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The Fundy Model Forest is a 420,000-hectare swath of Acadian forest in southeastern New Brunswick, made up of about 3,500 private woodlots. Various projects and programs address issues like woodlot management, watershed planning, water quality and biodiversity near communities that have suffered mill closures. The overall goal of the program is to help communities stabilize and diversify their local economies.
Gary Schneider, founder and Manager of the Macphail Woods Ecological Forestry Project on 2,000 acres of crown land east of Charlottetown PEI, describes the Acadian Forest as a “condition” more than an inventory of specific trees and shrubs. Over two dozen species are native to the Acadian forest that once covered the now largely agricultural province. Employed by the Environmental Coalition of Prince Edward Island, Schneider manages 26 distinct pieces of land under a 10-year renewable lease with the Province. For each, he’s developed a detailed management plan.
Schneider’s efforts demonstrate that PEI’s Acadian forests can be restored, and much more quickly that people thought possible. The original Macphail property was dominated by scrubby woods and dotted with gravel pits. Sometimes working one tree at a time, Schneider nursed the forest back to health by bringing in rotting wood, compost and even soil to the worst areas. Insects, animals and birds have returned. Seedlings he planted 15 years ago are now thriving. “I’ve got red oak over 20-feet high,” says a proud Schneider. Speaking of early sceptics, he says, “Now I don’t have to say much. I just take them there.”
An enthusiastic Schneider says, “I love cutting trees. I burn wood. I like to build wooden houses. I think wood’s a great product.” But he adds, “If you look at all the benefits that a forest gives you, the wood that comes out of there is secondary.”
Jim Drescher would agree. “The forest itself is the primary product,” he says. Drescher runs Windhorse Farm near New Germany, Nova Scotia. “The by-products from the forest include lumber, paper, firewood, mushrooms, birdsongs, pure water.” Working mostly with horses, Drescher is continuing forestry techniques practiced on the site since 1840. “This forestry experiment at Windhorse Farm, and we call it an experiment because it’s only been going on for 170 years, is the longest standing experiment in sustainable forestry in Canada.” He says a friend once told him, “Jim, you’re on the leading edge of something very old.”
Settled in 1840 by the Conrad Wentzell family, trees have been harvested every year since. In that time the volume of standing timber hasn’t changed. “We harvest about 50,000 board feet a year. We purchase another 100,000.” On site, Windhorse Farm makes and sells flooring, decking, 12 species of specialty hardwood and “tonewood” for making musical instruments. All the wood is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council as sustainably harvested. “This kind of forestry,” Drescher claims of the techniques he uses and teaches to others, “employs seven times as many people as the industrial model. Industrial forestry is clearly a dead end because right now we’re harvesting three times as much as we’re growing.”
Drescher says it’s time to move away from large harvesters and feller-bunchers to horses, tractor-winch systems and small scale, high tech skidders. “This kind of forestry,” Drescher claims of the techniques he uses and teaches to others, “employs seven times as many people as the industrial model.” As an example, he explains how a particular 100-acre lot on his land has yielded 8-million board feet over a 170-year period, and 2-million remain standing. Over the same time period, four clear-cuts would only have yielded about 6-million. Plus, the quality of the lumber and the forest would have declined over time. Drescher says, “Industrial forestry is clearly a dead end because right now we’re harvesting three times as much as we’re growing.” When asked about nano technology, Drescher added, “I think it’s fantastic. Technology offers tremendous benefits to society… potentially. (But), you still come back to – how are you going to protect the forest?”
In a report on clear-cutting methods, Paul Brison of the Nova Scotia Woodlot Owners and Operators Association says: “there are many options available, options practiced by woodlot owners for generations, including natural regeneration of seedlings, selection harvesting and crop tree management, that can restore ecologically healthy forests, while promoting economically valuable stands of trees. It shouldn’t be so hard to do the right thing.”
