Greenfield Public Comments: First stage categorization (in order of most to least support)

In section 4 all the public and stakeholder submissions and comments have been summarized and categorized. The verbatim submissions will be used by the Department of Natural Resources. They are not being published due to privacy issues. As mentioned, some well-organized groups were better at getting members out to sessions and that is reflected in some of the numbers around points.

*Attendance: 56
*Includes comments from paper questionnaires and flip charts
*Numbers indicate the number of individuals who supported a comment or made an identical comment (the number indicates the total number of times that comment was made and/or supported)

QUESTION 1
How can we best use the 1.5 million acres of Crown land and the associated resources in the Western Region to most beneficially and sustainably grow and diversify Nova Scotia's economy?

Forestry (13)

• Sustain commercial forestry 2
• Forestry is the only proven economic engine in the western region. It is important crown land continues to be managed to produce fibre for the forestry industry. It should be managed and harvested sustainably to provide much needed fibre to wood processing facilities in order to grow the forestry sector in the region
• Allow cutting to sustain into future – no clear cutting.
• Cutting wood sustainability cutting the annual allowable cut
• Sustainable commercial forestry treatments should be suited to the specific conditions of site
• It would be good to have information on monetary value already committed to licensees on crown land by area
• Support the use of timber for locally owned sawmills and for added value
• Minimizing the use of forest as now for materials to pulp mills, and especially for biomass burning.
• Harvesting efficiency by forests for hard woods for home heaters using existing roads
• Harvesting of pine and spruce (but no clear cutting) to employ wood mills
• Should be divided up and have to bid on timber to get market prices
• Do not let a few mills have control of this resource: it results in their having too much power to control profit margins and they are able to force logging contractors into bankruptcy. It would be much better for the economy of the region to hire a manager for every 30 to 40 thousand acres. He would be in charge of several contractors. Set fair rates where people can make money. This would set the industry standard; the other mills would have to pay higher rates to compete
• The stumpage rate could be indexed to the price of lumber. There is no prosperity in minimum wage jobs in saw mills

Tourism and walking, skiing, canoeing and hunting/ fishing (7)

• Foresters want to cut but need more for recreation – biking, hiking, walking. There is long term potential for tourism and recreation 2
• Keep the high visible land near highways and lakes rivers oceans as forest to help image for tourism 2
• Use some of it for tourism –hunting, fishing, recreation, photography guided nature tours wilderness canoe/ Kayak (Tobeatic lakes)
• Very hard to control such a vast area BUT recreational land must be controlled to permit all peoples the pleasure of nature i.e. fishing (family), cross country skis etc
• Fishing, hunting, hiking

Vehicular, ATV & snowmobile access (5)

• Concern about Bowater land that [gates] have been locked; some have keys thus access, but not others 2
• Search teams should be allowed through the Bowater lands to get to know the area
• Suggest follow example of BC – they unlock the gates on Fridays and lock them Monday morning – had no problems with people using these lands
• ATV access will encourage tourism

Other (4)

• Give some of the land over to communities to take care of it proposing what can be done with it to government
• Open lake lots to private ownership
• This process may be including too much land as nature reserve
• These lands should be used to generate jobs for people in rural Nova Scotia

QUESTION 2
What activities would be the most effective use of Crown land in the Western Region that would generate the most sustainable economic, social and environmental benefits for your community and Nova Scotia? Where would you locate these activities on these Crown lands?

Tourism and walking, skiing, canoeing and hunting/ fishing (3)

• Tobeatic Lakes – tourist uses (see question 1)
• Can the land near the access road Medlee Lane become wilderness (not nature reserve) to allow continued hunting activity? Especially the land east of Medlee lane be crown or wilderness
• Think, Gatineau Park, Quebec, Algonquin, Ottawa - even extending Keji south and west

Vehicular, ATV & snowmobile access (1)

• For privately owned lots on east side of Shingle lake. Will the present vehicle access, Known as Medlee lane, be continued to be open to public use?

MAPS

• Problem: proposed park in the Big Guzzle. Is the road and bridge included or excluded? It is a major route to get into the Purdy Rd. Area. Maintain restriction free access by all vehicle and users for planning purposes to develop a trail network from south to north. Please provide co-ordinates for the end of all roads ending in the south and also coordinates using north from the Purdy road area. This information will assist in the planning process
• It appears the road and bridge across the Mersey River is included in the shaded area. Is this an area or is this included in the proposed park?

QUESTION 3
What other points do you feel are the most important for the Department to consider as it develops the land and resource management plan?

Vehicular, ATV & snowmobile access (2)

• Assist with maintaining private roads to access as was done pre-crown land e.g. Albany new access
• If companies are using crown land roads they should be maintaining to the standards prior to use or better

Protected areas/ Species at Risk (for and against) (3)

• I believe that we already have enough protected land in this end of the province and to take more land out of active forestry would cost rural Nova Scotians jobs 2
• Salmon should be included in species at risk