MPB Infestation Winding Down, Slowly
Thursday, April 4, 2013 @ 3:29 PM
Prince George, B.C.- The timber supply in the wake of the mountain pine beetle infestation is not as bad as was originally predicted says B.C.’s Chief Forester Dave Peterson.
Speaking to delegates at the Council of Forest Industries convention, Peterson says the Mountain Pine Beetle infestation B.C. is expected to end in about 2020 and the amount of forest impacted annually has been steadily decreasing.
But, when the dust has settled, he says the prediction is that 58% of the Province’s pine forest will have been killed. An alarming percentage for sure, but it is well below the original prediction that 80% of the pine would fall victim to the beetle. “ While there are specific management units that have seen close to that 80%, by far and away, the Provincial impact is less than earlier feared.”
He says even with those refined figures, the numbers associated with it are still staggering. “The infestation has covered over 18 million hectares of forested land in B.C., at least half of which is part of the timber harvesting land base we count on for timber supply. In the order of 730 million cubic meters of pine in the timber harvesting land base has been killed by the mountain pine beetle and an additional something like 400 million cubic meters in parks and other areas. It is no wonder people took the red glow of a beetle killed hillsides with images of a sunset industry.”
The good news? Peterson says about 330 million cubic meters of pine has been harvested since the start of the beetle infestation. “Every one of the hectares that pine was growing on now is being converted into a new, healthy forest.”
He says he wants the focus to continue to be the harvesting of the remaining beetle killed pine and the improving lumber markets are making it economical to harvest those beetle kill stands that were too expensive to harvest before.
“Our latest estimate is that there is 17 billion, 372 million cubic meters of timber standing in B.C.” He says not all of that amount is available for harvest as almost half is outside the current definition of timber harvesting land base, and about 25% is in the form of bio mass in the form of branches, foliage and bark. “But even when you take that out, it leaves 4 billion 600 million cubic meters of traditional saw log supply in B.C.’s timber harvesting land base.”
He says that is enough saw log timber to provide a long term provincial harvest level of about 70 million cubic meters a year which is nearly the same as the provincial harvest level in 2001.
So even with those encouraging numbers, Peterson says there is still a mid term harvesting challenge, with annual harvesting dropping to 50 to 60 million cubic meters by 2025 as the Province waits for regenerated forests to reach a harvestable age.
“I strongly believe our forest sector’s positioned to take advantage of the evolving bio-age, a future where wood fibre will be converted into a wide range of products, the existing product mix plus electricity, fuels, plastics, solvents, lubricants, even food additives
There are still risks and challenges ahead says Peterson, and the number one issue is the change in climate. “While the exact changes are being researched, there is a clear scientific consensus that our forests will be faced with a different climate into the future. Adapting to that changing climate will become a significant component of resource management going forward both in reacting to immediate changes in forest pests and wildfires, and just as importantly, in adapting our silviculture regimes and practices to reflect the fact that we’re anticipating changes over the 60 to 100 year rotation age of forests.”
Peterson says the supports a focus on research and development to get the most out of the forests we have, and innovation in the forest management regime to make sure the forests being planted and tended are suited to all the conditions moving forward.
Comments
If it weren’t for the environmentalists and the NDP government much of the beetle kill could of had been saved except that the NDP listened to the tree huggers and the industry was put Into a 15 yr tailspin after that.
Yup
Yes, right on Dearth. I know the bush pilot who flew over the outbreak in Tweedmuir park many, many times when it was in its infancy, and repeatedly tried to warn the NDP government about it beginning to spread at an alarming pace, only to be ignored. It would have been political suicide for an NDP politician to endorse letting loggers loose in a park at that time, because the NDP platform was to “make” and “protect” parks, not log them !!
Same went for some five million cubic meters of fresh blow-down in the park too. Left to burn and rot, rather than go in and salvage it, because it was in a park.
Repeating untruths does not make them true despite what Harper says or how many times he says it. The Mountain Pine Beetle epidemic had nothing to do with the NDP or Tweedsmuir. It had to do with warm winters not killing them off.
Obviously, you were not there when this thing broke out herbster. I suggest you take your own advice on this one.
I WAS !! We had the manpower, the machinery, and the expertise to do the job, just a few kilometers away from where it all began.
The mountain pine beetle epidemic broke out in TWEEDSMUIR PARK when the NDP were in control of the the Province, and in spite of repeated warnings to them from those who could have, and WOULD HAVE done something to at least “TRY” to stop this forest cancer from getting a foothold, NOTHING WAS DONE because the beetles were inside a park boundary, and thus had to be allowed to spread unchecked !!
Fly over the area where it all began today, and see what you think of the scene below now !!
Yes, we tried to wipe out thousands of sites that became infected when the beetles finally crossed the park boundaries, but by then there was NO HOPE of ever eradicating the massive flights of new bugs coming out of Tweedsmuir and landing everywhere literally like sparks out of a bonfire.
Comments for this article are closed.