Nova Scotia to protect forest area on crown land with an updated old-growth forest policy

The updated policy applies to all old-growth forests on Crown land which is not specified as part of a protected area.
The policy does not require the protection of old-growth forests on private land, but the government will work with private landowners, land trusts, and others to support conservation.
The forest is believed to be an old growth under the policy when at least 20% of the trees are of minimum age for that forest type.
The age differs from 100 years old for some types of forest to 140 years old, the forest should be undisturbed by human activity.
The policy also states that under rare circumstances, an old-growth forest area can be removed from protection if it is in the public’s interest.
In 1999, the first version of the Old Forest Policy was developed to address the rarity of old-growth forests in Nova Scotia, aiming to preserve the remaining old-growth forests on Crown land and to determine the best opportunities for restoring old forests into old-growth forests.
The policy protects all old-growth forest areas on Crown land, where the old-growth forest is defined, and ensures zero loss of forest area from the Old-Growth Forest Policy.

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