NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release 2009FOR0043-000515 March 25, 2009	Ministry of Forests and Range
SILVICULTURE VISION TO GROW NEW FOREST OPPORTUNITIES

LANGFORD – British Columbia is developing a new framework to guide silviculture investments and make British Columbia a world leader in growing trees, Forests and Range Minister Pat Bell announced today.

 

“British Columbia is already a world leader in reforestation – but there is far more to silviculture than planting trees,” said Bell. “Whether it’s the growing market for carbon offsets or next generation forest products, there are significant opportunities that will drive a broader range of silviculture activities. We want to make sure British Columbia’s silviculture framework encourages new investments to maximize the economic, social, and environmental benefits from our forest lands.”

 

The discussion paper, Growing Opportunities: A New Vision for Silviculture in British Columbia, outlines current silviculture successes, opportunities for improvement, principles to guide how the new vision might be implemented, and some questions to stimulate discussion on the future of silviculture in British Columbia.

 

The paper sets a new vision for silviculture: “British Columbia’s silviculture policies encourage investments that maximize productivity, value, and support forest resilience.”

 

Currently, most silviculture activities in British Columbia are driven by the requirement to reforest harvested areas to a “free-growing” state. The goal is to build on this success at reforestation and expand silviculture’s focus and resulting benefits throughout the broader life cycle of forest stands.

 

“Our silviculture framework must continue to deliver sustainable forest management while providing the flexibility necessary to face climate change, address the timber supply impacts of the mountain pine beetle epidemic, and produce forests that are suitable for new product and carbon sequestration opportunities,” said Bell. “By consulting broadly with forest sector stakeholders, I’m confident our new framework will make British Columbia a world leader in growing trees.”

 

Comments on the discussion paper will be accepted until Sept. 30, 2009 and recommendations will be developed in fall 2009.

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Media contact:	Jennifer McLarty Public Affairs Officer Ministry of Forests and Range 250 387-4592
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