The government of Nova Scotia announced its forestry plan for the western Crown lands Thursday and released 10-year fibre allocations for the lands. Nearly 20,000 green metric tonnes in western Crown lands earmarked for two Pictou County mills.
For the first time, allocations will be based on a percentage of available harvest rather than a fixed volume. This will make it easier to adjust to changing forest conditions or threats, such as a large forest fire.
Two Pictou County mills have received allocations, including Scotsburn Lumber Ltd, which received 17,200 green metric tonnes and Groupe Savoie Westville Division, which received 2,400 GMT.
Private landowners remain the primary source of fibre in the province and no mill has received more than 21 per cent of its spruce and fir fibre from Crown allocations. The sustainable all-species harvest in the western Crown lands is expected to be 698,000 green metric tonnes. Spruce and fir, the most desired trees, account for 366,000 GMT, 52 per cent of the total harvest.