News release

Report on Public Input on Forestry Regulations

Natural Resources (to July 2018)

A report that summarizes public comments on draft regulations for wood supply sustainability and wildlife habitat management has been released by the Department of Natural Resources. The regulations are part of the province's new forest strategy and support recent amendments to the Forests Act.

"We have reviewed and responded to the public input on the draft forestry regulations," said Natural Resources Minister Ernest Fage. "Obviously, it would be impossible to implement every suggestion, but we have tried to strike a balance."

The results of this review will be considered by the new Forest Technical Advisory Committee in revising the draft regulations, which will be submitted to cabinet for approval.

These regulations are the second major step in implementing Nova Scotia's forest strategy. The first step occurred in January 1998 with the establishment of the Registry of Buyers, a tool used to collect annual information on forest harvest and production of secondary forest products.

The draft regulations were available for public review between June 12 and July 12, 1999. The department also held three concurrent open houses on June 24 in Yarmouth, Truro and Port Hawkesbury. Sixty-four written submissions were received.

"Many comments were broad and general in nature and addressed issues such as forest management, ecology, economics and public policy," said Mr. Fage. "Others were specific and referred directly to sections of the draft regulations."

The comments focused on several key areas: rights, roles and responsibilities of the private landowner; roles and relationships of government, industry and small operators; funding for silviculture and who should pay and how much; accountability for the sustainable forestry fund, requirements for snags and cavity trees; special management zones; appropriate harvest methods; and enforcement of the regulations.

The report, Summary of Public Comments, Public Review of the Draft Wood Sustainability Regulations and the Draft Wildlife Habitat Regulations, was prepared by Bruce L. Smith Consulting Inc. for the department. It is available at Department of Natural Resources offices, Access Nova Scotia Centres, public libraries (for viewing only), or on the department website at www.gov.ns.ca/natr/forestry/ .