Chief forester Jim Snetsinger has reviewed all the relevant information and set an allowable annual cut of two million cubic metres for the Lakes Timber Supply Area. The new allowable annual cut takes effect immediately.

In 2001, the cut for the Lakes Timber Supply Area doubled from 1.5 million cubic metres per year to about three million cubic metres per year. This significant increase was made to slow the spread of the mountain pine beetle infestation and to recover damaged timber. The cut increased again in 2004 to about 3.2 million cubic metres per year.

However, actual harvest levels over the past few years have averaged around 1.6 million cubic metres per year.

The new cut includes a partition that limits the harvest of non-pine timber (species such as spruce) to 350,000 cubic metres per year. The other 1.65 million cubic metres per year are focused on continuing to recover value from beetle-killed pine stands.

The partition and the decrease in cut are intended to conserve non-pine timber over the next 10 years. When dead pine stands are no longer suitable for harvesting, non-pine stands will be needed to support harvesting and other values, like wildlife habitat, riparian areas and old growth.

Quick Facts:

About the Lakes Timber Supply Area

• Covers about 1.1 million hectares in north-central B.C.
• It includes Burns Lake, Decker Lake, François Lake, Grassy Plains and Danskin, as well as several First Nations reserves and communities.
• Forests are mostly lodgepole pine and spruce, with balsam at higher elevations and some small isolated areas of Douglas-fir along the shores of Babine and François lakes.
• The mountain pine beetle infestation in the Lakes area appears to have peaked in the summer of 2009 and has killed about 90 per cent of the pine trees available for harvesting.

About allowable annual cut determinations

• The chief forester's determination is an independent professional judgment based on information ranging from technical forestry reports, First Nations and public input to the government's social and economic goals.
• Under the timber supply review, the chief forester must determine how much wood can be harvested in each of the province's 38 timber supply areas and 34 tree farm licences at least once every 10 years.
• A new allowable annual cut may be determined earlier in response to abnormal situations, or postponed for up to five years if an allowable annual cut level is not expected to change significantly.

Learn More:

The rationale for the Lakes allowable annual cut determination is available from the natural resource district office in Burns Lake, as well as online:

http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hts/

Contact:

Media Relations
Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations
250 356-5261