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VICTORIA
– The
Ministry of Forests and Range is inviting public comments until Aug. 7, 2007 as
part of a timber supply review for the Morice timber supply area.
The review, in response to the impact of the mountain pine beetle infestation, examines different harvest levels and projects how potential changes to the current allowable annual cut may impact the future timber supply.
As part of the review, a public discussion paper analyzing and describing a range of scenarios was released today. The chief forester will consider these scenarios, along with public input, consultation with First Nations, other technical reports, and government’s social and economic objectives, when he determines a new allowable annual cut for the timber supply area later this year.
The Morice timber supply area currently has an allowable annual cut of 1.961 million cubic metres. The harvest forecast associated with this timber supply analysis suggests that the harvest level could be increased to 2.961 million cubic metres for a period of 10 years in response to the mountain pine beetle infestation.
The analysis projects that the mountain pine beetle will affect much of the mature pine in the timber supply area within the next 10 years. The analysis suggests that the level of salvage harvesting in the short-term can significantly impact mid-term timber supply in the Morice timber supply area. The different scenarios consider other forest values, including wildlife habitat, visual quality, old growth and the area-specific objectives of the Morice Land and Resource Management Plan.
The public discussion paper can be viewed online at: www.for.gov.bc.ca/hts/tsa/tsa20/. The paper is also available from the Nadina Forest District office in Burns Lake, or the Northern Interior Forest Region office in Prince George.
Under the timber supply review, the chief forester must determine how much wood can be harvested in each of the province’s 37 timber supply areas and 33 tree farm licences at least once every five years. The chief forester can determine new allowable annual cuts in response to abnormal situations, such as the mountain pine beetle epidemic, or postpone a decision for another five years if a harvest level is not expected to change significantly.
Visit www.for.gov.bc.ca/hts/ for information about the timber supply process, and www.gov.bc.ca/pinebeetle to learn more about mountain pine beetles.
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District Manager Nadina Forest District, Burns Lake 250 692-2200 |
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