Effective immediately, the allowable annual cut for the Robson Valley Timber Supply Area (TSA) will decrease from 481,000 cubic metres to 400,000 cubic metres, deputy chief forester Diane Nicholls announced today.

The reduction in the allowable annual cut reflects the creation of new wildlife habitat conservation initiatives. The cut level also includes a geographic partition of 355,000 cubic metres for areas that are considered to be more easily accessible. It will ensure that these areas are not over-harvested and the mid-term timber supply is conserved.

The Robson Valley timber supply area is a mix of spruce, subalpine fir (balsam), lodgepole pine, western redcedar, western hemlock with smaller amounts of Douglas-fir and other deciduous species such as aspen and birch.

The Robson Valley timber supply area covers about 1.46 million hectares in east-central B.C., within the Rocky Mountain Trench, south of Prince George to Jasper National Park. It includes the larger communities of Valemount and McBride, and smaller communities of Tete Jaune Cache, Crescent Spur-Loos, Dunster and Albreda.

Quote:

Diane Nicholls, deputy chief forester -

“After considering all of the available information on timber and non-timber resources in the Robson Valley TSA, I am confident that this new allowable annual cut can sustain the timber supply to the mid-term, and contribute to local economies, while taking into account the other resource values in the timber supply area.”

Quick Facts:

• The deputy 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 objectives.
• Under 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 postponed for up to five years if an allowable annual cut level is not expected to change significantly.

Learn More:

A copy of this allowable annual cut decision is available online at:  http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hts/tsa/tsa17/index.htm 

Media Contacts:

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