FIVE MILE RIVER: The winner of the provincial 2022 Woodland Owner of the Year Award is James Leggate Forestry of Five Mile River, Hants County.
Owners James Leggate and Christina Millar are silviculture contractors and have a 243-hectare (600-acre) woodlot. They have done several silvicultural treatments on the property, including tree planting, appropriate selection-harvest methods, commercial thinning and pre-commercial thinning.
“Private woodlot owners play an important role in Nova Scotia’s future. This year’s winners show how sustainable woodland ownership and biodiversity go hand in hand,” said Natural Resources and Renewables Minister Tory Rushton.
“It’s wonderful to have private woodlot owners working with us to foster biodiversity as we advance ecological forestry on Crown land in Nova Scotia.”
The Woodland Owner of the Year Award recognizes private landowners for outstanding stewardship of their woodlands and excellence in forestry techniques on private land. It encourages sustainable stewardship and increases public awareness of the importance of private woodlands in Nova Scotia.
There are also regional awards.
The western regional winners are Peter and Angela Kennedy, Lunenburg County, and the eastern regional winners are Ron and Johanna Melchiore, Guysborough County.
Nominations were evaluated using several criteria including the quality of integrated resource management practices; employing environmental standards; meeting sustainable goals; protecting wildlife habitats; improving woodlots in general and for recreation; and how nominees developed and grew their knowledge of the field of forestry and woodlot management.
Quick Facts:
— the award has recognized private woodlot owners for outstanding stewardship for more than 30 years
— Nova Scotians who own between 20 and 2,000 hectares of woodland are eligible to be nominated
— Mr. Leggate and Ms. Millar will be recognized with a prize and a field day at their woodlot for the local community to learn more about sustainable forestry
— about 60 per cent of Nova Scotia’s woodlands are privately owned
Additional Resources:
More information on the Woodland Owner of the Year Award is available at: https://novascotia.ca/natr/woodlot/woya/
Department of Natural Resources and Renewables on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NS_DNRR
Nova Scotia Woodlands on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NovaScotiaWoodlands/
