Gary Saunders

Last June, two decades retired from what was Lands & Forests as an extension forester, I learned from a colleague that the Middle Musquodoboit Forest Education Complex was being shut down. When I asked why—there was nothing in the papers about it. …Why was I concerned? Because I happened to know what the complex meant to the thousands of Nova Scotia students, teachers and the general public who benefited from it. …In a province where nearly three-fourths of its woodland is privately owned, no government can manage by decree, the way they can on Crown lands. If they try, the land-owner might well tell them to “Shove it!” And the general public will back them. Instead, in a province still three-quarters forested, good long-term forest management must rely on well-informed landowners backed by a well-informed public. …Axing the complex further undermined public forestry education.