The current forest management practices that are approved and implemented in each zone are briefly described below. The Interim Timber Harvesting Guidelines for the Interior Portion of the Prince Rupert Forest Region and the British Columbia Coastal Fisheries/ Forestry Guidelines outline current forest management practices in the Kalum-South area.
• Basic silviculture - British Columbia laws require areas that are harvested and expected to produce timber in the future must be reforested with ecologically acceptable species within a specified time frame (three to six years was used in the analysis). The most common silviculture practice is to clearcut harvest, allow for natural regeneration and/or plant, then brush and weed if needed.
• Incremental silviculture - Juvenile spacing, pruning, and commercial thinning are practised on the most productive sites in the Kalum-South area.
• Protection - Forest losses due to wildfire, insects, diseases and blow down are minimized as much as possible. Losses of merchantable timber to fire and wind are expected to be 9,500 cubic metres per year. Losses to pests (insects, disease, animals) are assumed to be negligible. The spruce leader weevil has forced the conversion of young spruce plantations to alternative species such as hemlock, balsam and cedar.
• Stream and old-growth protection - British Columbia Coastal Fisheries/Forestry Guidelines guide current forest management practices and also suggest the minimum width of stream buffers required to protect fish habitat, based on the size of the stream and the types of fish that use the stream. Stream buffers from 10 metres to 30 metres were used in the timber supply analysis. A total of 2,306 hectares were removed from the timber harvesting land base to protect streamside areas throughout the Kalum-South area, and to account for old-growth reserves defined in the Thunderbird Integrated Resource Management Plan.
• Wildlife/biodiversity
Sensitive wildlife habitats, mainly moose winter range in large riparian areas, were wholly or partially deducted from the database for the timber supply analysis. Streamside buffers, forests that are not considered feasible for timber harvesting due to low timber volumes, and other environmentally sensitive areas that were deducted from the timber harvesting land base also contribute to wildlife habitat and biodiversity.
To provide adequate old-growth habitats, at least 12 per cent of the area in each management zone must be maintained in forests more than 150 years old at all times. In zones where this minimum is not met by deductions from the timber harvesting land base for other purposes, timber harvesting is restricted to meet this requirement.
The Interim Timber Harvesting Guidelines for the Interior Portion of the Prince Rupert Forest Region require that the forest cover in a harvested area must be at least three metres tall (estimated to be 11 to 15 years old) before the adjacent timber can be harvested.
• Harvest ages - Minimum harvest age is defined as the time it takes for stands to grow to harvestable size. The minimum harvest ages used in the timber supply analysis range from 70 to 140 years based on long-term timber production rates. The average harvest age in the long term is approximately 130 years.
• Timber utilization - Within cutblocks, all timber that meets or exceeds the following size limits and is suitable for manufacturing lumber or pulp chips must be utilized:
• diameter at stump: lodgepole pine - 15 centimetres; other species - 20 centimetres
• diameter at top: cedar older than 141 years - 15 centimetres; other species - 10 centimetres
• Soil conservation - Harvesting layout follows provincial and regional guidelines. For the timber supply analysis 8.8 per cent of the timber harvesting land base was deducted for existing roads, landings, and major debris piles that have become non-productive through harvesting. To account for future roads, landings and major debris piles, the remaining land base was reduced by eight per cent.
