure that the harvesting work is done in an ecologically appropriate manner.)

A third and important part of the education component of the project will be a series of workshops held around Cape Breton this winter. The workshops, with the assistance on FPInnovations, will provide both ‘in-forest’ and ‘in-yard’ education opportunities. Woodlot owners and contractors will be able to learn about log grading, bucking, operational practices and market opportunities.

 

Aggregation

 

CBPP will be purchasing, aggregating (collecting) in a central yard, and then selling high value hardwood logs. Obviously the economics of gathering small volumes of logs is very difficult. Fortunately, Port Hawkesbury Paper (PHP) has been very supportive of the project and is making a couple very important logistical contributions to the project.

Firstly, PHP has agreed to let us use a small portion of their yard in Port Hawkesbury. This is very important because all of the necessary infrastructure is already in place there, and it receives the vast majority of logging trucks pass through here. PHP has also agreed to let us send small volumes of hardwood logs on top of pulpwood loads already destined to Port Hawkesbury. This will significantly reduce the cost of aggregating the logs, and should make the project financially viable.

Final details are yet to be worked out, but in general, the process should look like this:

·         CBPP is developing a ‘price and specification list’. This will be a list of the products we purchase, what the specifications will be, and the price we will pay. The price will be the highest sale price we can achieve minus the cost of transportation and handling. We expect to have a product sheet by December.

·         Woodlot owners and contractors who have wood they want to sell need to inform CBPP and get a valid job number. Logs will need to be marked with this number and then delivered to the nearest landing where pulpwood is being transported to PHP from.

·         For woodlot owners that do not have the ability to transport the logs themselves CBPP can move the logs to the nearest active landing with a small trailer.

·         CBPP will scale the logs and arrange for immediate payment.

·         Once enough logs have been accumulated in Port Hawkesbury CBPP will arrange for transportation to the appropriate destination. This may be local mills such as BA Fraser or Group Savoie, or more distant markets in Maine.

 

Looking Forward

 

We are very excited about this project, and think it is a very important first step. Ultimately we hope that if there is enough interest, and we can demonstrate there is enough of the products flowing elsewhere, we can attract value added hardwood industry to Cape Breton. It is unfortunate that most of the highest value products will need to be transported off of Cape Breton for processing. However, we see this is a necessary first step toward our ultimate goal of a vibrant value-adding industry on Cape Breton.

 

If you would like to learn more about the project, or would like to discuss the potential for your woodlot or operation with Peter or Darryl, please contact us.

 

Kari

 

Research Project on Carbon Credit Systems in Cape Breton

Here at Cape Breton Privateland Partnership (CBPP) we are currently working on a project about how ecological goods and services that are taking place on private woodlots can be financially rewarding.

What are ecological goods and services?

Ecological goods and services, or ecosystem services, refers to the economic and cultural benefits that humans receive from the natural processes and functions of a healthy ecosystem. Ecological goods are the products that can be taken out of a healthy ecosystem, and ecological services are beneficial natural processes that come from a healthy ecosystem. Woodlots in Nova Scotia provide many of these services to our provinces, and our members are proud to do so. However, the cost of providing these service is born almost entirely by the woodlot owner instead of larger society that benefits from them.

How can they be rewarded financially?

We are currently looking into how a carbon credit system would work for private woodlot owners in Cape Breton. A carbon credit system is a system where your ecosystem services are assessed based on how many tonnes of CO2 or CO2 equivalent (CO2e) this service removes or reduces in the atmosphere. You are given credits towards this service (a tonne of CO2 or CO2e removed or reduced is one carbon credit) if you choose to protect  areas or alter management practices such that more CO2 is captured. These credits are then bought by individuals, companies, and governments to reduce their carbon footprint.

In some jurisdictions, landowners are compensated for providing other services that benefit society but cost the landowner. These services can include such things as additional water protection, providing habitat for at risk species, or maintaining aesthetically pleasing vistas for tourists.

How is CBPP getting involved?

This summer I will be working on a research project to review and document how such systems work in other jurisdictions. I also hope to list stakeholders who are interested in the subject to begin a discussion around what are the next logical steps. With CBPP’s 250 (and counting) woodlot owners that are enrolled in the program, there is already a head start on providing ecological goods and services that may take place on the island. Most members are happy to provide these services, but what if we could be appropriately compensating them for doing so?

- Adrianna Sullivan

Silviculture Development and Habitat Enhancement Fund

The ‘Silviculture Development and Habitat Enhancement’ fund is a pilot project developed in co-operation between Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, the Cape Breton Privateland Partnership (CBPP), Port Hawkesbury Paper and the Association for Sustainable Forestry (ASF). The objective of the fund is to develop innovative and cost-effective mechanisms to:

1.       Restore Acadian Forest characteristics

2.       Improve forest health

3.       Enhance wildlife habitat

4.       Develop innovative forest management techniques

Funding is currently available to any CBPP woodlot member or contractor working on a member woodlot. A total of $94,000 in funding has been provided by the Department of Natural Resources for the project period. The funding will be jointly administered by ASF and CBPP, and individual applications will be approved through a committee made up of DNR, CBPP, PHP and ASF representatives. Supervision, monitoring and follow-up will be provided by CBPP.

 

 

Select here for an application that you can fill out and send to Shelly@CBWoodlots.org

Wood Yards for Cape Breton

CBPP and NSLFFPA are working on developing a network of small wood yards on Cape Breton. The yards, owned and operated by either the Partnership or woodlot owners, would receive wood from woodlot owners and contractors, store and process as appropriate, and try to ensure the wood gets the highest possible value for the seller. The network would also act to promote value adding opportunities for woodlot owners and forest product businesses.

We are very excited about the project, and feel that it can play an important role in supporting woodlot owners and improving the outlook for the forest industry in general on Cape Breton.

Further information on the project is available here.

CBPP will be holding a series of meetings to discuss the project, gauge interest and get feedback and ideas for the project.

Port Hawkesbury Civic Center (Arts and Crafts room) June 15, 7pm

Baddeck Firehall, June 16, 7pm

Inverness Firehall June 22, 7pm

We will also be hosting a discussion as part of the BLBRA AGM, June  18 at the Northside East Bay Firehall.