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VICTORIA – A new mapping project clearly identifies the best areas for harvesting and reforestation of mountain pine beetle-attacked stands, Forests and Range Minister Pat Bell announced today.
“These new maps are an important planning tool to help us extract more value from our beetle-attacked stands and regenerate our forest resource,” said Bell. “These maps can help us prioritize which stands should be harvested first, identify the biomass opportunities, and pinpoint the best areas for intensive silviculture.”
The Mountain Pine Beetle Mapping Project shows impacts and potential opportunities in stands of 30 per cent or more pine. The project combines several layers of detailed mapping information into a single source for operational planning in beetle-attacked areas.
The project will be used to extend the economic shelf-life of attacked stands, to harvest more dead pine and fewer green trees, and to accelerate regrowth. The ministry now estimates average shelf-life at eight to 12 years – four years more than originally estimated. Shelf-life is the length of time that dead pine stands can be economically converted to lumber.
Impact maps show dead pine by attack severity, attack status, age class, density, and site productivity. These thematic maps are available for each of the 22 timber supply areas affected by the mountain pine beetle. Opportunities maps will help plan salvage priorities based on reforestation factors, shelf-life characteristics, and the best areas to harvest wood biomass for energy production. These opportunities maps are expected in spring 2009.
“These comprehensive maps are themed to provide spatial data that, in the absence of more detailed local ground information, will be useful for prudent and strategic management of the beetle attack,” said Steve Kozuki, general manager forestry, Council of Forest Industries.
The thematic maps were developed from several sources of information. This includes mountain pine beetle inventory and monitoring work, 1:20,000 aerial photos, remote sensing, red- and grey-attack maps, and forest health surveys.
Information workshops on the Mountain Pine Beetle Impact Mapping project were held in Nelson, Smithers, Prince George, Williams Lake and Kamloops. Audiences for these technical sessions were forest licensees, Forests for Tomorrow contractors, and silviculture contractors. In addition to explaining the impact maps, these sessions were used to introduce users to opportunities mapping and to consult with them on how the product can be adjusted or fine-tuned to better suit their needs.
Copies of the impact maps, as well as draft samples of the opportunities maps, are available online at www.for.gov.bc.ca/hts/rs/mpb_impact.html.
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Public Affairs Officer 250 387-4592 |
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