Raising a red flag
Billboards warn of nest loss due to forestry practices
A Cape Breton environmental group is raising a red flag on the loss of bird nests through industrial forestry practices.
The Margaree Environmental Association paid to have three large billboards erected in and around Halifax earlier this week to bring awareness to the destruction of wildlife and wildlife habitats.
Showing a nest of young birds against a de-forested backdrop, the environmental society estimates that 80,000 nests were destroyed in Nova Scotia last year due to clear cutting.
Association co-chair Neal Livingston said that figure is based on a study by Avian Conservation and Ecology titled An Estimate of Nest Loss in Canada Due to Industrial Forestry Operations.
“We think there’s probably three times as many birds not hatching from the bird nests being destroyed,” said Livingston when reached Wednesday at his sugar shack in western Cape Breton.
“The high number was about 160,000 bird nests a year and the low number was around 20,000 — so we picked the midlevel number.”
Two billboards are directed to traffic on Barrington Street, while a third rotating sign is located at a Bedford Highway intersection.
“When we did research with the billboard company it looked like they would get about 10 million views in the next month,”
Livingston said.
“We don’t think those people on their way to work are going to be happy … that’s not what they want going on in Nova Scotia.”
Association members carried out fundraising for the new signage as part of a provincewide campaign to end clear cutting.
Livingston said it is unacceptable that Nova Scotia has not yet followed the lead of other provinces in reforming its forestry practices.
Association co-chair Brian Peters could not be reached by phone Wednesday afternoon but in a press release said that the province’s antiquated policies make it more difficult for
private woodlot owners to make a living.
“What will it take to reform forestry practices in Nova Scotia? In most of Quebec and Ontario clear cutting is now highly restricted and the result is new jobs and more jobs,” Peters said.
An independent review of the province’s forestry practices is being undertaken by University of King’s College president William Lahey.
The study was to be released last month, but is now expected by the end of April.
Bruce Nunn, a spokesperson for the Department of Natural Resources, said there are biologists, wildlife technicians and other specialists who work to manage the province’s bird
populations and their habitat.
In addition to delivering the Agricultural Biodiversity Conservation program, which promotes best farming practices to reduce bird impacts, Nunn said the department is engaged in undertaking and supporting research on birds in forested landscapes.
“Bird populations and habitat are impacted by many human activities on the landscape and forestry is not among the most significant source of impacts,” said Nunn.
“Environment Canada statistics show that a significantly greater number of birds are lost to feral cats, collisions with houses and powerlines, and vehicle strikes. Declines in some
bird populations are due to a number of interacting factors such as changes in wintering habitat, other landscape uses such as roadway and urban development, and insecticide use.”
Last spring the association released its own strategy paper with suggestions on how best to transition away from clear cutting.
According to the group, the province should follow a similar template used in implementing recycling, including the staged adoption of non-clear cutting practices, some retraining of current workers and the training of new workers.