Environment Department Defends Weyerhaeuser

Environment Department Defends Weyerhaeuser

Thursday, June 23, 2005 at 13:14

A senior official with Saskatchewan Environment says some recent concerns over logging practices by Weyerhaeuser may be overblown.

In April, an environmentalist criticized the company for its work in the Pasqua-Porcupine forest management area.

Among other things, the complainant felt too many logging roads were being built and the company was basically ignoring the rules.

Environment department spokesman Al Willcocks admits Weyerhaeuser has been harvesting during the summer months.

However, he says the company hasn’t broken any rules and notes it is currently working on amending a 20-year Forest Management Agreement.

Willcocks says as a result of Weyerhaeuser’s actions, the department restricted the company’s access to timber in the area — but didn’t prevent it altogether.

Willcocks also believes many of the environmental controls written into the 1999 FMA simply aren’t workable anymore.