New study: “significantly large amount” of intact forest at Chignecto to be protected

HALIFAX- A new study released by Global Forest Watch Canada shows that the proposed Kelley River Wilderness Area and Raven Head Wilderness Area will protect a “significantly large amount” of intact forest in the Chignecto region.

The report shows that 54% of the large intact forests remaining in the Chignecto region occur within the candidate protected area boundaries, or about 65% of those occurring on public lands.

“We need to protect large intact forests to properly conserve biodiversity in Nova Scotia”, says Chris Miller, National Conservation Biologist for the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, based in Halifax. “These vast areas are least impacted by human disturbances, are more resilient to long-term changes in the natural environment, and contain important ecosystems and wildlife populations.”

In 2010, Global Forest Watch Canada undertook a province wide assessment of intact forests in Nova Scotia, showing that only 17% of our forests occur in tracts larger than 500 hectares in size.  That’s one of the lowest percentages in Canada, with only New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island scoring worse.

“Chignecto is the only remaining large tract of intact forest in Nova Scotia that does not yet have a genuine protected area at its core”, says Miller. “This leaves it vulnerable to industrial development, so having two new protected areas proposed for this important stretch of forest is extremely important for conservation”.

The Nova Scotia government is proposing to protect the forests of Chignecto through the creation of two new protected wilderness areas totaling about 25,000 hectares in size.  The Kelley River Wilderness Area will protect vast tracts of intact forests, while the Raven Head Wilderness Area will protect long stretches of wilderness coastline along the Bay of Fundy.  The government released the candidate protected area boundary in April of this year and is currently carrying out a public and stakeholder consultation.

The Global Forest Watch Canada assessment shows that 8,583 hectares of intact forest remain outside of the proposed protected areas at Chignecto, of which about 69% occurs on public lands.

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society is recommending that the headwaters of the Kelley River and Sand River watersheds be added to the proposed protected areas through the government consultation process.  These areas also contain important intact forests and would provide a more appropriate ecological boundary for the two protected areas.

For more information: Chignecto

Contact:
Chris Miller, Ph.D.
National Conservation Biologist
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society
902-446-4155
cmiller@cpaws.org