The money will be for programs on Crown and
private land in central and western Nova Scotia and is on top of what
the province already spends.

“We
want to make sure that all of those lands continue to be maintained and
supported,” McNeil told reporters following the team’s inaugural
meeting.

“Whether [Northern Pulp] reopens or not, we need the
expertise of those who have been working on the ground and private
woodlot owners who have been, in some cases for generations, nurturing
hundreds of acres of land in our province and making a living off it and
handing a better piece of land over to the next generation.”