Effective immediately, the allowable annual cut for Canfor's Tree Farm Licence 30 will increase to 412,500 cubic metres from 330,000 cubic metres, deputy chief forester Jim Sutherland announced today.

Tree Farm Licence 30 is located 50 kilometres northeast of Prince George in the western foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It covers an area of 180,347 hectares, with 122,516 hectares available for timber harvesting.

The dominant tree species in this tree farm licence are spruce and subalpine fir. Other coniferous trees include lodgepole pine, Douglas fir, western red cedar and western hemlock. Some deciduous species are also present, including aspen, birch and cottonwood.

Three First Nations have traditional territory covering all or part of Tree Farm Licence 30: the Lheidli T'enneh First Nation, the McLeod Lake Indian Band and the West Moberly First Nations.

Quote:

Deputy Chief Forester Jim Sutherland -

"From 2003 to 2008, Canfor focused its harvesting on areas affected by the mountain pine beetle and because Tree Farm Licence 30 is not in a beetle-impacted area, Canfor did not harvest the full allowable annual cut for this tree farm licence. This was a significant factor in my finding that I was able to increase the level of cut sustainably."

Quick Facts:

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

Learn More:

A copy of the rationale for the determination of Tree Farm Licence 30's allowable annual cut is available online at: http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hts/tfls.htm

Media Contact:

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