Our operational plans contain conservation measures to protect habitat for species of management concern (which include species at risk), and we monitor general trends in habitat types, elements and patterns.
Canfor has identified five species occurring in our operating areas that are red-listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and which may also be impacted by forestry –whitebark pine, rusty blackbird, western toad, olive-sided flycatcher and western white pine. None of these are classified as critically endangered. There are 21 species listed under Canada’s Species at Risk Act occurring within our operating areas and that may be impacted by forestry, including the western screech owl, American badger, Lewis’s woodpecker, monarch butterfly and Rocky Mountain tailed frog. We use special management practices and monitoring to meet the habitat requirements of species at risk in our operating areas.
Our sustainable forest management plans protect habitat, especially for species at risk. Our planning includes habitat protection for a wide range of species – such as mountain goats in the Vanderhoof area; Trumpeter swans in Grande Prairie; spotted bats and badgers in Vavenby. A number of our planning areas address the needs of woodland and mountain caribou habitat.
Canfor staff and contractors are trained on identification of species at risk and species of management concern. When one of these species is spotted, it is reported to the appropriate person, and management actions are taken. For example, Canfor staff in the Kootenay Region observed a northern goshawk nesting in a proposed cutblock. They notified the staff biologist, who walked the block and designed a large reserve patch around the nest. When the block adjacent the reserve was harvested, the section near the reserve was delayed until after the breeding season, so as not to disturb the goshawks. The birds have continued to breed in the reserve patch, demonstrating the success of the strategy.
Northern Goshawk
Photo credit: Todd Mahon, Wildfor Consultants Ltd.
In 2014, the Alabama Wildlife Federation named the Stimpson family, owners of Scotch Gulf Lumber, as Conservationist of the Year – one of the most prestigious conservation awards in the state. We are acquiring Scotch Gulf Lumber under a phased purchase agreement, and Fred Stimpson was appointed President of Canfor Southern Pine early in 2015.