Canfor has detailed Sustainable Forest Management Plans for each of its operations. They include plans, measures and activities that conserve and protect areas with high conservation values such as riparian (streamside or lakeshore) areas and old growth forests.
These plans outline our strategies for managing biodiversity at species, stand and landscape levels. Examples include strategies for down wood retention, riparian reserves, rare ecosystems, and species at risk. A comprehensive species accounting system is in the process of being developed for all our BC operations by independent scientists so we can monitor priority species groups and take action if negative impacts appear to be occurring.
A team of Canfor staff from British Columbia and Alberta has met to compare how each of our regions is managing for species at risk and other species of interest, and to develop common reporting strategies. Our goal for 2015 – and an important component of our biodiversity strategy – is to develop and implement consistent habitat management strategies based on the best available science.
While a healthy forest includes a range of stand ages, older forests play a significant role in maintaining biological diversity. In areas affected by the mountain pine beetle, older pine-leading stands are the most susceptible to the infestation. In our Prince George operating area, we worked with other licensees on the identification of spatial retention areas for stands containing old forest, and increased the size of those retention areas to include younger stands to recruit into “old” status. These spatial retention areas were submitted to and approved by government, ensuring clarity and consistency for licensees’ operations in balance with biodiverse values.