Comments are being accepted until Jan. 11, 2017, on a discussion paper released today as part of a comprehensive timber supply review for the Fort St. John Timber Supply Area.

Public feedback on the discussion paper will be considered by the chief forester before setting the new allowable annual cut. The discussion paper provides the results of the timber supply analysis, including a base-case harvest forecast. It also describes the geography, natural resources and current forest management practices in the Fort St. John Timber Supply Area.

The Fort St. John Timber Supply Area covers approximately 4.6 million hectares with over 1 million hectares available for timber harvesting.

Communities in the timber supply area include Fort St. John, Trutch, Pink Mountain and Taylor.

The chief forester’s allowable annual cut determination is an independent professional judgement based on information such as technical forestry reports and input from First Nations and the public.

Under the Forest Act, the chief forester must determine the maximum amount of wood that can be harvested in each of the province’s 38 timber supply areas and 34 tree farm licences at least once every 10 years. However, a new allowable annual cut may be determined earlier in response to abnormal situations, or the current allowable annual cut postponed for up to five years if it is not expected to change significantly.

To download a copy of the discussion paper, visit the following Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations forest analysis and inventory branch webpage: https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hts/tsa/tsa40/index.htm  

Copies of the discussion paper can be viewed at the Peace Natural Resource District office: 9000 - 17 St., Dawson Creek.

Visit the Forest Analysis and Inventory Branch website: http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hts/