Prince George, B.C. – Forests for the World is the next piece of property that will undergo mountain pine beetle tree removal, and it may mean the closure of the park during the tree removal operations.

 

The mountain pine beetle, as in the rest of the city, has killed most, if not all of the mature lodgepole pine

throughout the park, that has increased concerns for long term fire hazard not only in the park but to adjacent properties.

 

The action plan to reduce the dead trees is as follows:

 

 

The City's Manager Environment, Mark Fercho, says  the good news is  the forests in the park are diverse, "There is a mix of deciduous and coniferous species. For dead tree removal, that diversity makes the harvesting a little more expensive, but it will also mean the visual impact of the removal will be reduced."

 

Where there are almost pure pine stands, at the western end of the park, complete stand removal in some areas may be required but the larger openings will be minimized as much as possible.

 

Where it is ecologically appropriate or operationally feasible, and within the fire hazard reduction goals, some pine snags may be retained.