NOVA SCOTIA REPORT: Monitoring for Value and Compliance
by Andrew Fedora

The cost of carrying out silviculture work across Canada is steadily increasing. Any contractor involved with silviculture will readily attest to this and quote any number of reasons why. In an effort to help offset costs, most provinces have some sort of silviculture assistance program. For silviculture contractors in many provinces, it is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain a profitable business based on current rates and available assistance. For a small-private woodlot owner, direct assistance is almost non-existent. 
Nova Scotia’s approach to silviculture assistance programs is unique as compared to the rest of the provinces. On the surface, our program may seem to be one of the top in the country. However, small-private woodland owners and many who practice silviculture in Nova Scotia may have a different opinion.

On December 26, 2001, under the Forests Act, the Nova Scotia government enacted the Forest Sustainability Regulations. The regulations require any person or company, who attains more than 5,000m3 of wood fiber in a year to carry out silviculture work in Nova Scotia. The amount of work obliged is proportionate to the amount of wood volume acquired. Additionally, the amount of investment on private land is proportionate to the amount of wood harvested from private land.

As a registered buyer, you have two options; you can invest in the Sustainable Forestry Fund, or implement your own silviculture program. The regulations allow buyers who decide to run their own program a 10% reduction in silviculture work required. This is to offset the extra administrative costs for running a program. Who receives funding, the location, and treatment type, is at the buyer’s discretion. 

A third party organization distributes the Sustainable Forestry Fund. Any person may submit an application for funding. The funding is dispensed on a “first come, first served” basis. Provided the site meets the technical criteria, applications are accepted for a wide variety of treatments. 

At first glance, there seems to be sufficient funding available for a variety of silviculture treatments in Nova Scotia. For many contractors and perhaps a few landowners, this may be the case. For the majority of small-private woodlot owners in the province, it is very difficult to receive funding and, if they are interested in carrying out the work on their own, near impossible. 

Nearly every buyer (mill) in Nova Scotia decided to run its own silviculture program, and rightly so. The 10% for administration reduces the amount of silviculture the buyer is required to do. They can also leverage the promise of providing silviculture funding to a supplier for acquiring wood. Operating in this fashion is simply good business sense. 

Since most buyers run their own programs, there is virtually no industry investment into the Sustainable Forestry Fund. The provincial government has been the most substantial contributor to the fund since its inception. Given the small amount of funding available and the “first come, first served” policy, the budget is often completely allocated the first day applications are accepted. Silviculture contractors in close proximity to the office from which the funding is administered typically claim the funds before others from greater distances have the chance to apply. Again, for the early birds, this is just good business sense. As a small-private landowner applying, if you are fortunate enough to have your application accepted, you receive less funding on a per-hectare basis than a silviculture contractor.

Keeping these points in mind, the small-private woodlot owner in Nova Scotia has very limited silviculture options. If they do not sell enough wood to a buyer and are not first in line for the Sustainable Forestry Fund, there are really no options at all.


ASF SILVICULTURE FUNDING PROGRAM 2005-2006

Funding Applied For: $772,055.93
Funding Spent: $434,881.35
Area Applied For: 1,473.9 ha
Area Treated: 798.8 ha
Source: www.asforestry.com/silviculture.htm