SUMMER/FALL 2002
Date of Post: July 2003
| The Department of Lands and Forestry is the manager of provincial Crown lands in Nova Scotia. As manager, the department has the challenging task of balancing the wide range of resource interests in these public lands. To achieve this balance and manage the lands for all users, the department has developed a process known as Integrated Resource Management, or IRM. |
The Department of Lands and Forestry is the manager of provincial Crown lands in Nova Scotia. As manager, the department has the challenging task of balancing the wide range of resource interests in these public lands. To achieve this balance and manage the lands for all users, the department has developed a process known as Integrated Resource Management, or IRM.
Integrated Resource Management (IRM) identifies land features, uses, and resource values and incorporates this information into a planning and decision-making strategy. IRM helps coordinate resource use on Crown lands to optimize long-term sustainable benefits and to minimize conflicts among users. It is a process that brings together resource groups and interests in Crown land to balance the economic, environmental, and social requirements of society, rather than each of these working in isolation.
Department of Lands and Forestry staff have been working with this land-use decision making process for a number of years, which has included public participation and consultation at various stages. The Minister of Lands and Forestry has approved the first phase, the IRM strategic plan, the department is ready to begin the next stage in the process - the development of long range management frameworks (LRMF).
This stage in the IRM process involves taking a more detailed look at Crown lands from an eco-district perspective. Eco-districts are a part of a hierarchy of ecosystems and have distinctive elevations, geology, land forms, soils, and vegetation. By looking at the province on an eco-district level, we can develop management plans that maintain the integrity of natural values. It will take about five years to complete LRMFs for each of the 38 eco-districts identified in Nova Scotia.
The first long-range management framework will start with a pilot project for the Mulgrave Plateau Eco-district. This pilot project will be used to develop LRMFs in other eco-districts across the province.
Long-range management frameworks will identify and describe current land values, natural features, and natural resources for the area, such as municipal watersheds, wildlife habitat, wetlands, and scenic views. They will also et objectives for the resources in 20 years time and determine the actions needed to achieve these targets. The LRMFs will also reflect the IRM goals and values that were developed during the initial phase. They will be implemented through the department's operational plans for resource management.
Although these LRMFs are looking at a 20 - year time frame, they will be reviewed periodically and can be modified to reflect changes and new information.
The regional IRM teams will prepare a draft LRMF using information gathered from phase one of IRM, the regional advisory committees, other government departments, and stakeholders. In developing the frameworks, the department will work closely with the regional advisory committees to reflect local interests. Public meetings will be held in each of the eco-districts to provide an opportunity for public input.
Once the LRMFs are finalized and approved, the Department of Lands and Forestry will have management plans in place that will recognize and balance the many resource values and interests on Crown lands. Integrated Resource Management provides the Department of Lands and Forestry with the flexibility to manage these Crown lands for all generations of Nova Scotians to enjoy.