What is NSWWT’s role?
The role of NSWWT is the easement holder, making us responsible to monitoring the property to ensure that the agreed practices set out in the easement agreement are being followed. NSWWT is also the carbon agreement holder, and manages the verification and re-assessment monitoring to ensure that carbon stores are maintained. NSWWT does not provide management planning services, but instead relies on woodlot service partners to facilitate ecological forest management on easement properties.
What is a working forest community easement?
A working forest community easement is a legal agreement between a landowner (the owner) and a private conservation/community organization or public agency (the easement holder). In our instance, the agreement is between NSWWT and a private woodlot owner with the purpose of conserving, preserving or protecting working forest land under the Community Easement Act.
The agreement separates the rights to exercise more intensive uses – such as constructing large buildings, subdivision, and mining – from other rights of ownership such as recreation, farming, and forestry uses. Community easements are granted in perpetuity and apply to the land regardless of who may own it in the future.
What is a working woodlot and why place it under an easement?
NSWWT seeks to protect forest lands that are carefully stewarded under the principles of ecological forestry. A woodlot owner may harvest timber, firewood, and other forest resources from their property. Agreed practices which include permitted, restricted and prohibited uses are specified within the easement agreement and are mutually agreed upon by both the owner and the easement holder.
Many NS private woodlots are at risk of poor management, liquidation logging, or subdivision when they change ownership. There are many forests managed for generations without certain succession planning, and entering an easement ensures the woodlot is sustainably managed in perpetuity. Easements are meant for woodlot owners who’d like to see the legacy of their woodlands maintained over generations.
What are Agreed practices?
Agreed practices are outlined in the easement agreement and describe which activities are and are not allowed to take place on the woodlot. There are three different tiers of agreed practices; prohibited, restricted, and permitted activities. Agreed practices are, for the most part, the same for all properties which NSWWT holds and easement on. An example of each might include: subdivision as a prohibited practice, forestry as a restricted practice, and recreation as a permitted practice.
What qualities does NSWWT look for in donated or easement properties?
NSWWT focuses on properties greater than 250 acres, though we will consider smaller woodlots with special ecological or stewardship values. As well as area, we are particularly interested in looking at properties that: (1) are or historically have been working woodlands; (2) have high forest conservation value including vernal pools, peat bogs, mature high vigour stands, or landscape connectivity value; (3) are unique or rare ecosystems or forest types including old growth, tolerant hardwood, karst, or wet forests; (4) are at risk of development, land conversion or subdivision and; (5) have special social, cultural or recreation values for the public.
My woodlot is attached to my home, does that limit my participation?
If your farm property or house is in the same PID as your woodlot, they will need to be subdivided in order to simplify the easement process. Although there can be some flexibility regarding structures in the easement, construction of new homes or major outbuildings are prohibited activities. In the likely case that you, or someone who owns your home in the future wants to undertake renovations, excluding these areas from the easement will provide them with the flexibility to do so.
The outline of an excluded area is determined jointly by the landowner and the NSWWT, and should not detract from the overall objectives for protecting the property. Sometimes a boundary survey is required to create a property description for the excluded area(s).
What are my responsibilities as a landowner when my land is under easement?
Once a working forest easement is granted, it is the landowner’s responsibility to comply with the terms as spelled out in the easement document. Because each easement can be tailored to reflect a property’s natural resources and to meet the landowner’s management goals, the terms may vary somewhat between easements. Generally, the landowner can continue to farm, actively manage a woodland, and recreate on the property unless those uses are prohibited.
How does the easement affect my property rights?
Landowners still hold title to their property and enjoy all the rights of ownership, such as the right to sell or lease the land, to leave it to their heirs, to control public access, to have privacy, and so forth. The easement is perpetual and is binding on future owners. Under the terms of a working forest easement, the property cannot be used in a manner that impairs the actual or potential use of the property as woodlot, farmland, or open space. NSWWT works with regional woodlot service providers to develop management plans for easement properties, which reflect your goals and objectives. Management plans are required to be updated every 10 years throughout the duration of the easement.
What happens to my woodlot if I choose to sell it, or once I pass away and my children inherit it?
A working forest easement does not affect your ability to sell or will your land in anyway, though the easement will prevent development of the land and thus may lower its marketable value. However, the terms of the easement will apply to the land regardless of who may own it in the future.
Landowners still hold title to their property and enjoy all the rights of ownership, such as the right to sell or lease the land, to leave it to their heirs, to control public access, to have privacy, etc. The easement is perpetual and is binding on future owners. The easement is tied to the property deed, and so terms of the easement remain the same regardless of the property owner.
Do I need a lawyer if I want to place a working forest easement on my property?
Yes. We advise that landowners secure qualified legal counsel to assist them in the decision-making process and to review legal documents. Placing a working forest easement on your property can have land use and estate-planning implications and such a decision should be made with the advice of competent legal counsel.
What is the monitoring process and how do I ensure my privacy is maintained?
NSWWT strives to visit each of its easement-protected properties once every year to make sure that there has been no activity that is prohibited by the terms of the easement. These monitoring visits are intended to be friendly and informative, and they provide an opportunity to exchange information or to answer questions the landowner may have about the easement or the property. Advance notice for each visit is given and the landowner is encouraged to participate. The visits usually involve walking through portions of the property, taking photographs, and filling out a questionnaire. NSWWT maintains communication with the landowner by mail, phone, e-mail, and through its newsletter, and details regarding easement properties are never shared without landowner permission.
What should I do if someone contacts me about harvesting the trees on my property?
If someone contacts you to propose a harvest on your land, it is possible that it is a legitimate introduction from a local forester or logger. However, all too often people receive the unexpected knock on the door or a letter from someone who is working on a neighbor’s land, who will be in the area for another couple of weeks, and who would be happy to harvest your land at the same time. However, if any offer sounds too good to be true, or if there is any pressure associated with their pitch, we recommend that you do not work with them. NSWWT has an inventory of trusted contractors that work with our regional woodlot service partners who would gladly help you properly layout and execute a harvest on your property.
A successful harvest should follow the guidance provided through management planning, and landowners should expect to be an active partner in the process. Anyone promising you money for no real effort or decision-making on your part likely would not be someone with whom you can entrust the ecological, economic, and aesthetic value of your woods. Forest harvesting is a restricted practice on easement properties, and any proposed activities require a minimum 30-day notification to NSWWT.
What if I don’t want the public to access my land? Can it still be put under easement?
Public access is not a requirement. Landowners are able to choose whether or not they wish to allow public access to their land when they place it under easement. However, NSWWT encourages public access as a way to promote multi-value forest management, demonstrate exemplary forest practices, and for educational purposes.
How is the Trust governed?
The NSWWT is a non-profit society governed by a voluntary board of directors all based here in Nova Scotia. Our directors come from a variety of backgrounds and experience including foresters, ecologists, researchers and of course, woodlot owners. You can read more about our directors here. To find out specifics regarding governance decisions, contact us to have a look at our by-laws.
Can I donate my woodlot outright or put NSWWT in my will to inherit my woodlot?
Yes, all donated lands will be managed as exemplary woodlots, and become open for public access to enjoy trails, scenery and for demonstration value.