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Overview
For
nearly 50 years, the British Columbia,
Ministry of Forests and Range has operated
a provincial Tree Seed Centre (TSC). Established
in Duncan on Vancouver Island in 1956,
the TSC moved to Surrey in 1986 to state
of the art facilities specifically designed
as a tree seed centre. As part of the
Forest Stewardship Division, Tree Improvement
Branch, the TSC is the primary provider
of cone and seed services to the Ministry
of Forests and Range and BC's forest industry.
The TSC carries out a number of functions
including:
- Cone and seed evaluations
- Cone receipt, storage and conditioning.
- Seed extraction and processing.
- Testing new and stored seedlots.
- Testing cones and seed in processing.
- Seedlot registration and certification.
- Seed storage.
- Seed withdrawal, preparation and
shipping to clients for seedlot production,
research or other purposes.
- Seedlot and process information
management and reporting.
- Research and extension.
- Training and method improvement.
TSC services are provided to a large
number and variety of clients including
forest licensees, woodlot licensees, Ministry
of Forests and Range Regions, Districts
and BC Timber Sales, seed orchards, forest
nurseries, tree seed dealers, First Nations,
researchers, educators and the public.
Clients must send seed to the TSC for
testing, registration and long-term storage
if the seed is to be used to reforest
Crown land and some types of privately
managed forest tenures. Clients may choose
to have cones and seed processed at private
extractors or have seed prepared for sowing
at nurseries. Seed processing and preparation
services are provided by the TSC on a
fee for service basis while other services
are provided at no charge to clients (see
fee schedule).
Relationship of some of the Tree Seed
Centre activities supporting our Stewardship
mandate
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