By John Herron

New Brunswick’s Natural Resources Minister John Herron says his government’s effort to protect more of the province’s landmass will not include proposals to log in existing conservation areas on Crown land. On Thursday, Herron said the commitment to increase protected lands by 15% will be done “the right way. The target will be achieved by adding new lands, not by revisiting or weakening existing protections”. …On Monday, CBC reported that J.D. Irving asked the government to be able to log 32,000 hectares of protected areas in exchange for conserving areas with tourism or social value. A spokesperson confirmed that the land swaps in J.D. Irving’s proposal would not be allowed. “We will achieve our target by identifying and protecting new, low-conflict Crown lands,” Herron said. “This work is underway and will be informed by science, guided by Indigenous consultation, and advanced through early and respectful collaboration with communities and stakeholders.”