Port Hawkesbury Paper and the Province of Nova Scotia have updated their agreements on ecological forestry practices and management of public lands.
The companies forest utilization license agreement set out terms and conditions on the annual volume of timber from certain parcels of crown land. This originally 20-year agreement has been extended to 2043. Changes to the agreement include a lower volume of timber to ensure the province can accommodate multiple priorities on Crown land.
The parcels of crown land used by the company are found throughout Cape Breton Island as well as Guysborough, Pictou, and Antigonish Couties. The company is still required to go through the Integrated Resource Managment process for approval to harvest on crown land.
Their fee-for-service agreement, which allows for the company to receive payment from the province to provide services to support forest management on crown and private land has been updated to be effective until 2033. This ensures services are aligned with current ecological forestry objectives.
Port Hawkesbury Paper President Ron Stren says this partnership will allow them to maintain hundreds of family sustaining jobs in rural Nova Scotia and they are committed to supporting sustainable forestry.
The province and the company first signed the two agreements in 2012.
