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| Original News Release |
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| Original News Release |
British Columbia and
Alberta have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work together and share
costs in managing mountain pine beetle populations in B.C.’s Peace Forest
District to minimize the potential for beetle infestations moving eastward
across the border into forested areas of Alberta.
Together the provinces
are committing $1.65 million. British Columbia is investing $908,000 this
winter in fall-and-burn management strategies and ongoing monitoring of
attacked trees in the southern half of the Peace Forest District. Alberta is providing $742,000 (with
industry, specifically Weyerhaeuser and Canfor, contributing $250,000 to
Alberta’s total investment).
Eighty workers are
carrying out fall-and-burn treatments in the Dawson Creek timber supply area,
Canfor tree farm licence 48, and protected areas in the Peace Forest District.
The Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada is acting as the agent for Alberta in beetle management operations on the B.C. side of the border. FERIC is a private, non-profit research and development organization whose mandate is to improve Canadian forestry operations related to harvesting and transporting wood, and to grow trees within a framework of sustainable development.
B.C. and Alberta will
annually develop a co-operative workplan to determine funding arrangements and
the forestry techniques, methods and treatments to be completed each year for
controlling and suppressing mountain pine beetle populations.
The Memorandum of
Understanding is effective for five years and may be renewed for an additional
five years by mutual agreement of the provinces.
B.C. Ministry of
Forests’ aerial overview surveys detected mountain pine beetle attack lightly
scattered over 18,600 hectares of the Peace Forest District in 2004. Provincially the beetle affected about seven
million hectares of British Columbia last year.
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contact: |
Communications Director B.C. Ministry of Forests 250 387-8486 |
Communications Director Alberta Ministry of Sustainable Resource Development 780 427-8636 |
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Visit the Province's website at www.gov.bc.ca for online information and services. |
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