Lahey forestry report author issues scathing update on lack of progress after 3 years

The author of a report calling for a shift to ecological forestry practices in Nova Scotia says he's seen little to no evidence of change on the ground since he released the document in 2018.

William Lahey, president of the University of King's College, released an evaluation on Tuesday of the government's progress to date on his recommendations. It was not complimentary.

"None of the work underway on [report] recommendations has resulted in much if any actual change on the ground in how forestry is being planned, managed, or conducted, and I have no indication of when any of it will," the evaluation said.

"From the information at my disposal, I am not able to conclude that much or any change has happened in how forestry is practised based on the work the department has done on implementing the [recommendations]."

Lahey notes that while work has started on 40 of the 44 recommendations, implementation beyond policy and planning is only underway on 10 of them. He said progress within the Department of Natural Resources has noticeably improved only in the last six months.

"Combined with the fact that only five recommendations have been fully implemented, and that the implementation phase of work on recommendations has not started on roughly two-thirds of all recommendations, implementation cannot so far be judged a success," the evaluation said.

The former Liberal government ordered the report in the face of increased public pressure about the way the woods were being managed.

Lahey's report found that the forests needed a break from years of heavy activity that centred mainly on clearcutting. Among other things, his recommendations called for a drastic reduction in clearcutting and for Crown land to be divided into three parts: some reserved for conservation; the majority reserved for light-touch ecological forestry; and some for high-production forestry.

To date, the so-called triad model still has not been implemented and Lahey notes in his evaluation the consequences of the delays.

"It is a particular concern that forestry that is not ecological forestry continues to be conducted on Crown lands that will be largely reserved for ecological forestry once the triad is finally implemented on Crown land.

"Since this current forestry is not guided by the yet-to-be implemented silvicultural guide or limited by the yet-to-be-approved Old Forest Policy, it could be seriously degrading the very forests that implementation of the triad on Crown land would be protecting from clearcutting."

Efforts by the department to make progress have lacked a clear articulation of an overall implementation strategy, Lahey found. In attempting to understand the reason for delays, Lahey points to several issues, including:

While the majority of these delays fall at the feet of the former Liberal government, the new Progressive Conservative government is not immune from criticism.

Lahey draws attention to the recent Environmental Goals and Climate Change Reduction Act the Tories passed, and the fact it gives the government until 2023 to implement the triad model and, thus, ecological forestry, on Crown lands.