Cutting back on the allowable cut

With a number of regional factors on his mind, Deputy Chief forester Craig Sutherland reduced the allowable cut of Tree Farm Licence Number q by 111,000 cubic metres. the change of allocation was made to maintain an appropriate harvesting balance in the region between the lower and higher quality of timber stands found within it.

The licence is currently held by Coast Tsimshian, a Lax Kw'alaams-owned company which purchased the rights to the timber stand from the fallout of the end of Skeena Cellulose. They operate logging operations in the Nass Valley and Skeena regions and is one of the last active instances of logging in the Northwest.

The Daily News featured details of the changes in Thursday's paper.

Allowable annual cut slashed for TFL1

Chief forester says loss of available land, type of trees, markets all factors
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Thursday, April 17, 2008

Pages one and five

The shining jewel in the crown of the former Skeena Cellulose empire has been downsized.
The allowable annual cut for Tree Farm Licence (TFL) 1, the principal licence of the former Northwest saw and pulp mill operation, has been reduced from 611,000 cubic metres to 500,000 cubic metres effective immediately, said deputy chief forester Craig Sutherland.
The licence, currently held by the Lax Kw'alaams-owned company, the Coast Tsimshian, is located in the Nass and Skeena regions. It covers 517,622 hectares within the Kalum Forest District. Nearby communities include Terrace, Kitselas, Kitsumkalum, New Aiyansh, Gitwinksihlkw and Lakalzap (or Greenville).

Several factors contributed to a lower allowable cut, including a 13 per cent reduction in the area available for timber harvesting, said Sutherland. Much of TFL 1's forests consist of older, western hemlock and amabilis fir stands.

Updated information suggested that the economic viability of harvesting these stands is uncertain.

In his decision, the deputy chief forester also acknowledged that forestry activity in the TFL 1 area has been limited during the past few years due to poor market conditions and ownership changes, but the area still provides an important source of local jobs.

"To support employment over the long term, it's important to maintain an appropriate harvesting balance between TFL 1's lower and higher quality stands," said Sutherland.

"I've therefore directed that the licensee annually reports its harvesting levels in TFL 1's lower quality hemlock stands, second growth and cedar stands. This ongoing performance monitoring will help ensure undue pressure isn't being placed on higher quality or more easily accessible timber in the area," said Sutherland.

Forestry experts have continually suggested that the province needs to step in and acknowledge the unique harvesting situation in TFL 1 and the surrounding region. The timber profile, with its high rot content and difficult geographic terrain, make it more costly to harvest wood that is usually of lower value.

The licence requires some form of market for the rotten timber, either as pulp chips or energy by-products, in order to be viable.

In making his determination, the deputy chief forester also requested that the licensee update operability mapping and prepare a cedar strategy for the tree farm licence. The strategy is intended to help ensure sufficient stock of cedar for future cultural use by First Nations as well as to increase the TFL's inventory of cedar for future forestry operations.

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 concerns like biodiversity (which includes old-growth forests), water quality, and scenic values, in addition to social and economic issues.