Burns Lake Community Forest Today
 (updated October, 2010)

 
    Tenure Type: Long-Term Community Forest Agreement, dated April 12, 2005

 

 Term of Agreement: 25 years

 

  Purpose of Agreement:

            (1) making improvements to the land base, and;

            (2) generating benefits for all residents of the Lakes Timber Supply Area

 

 Size of community forest: 87,088 hectares

    Species:  Approximately 85% of the forested land base of the community forest consists of lodgepole pine.  The remainder consists of spruce, with minor amounts of balsam.

 

 AAC (Annual Allowable Cut): 
   2009: 250,000 cubic meters

2010: 86,000 cubic meters
   2011-2013: 260,000 cubic meters
   2014 and following: 100,000 cubic meters

 

BLCF conducted a public review of Management Plan #2 (2010-2015) in late 2010.  MP #2 was approved on April 18, 2011.
 

 Hectares harvested to date (to December 31, 2009): 7527.70 (gross), 6291.3 (Net Area to be Reforested)

 

 Cubic Meters Harvested (to October, 2009): 2,054,222

 

 Harvesting History:

Harvesting commenced in 2001, with block sizes between 0.5 and 5.0 hectares, and was mostly related to salvage of spruce bark beetle killed trees.  Block size increased between 2002 and 2005 to up to 15 hectares average size.  Block sizes increased to 15 to 30 hectares in size (and some as large as 200 hectares – the blowdown area in the vicinity of Maxan Lake) between 2005 and 2009.  Almost all harvesting activity on the community forest has been a result of salvage of beetle-killed trees (spruce and pine bark beetle) or blowdown).  Salvage of mountain pine beetle started with small patch sanitation and snip & skid, but it was soon apparent that the epidemic was upon us.  Uplifts up to 500,000 cubic meters a year (between 2005 and 2007) allowed BLCF to salvage dead pine before it lost value, and also reduced the lag time to get these areas planted and productive.

 

 Seedlings planted to date: (to October, 2010)

8,093,675

These seedlings consist of approximately 50% pine (locally picked seed since 2007), and 50% genetically improved spruce.

 

 Benefit to the community: Met or exceeded all Burns Lake Community Forest Mission Statement objectives established in 1999 as the following summary sheet shows.

What BLCF has done for the community_Sept-10.doc
 
    How does Burns Lake Community Forest recieve feedback from the community? Regular public meetings, "open door" policy, public annual meetings, tradesfairs, community barbeques, BLCF bulletin board, "Community Forest Corner" column in LD News....