Wetzin’kwa Community Forest Corporation AAC Increases

The Wetzin’kwa Community Forest Corporation was pleased to announce that their annual allowable cut (AAC) was temporarily increased by 95,000 cubic metres per year.

The community forest, a joint venture between the Town of Smithers and Village of Telkwa, has been working with the Skeena Stikine Forest District to increase the AAC, chair Dean Daly said, as well as with the public through consultations. The reason for the uplift in the AAC was to deal with the Mountain Pine Beetle in the area, Daly continued; by having a higher AAC the corporation should recover a portion of the funds from those damaged stands. The uplifted AAC, commencing in 2010, is valid for the next five years.

“With this five year uplift, the Wetzin’kwa Community Forest will be able to increase the salvage of pine beetle infested stands,” Jane Lloyd-Smith, District Manager, Skeena Stikine Forest District, said.

She added that the harvest must target 80 per cent pine and will be guided by the Land and Resource Management Plan objectives, which were developed locally.

“Harvesting these stands would facilitate the replanting of a new vigorous forest and would have the added benefit of removing a substantial volume of dead and dying timbre near the community of Smithers and thereby reducing the fire hazard,” Acting Mayor Jo Ann Groves said.

Daly said that the 95,000 cubic metre amount was a conservative approach when it came to how much beetle killed timbre there is in the forest. What they were looking to do was balance the management priorities of protecting the capacity of the land base while recouping what they could from the dying stands.

“The community forest has acted in a timely fashion with their request and approval for the uplift of the pine beetle infested trees,” Telkwa Mayor Carmen Graf said. “With the many advantages of this increased salvage, it will also provide additional benefit to the community.”

By Rikki Schierer – Smithers Interior News
Published: November 17, 2010 8:00 AM