The Small Wood Inventory Report identified approximately 8,250,000 cubic metres of timber which are currently excluded from the timber harvesting land base, to be suitable for harvesting and milling using current technology.
By far, the recently inventoried small wood drew the largest number of public comments. A total of 11 respondents indicate that the small diameter lodge pole pine identified in the Small Wood Inventory Report should be made available for harvest. The implication is that this would be a means of avoiding a reduction in harvest and would possibly provide an "opportunity" to increase the harvest level.
A few common reasons given for making the small diameter pine available were:
• it has reached maturity
• it is susceptible to beetle infestation, disease, fire and wind
• some businesses requiring small wood cannot access it and must trade sawlog to obtain it
Many respondents indicate that the small wood should be harvested before it goes to waste; once harvested, it would be replaced with a modern timber crop from which the timber supply area would benefit.
A few submissions were made regarding how to incorporate the small wood into the timber harvest. Three respondents suggest creating a separate allowable annual cut for small wood forests.
Weyerhaeuser Canada Ltd. suggests that the time frame mentioned in the Forest Service analysis for harvesting small wood forests is too lengthy. The Weyerhaeuser believes that it would be more reasonable to harvest a volume of 8,254,000 cubic metres over a 15 to 20 year term as suggested in the Small Wood Inventory Report.
Tolko Industries Ltd. also recommends a shorter time frame for first pass harvest than suggested in the Forest Service analysis. Tolko states that lodge pole pine forests are highly susceptible to beetle attack when they are between 100 and 120 years of age. Tolko suggests a harvest and renewal time frame of between 40 to 50 years and that a partitioned incremental allowable annual cut for the small wood be set between 326,000 to 407,000 cubic metres.
An additional 67,052 hectares of problem forest types were identified in the Small Wood Inventory Report. Tolko suggests that the benefits of bringing this timber into the managed land base should be explored.
