Williams Lake, B.C.- There will be no change to the annual allowable cut in the 100 Mile House timber supply area (tsa) for another 5 years. 

The cut will remain at 2 million cubic metres and will be cut back to 1 million cubic meters in five years time. 

But there is a condition. 

Deputy Chief Forester, Diane Nicholls has specified that no more than half a million cubic meters of the allowable annual cut can be harvested from live trees.   That means, 75% of the cut will have to come from the large volume of dead pine, a result of the mountain pine beetle epidemic.  

"Keeping the allowable annual cut elevated for five more years will maximize the salvage of dead timber and reforestation of affected lands" says Nicholls. "The projected timber supply will only support that level of harvest until around 2018, so this determination includes an automatic decrease to a level that will conserve the mid-term timber supply." 

The 100 Mile House TSA covers about 1.24 million hectares and includes several protected areas and parks (e.g., Mahood Lake, Flat Lake, Schoolhouse Lake), private land, First Nation reserves, and area-based tenures. These areas do not contribute to the timber supply area. After excluding areas due to environmental, economic and operability issues, 670,372 hectares are available for harvesting.