British Columbia's chief forester cuts AAC for Kootenay Lake TSA, covering more than 1.2 million ha., by 6% to 640,000 m3

Michelle Rivera

VICTORIA, British Columbia , August 13, 2010 (press release) – Effective immediately the allowable annual cut for the Kootenay Lake timber supply area will be 640,000 cubic metres, which is about six per cent lower than the previous cut, chief forester Jim Snetsinger announced today.

“One of the reasons for this slight decrease in the cut is that the timber-harvesting land base for the Kootenay Lake TSA is now smaller due to new community forest and woodlot agreements in the area,” said Snetsinger. “My determination also accounts for full implementation of government’s mountain caribou recovery strategy.”

The Kootenay Lake timber supply area covers over 1.2 million hectares in southeastern British Columbia and includes the communities of Creston, Kaslo and Nelson. The previous allowable annual cut was 681,300 cubic metres.

The chief forester’s determination is an independent professional judgment based on information ranging from technical forestry reports, First Nations input and public input to the government’s social and economic goals. The timber supply review considers environmental factors such as biodiversity, which includes old-growth forests, water resources, and scenic values – in addition to social and economic issues.

Under the timber supply review, the chief forester or deputy chief forester must determine how much wood can be harvested in each of the province’s 37 timber supply areas and 34 tree farm licences at least once every 10 years. A new allowable annual cut may be determined earlier in response to abnormal situations or if new information significantly alters the assumptions used to make the current determination.

Copies of the chief forester’s allowable annual cut determination are available on the Ministry of Forests and Range website at http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hts/ or from the Kootenay Lake Forest Centre office in Nelson or the Southern Interior Forest Region office in Kamloops.

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