Thoughts on “early” harvesting on the Coast and in the Interior Jeff McWilliams, RPF B.A. Blackwell & Assoc. Ltd Presented at: 2014 CSC Conference Nanaimo, BC February 27, 2014

Context What is “early” harvesting? Harvesting below biological culmination age Why is important? Judicious use is critical to minimize the long term impacts of some non-timber constraints (visuals, adjacency, ect) Extensive use will reduce LTSY Is it good or bad or? Depends on objectives and constraints Financial versus biological rotation Long term sustained yield

PG Situation Analysis Source; FESL, PG T4 SIS

PG Situation Analysis Source; FESL, PG T4 SIS

PG Situation Analysis Source; FESL, PG T4 SIS

PG Situation Analysis Source; FESL, PG T4 SIS

Situation Analysis Un-certainties associated with managed stands; Inventories; Do we have accurate up to date data for AC2-3 managed stands? FH and modeling impacts on yield; use of OAF1?; disease modules?; impact of natural ingress Modeling impacts of different regimes on quality; what qualities do we expect from different management regimes? Modeling yield from different stand types; multi-layered stands [planted vs natural infill, mixed species, ect]

Situation Analysis Main Strategic Responses from interior T4 SIS’s; Enhancement of existing natural and managed stands; Fertilization Density management of overstocked dry belt Fdi Rehabilitation/Reforestation of; MPB damaged stands that won’t be harvested Fires “Enhanced Basic Reforestation” Support for non-silv treatment strategic projects such as; Milling studies of managed stands, Mid-rotation surveys of managed stands, More monitoring!

“Enhanced Basic Reforestation” What is it? “Enhanced basic reforestation” is basically a generic description for doing a better or more preferred job of site prep, re-stocking treatments and brush control How can it help? Potential strategy is to invest in “enhanced reforestation” on at least our better sites to increase resiliency and set up more preferred stands which have the best potential to be manipulated in the future (e.g.; density management and fertilization) Strategy can be a hedge against “borrowing from the future” or a strategy to improve timber quality and supply at the back end of the “mid-term” or early in the long term

Harry Smith Trials, UBC Research Forest (age 50)

Potential Impacts of Enhanced Basic Reforestation Source; FESL, PG T4 SIS

“Enhanced Basic Reforestation” The Results so far; T4 SISs for most interior MPB-impacted TSAs all have strong strategic support for “enhanced basic reforestation” as a preferred strategy however, Current policy and legislation are not conducive to implementation of these types of strategies