AREA-BASED ALLOWABLE ANNUAL CUT SET FOR TFL 54

VICTORIA – Effective immediately, tree farm licence 54 in Vancouver Island’s Clayoquot Sound region will have an area-based allowable annual cut of 320 hectares for the next five years, deputy chief forester Craig Sutherland announced today.

“Clayoquot Sound’s complex and unique forest management history includes a commitment by the Province to manage the area according to the recommendations of the 1995 Clayoquot Sound Scientific Panel Report,” said Sutherland. “My decision reflects current management practices, as well as the Crown’s socio-economic objectives, in a way that’s consistent with the panel’s recommendations. I’m confident this determination can accommodate objectives for all forest resources over the next five years.”

This is the second forest management unit in British Columbia to have its allowable annual cut based on how much area is harvested instead of timber volume. Tree farm licence 57, which neighbours tree farm licence 54, was the first, in November 2004.

Area-based allowable annual cut determinations are part of a Ministry of Forests and Range trial program that is testing how the approach can improve public understanding of harvest regulations, complement land-use planning, and reduce administrative costs. An area-based decision is also consistent with the Clayoquot Sound Scientific Panel’s recommendations, which apply to all forest management units in Clayoquot Sound.

Area-based and volume-based allowable annual cuts are not directly comparable but both support sustainable forest management.

Tree farm licence 54 is held by Ma-Mook Natural Resources Ltd., a partnership of the Ahousaht, Hesquiaht, Tla-o-Qui-aht, Toquaht and Ucluelet First Nations, and Coulson Forest Products Ltd. The tree farm licence covers 49,298 hectares and is near Ucluelet and Tofino as well as the First Nations communities of Ahousaht, Esowista, Opitsaht, Hot Springs Cove and Ittatsoo.

The deputy chief forester’s determination is an independent professional judgment based on information ranging from technical forestry reports, First Nations input, and public input to the government’s social and economic goals. The timber supply review accounts for environmental factors such as biodiversity (which includes old-growth forests), water quality, and scenic values, in addition to social and economic issues

Under the timber supply review, the chief forester or deputy chief forester determines how much wood can be harvested in each of the province’s 37 timber supply areas and 34 tree farm licences at least once every five years. A new allowable annual cut can be determined earlier in response to abnormal situations, or postponed for another five years if the AAC is not expected to change significantly.

Copies of the deputy chief forester’s rationale for the allowable annual cut determination are available on the Ministry of Forests and Range website at www.for.gov.bc.ca/hts/ or from the South Island Forest District Office in Port Alberni or the Coast Forest Region Office in Nanaimo.

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Contact:

Vivian Thomas

Communications Manager

Ministry of Forests and Range

250 387-5728




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