Values and Goals
Vision
The Family Forest Network (FFN) envisions a time when the ecological health, diversity, and resilience of Nova Scotia’s woodlands is the foremost concern of woodland stewards, forest service providers, wood products firms and government.
In a reinvigorated forest sector, FFN is a trusted place for landowners to get the information, advice, services and market access they need to be exemplary stewards and profitable managers. Service providers have the workers, training and equipment they need to help these stewards to achieve their goals while earning a fair return for their work. Forest products firms benefit from a stable supply of high‐quality raw material from well‐managed woodlands that support a broad‐based and resilient rural economy. The provincial government is committed to making Nova Scotia a global model for ecologically sensitive, economically productive and socially responsible forest management.
Goals
In August 2018, William Lahey released his "Independent Review of Forest Practices in Nova Scotia." Commissioned by the government of the day, and subsequently endorsed by all political parties, the report concludes that diverse, older, natural forests are the foundation for all the benefits – economic, ecological, and social ‐‐ that Nova Scotians receive from our woodlands.
We wholeheartedly agree. In fact, the founders of the Family Forest Network were the first – and remain the largest – group of forest service providers to publicly endorse and practice the recommendations of the Independent Review. These organizations have a firm commitment and a demonstrated capacity to help woodland stewards adopt the techniques of ecological forestry.
Through the implementation of Bill Lahey’s recommendations, the Family Forest Network will support:
healthy and productive woodlands that are managed in accordance with ecological principles;
robust and sustainable contributions by the forest sector to the economy of Nova Scotia; and
equitable compensation for products and services, including for the stewardship of healthy and
productive woodlands.
Project Objective: Advance Ecological Forestry in Nova Scotia
Building on programs and services currently offered by members of the steering committee, the Family Forest Network will be the starting place for woodland stewards who want to learn more about practices that mimic natural processes, promote biodiversity, and restore ecosystem health – the key recommendations of the Independent Review. There is clear value in having a single, collaborative, highly visible point of contact that studies, demonstrates, and promotes such practices.
William Lahey directly referenced an early version of the Family Forest Network proposal – then called the Acadian Centre of Excellence in Family Forestry – in the conclusions of the Independent Review. Lahey saw the centre as a way to organize and support the robust forest research program that he recommended:
“Another critical element is encouraging and supporting research by Nova Scotia’s forestry sector, including partnering with the sector on its research endeavours .... [This] should include support for research on innovation opportunities for woodlot owners. One option for doing so may be the centre of excellence concept suggested during this Review by the executive director of the Nova Scotia Woodlot Owners and Operators Association at a workshop convened at the request of the Review by the Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute.” (Conclusion 148)
Undertake a Large‐Scale Eco‐Forestry Pilot
The FFN proposes to begin the work of implementing Lahey’s recommendations on small woodlands by conducting a large‐scale pilot of ecological forestry. To help woodland stewards and forest professionals make better decisions about management options, the pilot will undertake an estimated 192 ecological forestry treatments in diverse eco‐sites and forest conditions throughout Nova Scotia. Using methods that restore natural diversity and productivity, special attention will be paid to failed plantations, unproductive stands that have been degraded due to poor forest practices, and other challenging situations.
Build a Business Case for Eco‐Forestry
The pilot will show “how forestry is best managed and practised in Nova Scotia within an ecological forestry paradigm,” as Lahey wrote. The steering committee believes this is the best way to demonstrate that there are economically viable and ecologically preferable alternatives to intensive management. Using a whole‐cost accounting approach, the pilot will quantify the economic, environmental and social benefits and costs of ecological forestry, and produce evidence‐based recommendations for conducting ecologically sensitive management on small woodlands across a wide range of forest conditions. Demonstrating that fair returns and healthy, diverse forests are possible through improved management may also encourage more small, private owners to participate in the forest economy, which would have a significant, positive impact on the supply of wood for local forest‐ products firms.
Grow Local Eco‐Forestry Knowledge
While a large body of forest research and real‐world experience shows that ecologically sensitive forest management offers a productive alternate to more intensive forms of management, there has been very little research into the actual costs and benefits of such management in Nova Scotia. Several variables are at play, including the size and location of the parcels being managed; the current state and desired future condition of the sites; the experience of the harvester with the concepts and techniques of ecological forestry; and the type of harvesting equipment that is available.
Advance Eco‐Forestry Tools and Practices
Working with willing landowners, contractors and forest professionals, the FFN harvesting pilot will essentially create the guidebook for exemplary management in a Nova Scotia context. It will use all of the tools currently available to ensure that woodland management achieves the goals of the Independent Review, including biodiversity assessments and carbon modelling that inform the development of ecologically sensitive harvest prescriptions on each parcel. These harvests will become open‐air laboratories where forest stewards and service providers can observe, question, and ultimately judge the value of these techniques for themselves.
Apply Collective Impact Principles to Improve Forestry Practices
Bill Lahey set a high bar for forest practices in Nova Scotia. By any measure, this groundbreaking collaboration among 11 organizations with a long history of success in serving family forest owners has the experience, the assets and the commitment needed to help the province achieve its interconnected goals of implementing Lahey’s recommendations on small woodlands while supporting the ongoing transformation of the forest sector.
An Integrated Solution
At a facilitated session convened by FITT in July 2021, five applicants for funding were encouraged to consider ways to work together to develop a shared solution to the challenge of forest sector transformation. One FITT trustee asked participants: “What is the long vision? What do we need to do to get there? That would be huge ...” Coming after a divisive debate surrounding the proposed Biodiversity Act just a few months earlier, the meeting was critically important. Partners in the Family Forest Network are keenly aware of the need to work together and in partnership with willing landowners. After that first facilitated session, the steering committee immediately reached out to the other applicants. As a result, four of the five participants agreed to work together on an integrated solution. In addition to the harvesting pilot, other key components of this collaborative approach are discussed briefly below. By linking regional service providers with province‐wide organizations that specialize in areas ranging from legacy planning to species at risk, resources and expertise can be shared, services streamlined, and duplication avoided. Because of this, the FFN is much greater than the sum of its parts.