JOGGINS - Cumberland County residents who cut their own firewood from provincial land will no longer be able to after this month.
The Department of Natural Resources is ceasing issue of a fuel wood permit that allows residents to cut down their own wood over a short period of time.
"Cumberland County had the only offices in the province issuing fuel wood permits and there just aren't a lot of areas left to get the wood," said Mike MacDonald, DNR's Oxford-area supervisor.
"The department doesn't want to open other areas for people to get their wood because it's getting harder and harder to get. We've been directed to stop issuing the permits."
The department's decision isn't a positive one for John Reid, who represents residents in District 9 in the county.
"A lot of people in this area use these permits, who actually take the time and the energy to go get their firewood themselves," Reid said.
The permits allowed people to go on to provincial land to gather firewood for personal use, not for resale.
They could purchase a minimum of two cords of wood, or a maximum of 10, with each cord valued at $15.
"Normally the permits were issued for two weeks at a time, but we were able to extend those," said MacDonald.
Anyone using the permits, said MacDonald, had to comply with proper health and safety guidelines, equipping themselves with the proper safety equipment and gear.
"The wood that is left out there is all chewed up now," MacDonald added, noting the permits issued from the Oxford office were used in Springhill Junction, Little River and Leicester.
Reid said his constituents purchased their permits in Parrsboro and were able to use them in the River Hebert and Joggins area.
rtetanish@amherstdaily.com
DNR ceasing issue of fuel wood permits
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Published on
February 8, 2010
- Published on February 24, 2010
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Raissa Tetanish
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Comments
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- 2Chord or 10Chord
- - February 25, 2010 at 00:45:47
Well I must say I could have seen this coming and it is now the day . You see this stems back along way .
We have seen it many times in River Hebert & surrounding areas that members of the community would go purchase a permit for 2chord and actually cut 10chord . Is this reasonable?
No wonder there is no more wood to cut ,and no more permits . No one to blame but themselves . Use to be piles of wood all over Joggins ,,cut and split that were taken off crown Land and then sold for money to buy OIL as they did not burn wood in their homes .Use to be the same bunch all the time How do you explain that one .
Feel sorry for the honest ones though . But hey the harvest has been rept so time ot pay the price . -
- Newmack
- - February 25, 2010 at 00:45:28
It's about time they did this...poor Mr. Irving is having a hard time these days finding quality wood land to decimate. When these people who used to get a permit for cutting their own wood are sitting in a cold house next winter, I hope they take solace in knowing they did the right thing. Poor Mr. Irving needs these wood lots. Have you seen the price of gas these days?...Hopefully his executives can sleep well at night now knowing that they can afford gas like the rest of us.
