About Us
Overview
WestFor Management Inc. (WestFor) provides expertise in sustainable forest management and administrative support in the planning and implementation of ecological forestry on Crown Lands in Western Nova Scotia.
WestFor’s License agreement is based on a specified sustainable volume of wood to be harvested over the period of a year and has been renewed annually since the Company was created in 2016.
All forestry operations proposed by WestFor are reviewed through DNR’s Integrated Resource Management (IRM) Review Process through which they are either approved, approved with conditions, or declined.
WestFor Management Inc. (WestFor), established in 2016, is a partnership of twelve forest products manufacturing companies in Nova Scotia.
The partnership has developed an effective management model that builds on the interconnected nature of Western Nova Scotia’s forest industry heritage and its community-based forest economies.
Through a centralized forest management body based in Western Nova Scotia, the WestFor model enables mills across the province to access essential forest fibre resources on Crown land. This approach reflects the distinctive heritage of today’s Western Nova Scotia Crown forests, shaped by successive generations of stewardship, beginning with the Mi’kmaq as the first stewards of the land, followed by forest use by Acadians in the 1700s, management by the Davidson Lumber Company in the 1800s, and nearly a century of stewardship by the Bowater Mersey Paper Company, alongside many other historically significant land parcels. Together, these interconnected histories contribute to the present-day Crown lands and the communities they support. Forestry workers continue to live, work, and participate in their local communities while contributing to the broader provincial forestry sector.
Shareholders
Funding Stronger Communities
WestFor recognizes the important role that community organizations play as providers of programs and services to help create and sustain healthy, creative and resilient communities. In 2020, WestFor established the Community Grant program to provide grants to support non-profit organizations and community projects that encourage participation in a wide spectrum of areas to support youth sports, outdoor recreation, and community infrastructure.
Watch for the 2026 Community Grants program application season coming Spring 2026!
The Community Grants program is funded through a per tonnage fee charged to WestFor shareholders for forest products harvested on Crown land the funds. The funds collected are reinvested in the communities where the harvesting occurs.
We acknowledge that we operate in Mi'kma'ki, the ancestral, unceded territory of the Mi'kmaq
