Protected lands at issue in J.D. Irving's proposed forest swap

J.D. Irving has proposed swapping some protected Crown lands it could harvest in exchange for conserving other areas, and several New Brunswick municipalities have asked the natural resources minister to weigh local social and economic interests; Riverview council will vote Feb. 9 on whether to join a letter supporting that request.

J.D. Irving has presented a plan to provincial officials to swap certain Crown protected lands it would be allowed to harvest for other areas the company would conserve. The proposal was shown to multiple municipalities last fall and to the Department of Natural Resources as part of the province's push to raise protected lands from 10 to 15 per cent. Some regional councils have written to the minister asking that municipal social and economic interests be considered alongside conservation goals. Key facts: - J.D. Irving asked to be allowed to log about 32,000 hectares of protected areas on its Crown licence in exchange for conserving other forested land, and said the swap would increase the net area of protected land in its licence. - Several municipalities, including Doaktown, Grand Lake and others, signed a letter asking Natural Resources Minister John Herron to give equal weight to local social and economic interests; Riverview council will vote on Feb. 9 on whether to join that letter. - The Department of Natural Resources received presentations from all four Crown licence-holders about meeting the province's 15 per cent conservation target; Minister Herron said the goal is to protect more land while balancing multiple interests and declined to release the licence-holder presentations. Summary: The proposal has prompted local councils and conservation groups to raise concerns about changes to recently established protected areas. The next noted procedural step is Riverview council's Feb. 9 vote on adding its name to the municipal letter; further provincial decisions on licence-holder proposals were not specified.