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Nova Scotia invests $5.4M in ecological forestry and training

The government of Nova Scotia has announced it is investing $5.4 million for silviculture work that lines up with ecological forestry goals and to improve forestry roads.

The funding includes:

• $2 million for silviculture on private land
• $1 million for roads on private land
• $1 million for silviculture on Crown land
• $400,000 for roads on Crown land
• $1 million to train workers to support the implementation of ecological forestry practices outlined in the Lahey Report
• $330,000 for the Association of Sustainable Forestry to develop and deliver training to certify qualified practitioners in pre-treatment assessment
• $670,000 to the Canadian Woodlands Forum to train harvesting contractors in new methods and prescriptions associated with ecological forestry

This funding builds on the provincial government’s plans for a new $6.1 million Centre of Forest Innovation in Truro, N.S., which will be operated by Nova Scotia Community College and funded by the Forestry Innovation Transition Trust. As of September 2022, the centre will provide core certificate programs and courses to train forestry professionals in ecological forestry practices.

“An investment in woodlot owners is both an investment in their communities and the long-term success of the sector. Healthy, managed forests provide us with clean air, clean water, outdoor recreation places and the wood products we all use every day. Woodlot owners in this province own 65 per cent of our forested lands, and improved roadways help them manage their lands for today and tomorrow,” said Jeff Bishop, executive director of Forest Nova Scotia, in a statement.