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Everyone, I know there has been very little discussion about harvests of Crown land forests here on NatureNS, but I'm putting out a somewhat related request. Here in Annapolis Royal area, we've been organizing a ground-truthing group to make occasional forays to check out Crown land forests that have a fair likelihood of being good candidates for biodiversity - forests that would qualify as ecologically significant under the Lahey triad model. This group has come about after a couple of previous forays to inspect forests that were slated for clearcuts or uniform shelterwood cuts (2-stage clearcutting). In the case of the hardwood parcel at Corbett-Dalhousie Lake, we were astounded to find multi-age "old forest" climax hardwood trees -- Yellow Birch that were 8 feet in circumference, as well as many large Sugar Maple and Red Spruce. The fate of that forest is still somewhat uncertain - it will be harvested in some way this spring, but we don't really know to what extent. In any case, our forays have taught us that there is a need to know more about the Crown land forests in our region. It is not enough to wait for them to turn up on the Harvest Plan Map Viewer (HPMV) list of "parcels" awaiting approval for harvest. With a scant 40-day comment period, that doesn't give our group much time to get out to ground-truth a forest, especially if it suddenly appears on the list in mid-winter -- as was the case with the Corbett-Dalhousie Lake forest - although 18 of us did go out to walk it on Boxing Day. Unfortuantely, we still have no true idea of the extent of its biodiversity and won't have much chance to take a serious look at that before the harvest equipment moves in -- but we have learned from this experience. Waiting for forests to show up on the harvest lists is not the way to go. So, to cut to the chase -- what I am asking is that some on this group may know of ecologically significant Crown land forests that you have visited in the past. Our Annapolis group is currently putting together a list of "good candidate" forests to begin surveying over the coming season - basically doing bioblitz-type visits to see what's there -- take geo-referenced photos, measure trees, identify trees species, look for signs of wildlife, breeding bird activity, native plants, etc... We realize that many of the forests people may suggest might already be gone -- in fact, there's a pretty good chance that they've been clearcut as there has been an incredible amount of harvesting of Crown lands in Annapolis County. If you haven't actually been out to a favourite forest in recent months, you might be in for a shock. However, we'll consider any suggestions even if you are unsure of the state of the forest. We have a couple of ways of checking to see if a standing forest is still there or if it's already been clearcut. I should mention that there are some people in the Kings County area, and some in Digby County, who have also started or are forming ground-truthing groups, so if you know of forests in those counties, you can send them along as well and I'll pass on the prospective locations to them. The other thing I should mention - related to the ground-truthing groups -- is that there is, or will be, a need for good naturalists who know their flora and fauna. Our Annapolis group is fortunate to have a good number of naturalists and biologists who are already on board and keen to ground-truth our forests, but more are always welcome, especially at the eastern end of the county. That will also be the case for other groups that are beginning to form around the province. You need not come out as a group -- you can just do your own thing as always as you go about birding, herping botanizing, etc.., but we are asking that people consider posting their observations on iNaturalist, and make them available to be used in "projects". If you're already an iNaturalist user, you probably know what I'm describing, but if not, I will explain briefly. When you post observations to iNaturalist, you can make them available for use in projects such as atlases, studies, surveys, etc... For our Annapolis group, I have already created a project for for Annapolis County. It currently captures any observations made by anyone who has made their observations available to projects. You are welcome to take a look at our project -- I believe even non-members of iNaturalist should be able to see the project and observations. Just remember that when you contribute observations, it is wise to obscure the locations of any sensitive species (there's a simple way of doing so in the photo upload) - and, in fact, I think iNaturalist does that automatically for some species, but do check, especially in the case of herps and plants. By the way, that really goes for anything you contribute to iNaturalist even if you are not in projects. https://inaturalist.ca/projects/annapolis-royal-and-area-environment-ecology-and-nature If you wish to contact me with suggestions for forests, or to join our Annapolis ground-truthing group, or to coordinate your own botanizing or other field forays with the forests we are studying, just email me off-list. regards, Bev Wigney Round Hill, NS
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