Media Clipping — Wednesday, February 6, 2002
The Progress Enterprise, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

Bowater declines invitation to news conference

By Robert Hirtle

CHESTER A news conference held Monday morning at Chester Municipal Council chambers had everything except the main attraction.

Brad Armstrong of the Kaiser Meadow Brook Conservation Group called for the meeting of environmentalists, municipal and provincial government representatives, Bowater Mersey representatives and the media to discuss the issue of clear-cutting in the Kaiser Meadow Brook area.

An overflow crowd packed council chambers. However, according to Martin Rudy Haase of the Friends of Nature Conservation Society, Bowater declined the invitation to attend. Company spokesman Robin Anthony had stated previously that they prefer to hold meetings with each environmental group on an individual basis.

Mr. Haase chaired the news conference, with Mr. Armstrong, Dr. Ron Colman, executive director of GPI Atlantic, and Elizabeth May, executive director of the Sierra Club of Canada making presentations.

Mr. Armstrong reiterated his previous statement that the area contains a large number of what he considers to he old growth trees. He said that the new forest regulations do not provide enough protection for old forests in the province.

He called for the provincial government to increase the size of buffer strips along waterways and to enact legislation so that legacy trees are protected from harvest in these areas.

"On this site, there are many trees that are over 100 years of age," he said. "I am saddened when I see no effort being made to preserve these trees."

He said that currently, there are no regulations in place to limit the size of an area which is being clear-cut, and he also feels there are not enough Department of Natural Resources personnel to patrol the amount of forest being harvested.

"The province needs to hire more enforcement officers, as these companies really have no one to answer to," he said.

Mr. Armstrong suggested that the Kaiser Meadow area should be turned into a pocket wilderness, similar to one that Bowater set aside in Hants County in 1991.

"We do not have a pocket wilderness right now in Lunenburg County," he said. "This would he an excellent opportunity to establish one."

Dr. Colman presented statistical information which showed that the percentage of forest in Nova Scotia over 80 years old decreased from 25 per cent in 1958 to less than one per cent today. He said that currently, only .15 per cent of the provincial forest is over 100 years of age.

This decline in old growth has made the province's forests worth less now than what they used to be.

"In the last 40 years, we have lost almost all of the old trees in Nova Scotia," he said. "In timber values alone, we are losing a lot of value in our forest."

He said that selection methods are a more favourable way of harvesting, as they would maintain stable local employment while protecting the forests at the same time. However, he believes areas such as Kaiser Meadow should not be harvested at all. "We've recommended that all old growth forests in Nova Scotia are in danger and require protection," he said.

Ms May described old growth, temperate forests as the "most threatened ecosystems in the world."

"Given how rare and endangered this forest type is, the entire 3,000 acres should be set aside and protected," she said.

Although Bowater owns the land, Ms May believes that it is not private property.

"This is an ecosystem that is intimately connected with the whole East River watershed," she said. "It's essential for pure and healthy water, it's essential for the salmon."

She called for a review of the area by an independent scientific panel who would advise both the company and environmental groups as to if and how the forest should be harvested.

She said she had offered to meet with Bowater general manager Jonathan Porter privately while she was in the area, however Mr. Porter was not available.

"We are prepared to sit down with Bowater and work with them," she said. "Hopefully, we'll have that opportunity in future."

Chester Municipal Deputy Warden Gail Smith said the municipality has "no level of authority with regard to our forestry."

However, she said council is "very interested in what takes place in the watershed areas of the municipality."

Chester-St. Margarets MLA John Chataway said the province was asked to review the logging operation last week to ensure the new forestry regulations are being adhered to.

He said previously, harvesting practices were controlled by a group of guidelines that were suggestions to foresters as to how to harvest.

"Now, it's changed," he said. "it is not just suggestions. It is a law."

He said although "not everybody would agree with what [the regulations] demand at this time, it is a step in the right direction."

Meanwhile, Bowater has requested a provincial review of the harvest practices in the Kaiser Meadow area.

General manager Jonathan Porter said in a press release that the company "believes such a review is necessary to provide a factual basis for all future discussions on Bowater's forest management practices."

He said the company is confident that they are meeting all regulatory requirements, however if deficiencies are identified during the reviews, the company will promptly address them.

Mr. Porter said that harvesting in the area has ceased for the winter, and will not resume again until June.

Copyright © 2002, Lighthouse Publishing Ltd.