There are four main steps in the review of proposed harvest areas on Crown lands.
Step 1. The Crown land Licensee develops proposed harvest areas and prescriptions based on Pre-Treatment Assessment (PTA) and the Forest Management Guides (FMG), subject to all requirements for operating on Crown lands.
The Pre-Treatment Assessment (PTA) is an analysis of data that is collected on-site by a forest professional who is trained and certified to carry out PTAs. PTAs use typical forest measurement techniques in order to determine the most appropriate forest management treatment for each site. These measurements include identifying tree species, diameter, height, condition of the trees, and soil type. This data is applied through forest management guides (FMG) which are based on decades of forest research and are designed for various forest types.
To learn more about the PTA and the FMG please visit https://novascotia.ca/natr/forestry/programs/timberman/pta.asp.
Step 2. Department of Natural Resources (NR&R) resource management professionals review every proposed harvest plan as part of the Integrated Resource Management (IRM) review process and determine if the plan is appropriate and meets all requirements for operating on Crown lands. The IRM team considers many things including (but not limited to): the provincial strategic forest management plan, property lines and land ownerships, adjacency to protected areas, wildlife habitat, geological information, known recreational activities, areas of significance to Mi’kmaq, and requirements for Special Management Practices (SMP).
To learn more about SMP please visit https://novascotia.ca/natr/wildlife/habitats/terrestrial/
Step 3. Each proposed harvest area on Crown land is posted on the Harvest Plan Map Viewer (HPMV), an interactive web viewer, that enables the public to view and comment on harvest plans. The viewer contains tools that enable the user to send comments or a request for a PTA for specific harvest areas. If you send a comment you will receive a notification that your comment has been received. All comments go to the appropriate Crown land licensee with a copy to NR&R staff. Responses will normally be provided within 10 days and will normally come from the Licensee. Each harvest plan on the HPMV also includes a closing date for public comments, which is 40 days after the harvest site is first posted. Harvest plans that are new to the map, open or closed for comments, the area of the proposed plan, as well as the planned harvest method and prescription are all identified on the HPMV. Maps on the HPMV will be updated on an approximately ten-day cycle.
To go to the HPMV please visit https://nsgi.novascotia.ca/hpmv/
View historic fibre allocation maps previously posted by the department between September 2014 and March 2016 as a means to encourage the public to comment on proposed harvest plans.
To be notified when new harvest plans have been added to the HPMV, please add your contact information here: Sign up for map-update notification.
Step 4. Crown Land Licensees are notified if the proposed harvest plans are approved or if changes are required following the public comment period and an evaluation by NR&R senior management.
Plan approval does not indicate that harvesting will occur immediately. When harvest plans have been approved, the Licensee will incorporate that into its operational schedules.