Forestry + Timber Production
Bulkley Forest Stewardship Plan for B.C. Timber Sales Babine Business Area Operations within the Bulkley Timber Supply Area in the Skeena Stikine Natural Resource District 2023-2028
From the May 2023 Old Growth Strategic Review Workshop
- Workshop Agenda_North_May 10
- 2_DRAFT Summary_of_Ideas_from_Provincial_Forums
- 3_Old Growth Strategic Review Recommendations Summary
Notes from Jan. 2021.
The Acronym was FLTC (Forestry Licence to Cut).
- These are issued by the Forest Service for very small harvest volume amounts. The are issued for various reasons but usually for “small scale” salvage where there is a forest health issue or desire for timber salvage.
- These are for less than 2000 cubic meters of wood. Typically a hectare of forest around here would have 350 m3 per ha so around 5 ha.
Good online definitions of Forestry Licences can be found here: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/forestry/forest-tenures/timber-harvesting-rights/licence-to-cut/forestry-licence-to-cut
Good summaries of all the licence types can be found here: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/forestry/forest-tenures/timber-harvesting-rights
PIR would have a Forest Licence (Replaceable Forest Licence): https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/forestry/forest-tenures/timber-harvesting-rights/forest-licences
Lake Babine has a First Nation Woodland Licence near Fort Babine: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/forestry/forest-tenures/timber-harvesting-rights/first-nations-woodland-licence
Witset (Lowel Johnson) has a Non-Replaceable Forest Licence, that the government would like to convert to a First Nation Woodland Licence: (see Forest licence link above).
Wetzinkwa has a Community Forest Agreement: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/forestry/forest-tenures/timber-harvesting-rights/community-forest-agreements
There are no Tree Farm Licences in the valley.
The acronym “Timber Harvesting Land Base” (THLB): is basically the area that annual allowable cut is derived from. This is a subset of crown land that has timber that is 'harvestable'. (This excludes mountain, lakes, parks, swamps, forested areas too steep to harvest and/or uneconomic harvest areas according to the harvester.)
Hot Topics
The Old Growth Deferrel Process - questions abound about community consultation and the responsibility of the protection of commonly held values by the Province of BC.
Seymour Ridge - the BVCRB is discussing the sacrifice of this CORE ecosystem. There is debate about the necessity to log for economic value and wildfire risk reduction. We consider where else an ecosystem of this health exists in other places in the Bulkley timber supply area.
Serb Creek Drainage - BC Timber Sales is planning logging and considering the LRMP values of: biodiversity, access, timber management, water quality, fish and habitat and visual quality. Check out our minutes for more relevant conversation about these issues.
A State of the Forests Report - The Province of BC promised this report and is not delivering. A report of this kind would measure the effectiveness of the objectives and strategies designed to maintain the values of the LRMP. Although there have been several partial attempts to review the implementation of the LRMP (i.e. Bulkley State of the Forest Report, 2005), the effectiveness of this plan has never been evaluated and such a review is sorely needed.