Study Results May Impact Timber Harvesting

Study Results May Impact Timber Harvesting

Thursday, April 13, 2006 at 13:16

The Saskatchewan government will likely adopt a policy in the near future that will require all timber harvesters to make clear-cuts resemble burned-out areas from forest fires.

Results of a study on emulating natural disturbances in the Saskatchewan forest were released earlier this week.

Project manager Rachelle Robitaille says the research documented what plant species were left in an area that had been torched by a forest fire.

She says the government wants forestry companies to leave that same vegetation when harvesting timber, since wildlife adapt much better to burns than to clear-cuts.

According to Robitaille, the public will have its say on the new standards and guidelines before they become law — which could happen as early as next year.

She notes Ontario and BC adopted this policy about five years ago, and Mistik Management has also experimented with this in northwest Saskatchewan.