Forestry Innovation Transition Trust Commits $1.8 million to Help Private Landowners and Forest Contracters Find New Markets

The Forestry Innovation Transition Trust announced an investment of $1.8 million to assist private landowners and forest contractors in finding new markets for underutilized wood fibre and to support sustainable forestry management.

The Association for Sustainable Forestry will use $800,000 over the next year to help private landowners and forest contractors find new, more efficient ways of harvesting, transporting and selling low-grade fibre that would normally go unused. It will also help reduce the risk of wildfires through removal of material that would normally be left on the forest floor.

Forest Nova Scotia will use $1 million over two years to help woodlot owners develop and maintain access roads into their woodlots. This allows them to harvest more wood. It also lowers the risk of wildfires, since less wood remains on the ground, and allows woodlot owners to be more selective about which trees they cut and which they leave for another year.