How to pass on novel legacy forest practices – Williams Lake Tribune
The first position I had with the Ministry of Forestry after registering as a Professional Forester (RPF) was as a Regional Forester Examiner.
In retrospect I think this was the ideal job for a new RPF as it involved looking at the success or failure of a forest stand following a particular planting regime.
Before a stand is cut down, a pre-harvest silvicultural code (PHSP) is developed that prescribes the steps leading to the restoration of a new forest stand. After harvest, regular field checks are carried out to determine whether the new stock meets certain growth criteria according to the regulations, such as expected density, health and height criteria.
As an audit ranger, it was my job to see if the inspections were being carried out and if they were following the PHSP, and what steps are taken if the stock is not stocked properly. One of the objectives of the audit program was to change harvesting or silvicultural practices when stock was not properly replaced and to maintain successful practices.
Unfortunately, my job ended when the government at the time downsized some jobs during one of the purges about three decades ago, and I didn’t check in today on the status of the testing program. As with any program, it is important to pass the results on to future generations so that our forest management practices can be improved.
A recent article in Logging and Sawmilling magazine is another good example. The article describes an interview with Derek Sidders, program manager of the Forest Technology Development Group of the Canadian Wood Fiber Center (CWFC) and the Canadian Forest Service (CFS). He has worked with forestry companies, governments and other partners across Canada and has amassed a large archive of historical test and demonstration sites of realistic and practical research.
“Typically, these sites use conventional forest management practices and test the application of advanced practices to assess and validate the biological forest response. The aim is to develop practical approaches and affordable tools that practitioners can use in managing commercial forest activities. There is potential to actually improve the natural forest response in some cases when some of these economic practices are applied,” Sidders notes in the article.
He goes on to give a number of examples of new techniques they have developed that have led to a phenomenal response. The grizz tool, along with another high-speed horizontal mixing approach, has produced some impressive results that he says could be applied to many locations across Canada. He also describes mixed timber management, partial harvesting, selective harvesting, and removal of dead, dying, or disturbed material that can be converted into commercial timber products. Many of the sites have shown positive growth responses that have also shown minimal site disturbances.
The challenge is to make this vast body of research available to the forest industry, which operates in a variety of ecosystems across the country.
Jim Hilton is a retired ranger living in the Cariboo Chilcotin.
Williams Lake