Glyphosate: The hidden fuel in Nova Scotia’s forest fire crisis

By Geoffrey Hurley, retired fisheries and environmental consultant
PNI Atlantic News
September 11, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada East

As Nova Scotia grapples with one of its most severe wildfire seasons, a controversial decision by the provincial government has flown under the radar: the approval of aerial glyphosate spraying on 3,577 acres of drought-stricken, fire-prone forest. This move not only risks human health and ecosystems but also exacerbates the very wildfires it claims to mitigate. …Glyphosate-based herbicides are used in forestry to kill deciduous plants and shrubs that compete with commercial softwood species. However, this practice replaces diverse, resilient forests with flammable monocultures. By inhibiting plant growth and causing vegetation to wilt and die, glyphosate leaves behind dry, combustible biomass — effectively turning forests into tinderboxes. In a province already parched by drought and under travel bans due to fire risks, adding fuel to the fire is nothing short of reckless.

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