Clearcut forest at Mamquam trail head, Fool's Gold Route, November 1993.
Large dimension lumber is poor job producer.
PARK MAKES MORE JOBS THAN LOGGING WOULD
The Lower mainland from Vancouver to Hope, with a population of 1.8 million has a growing and extremely diverse economy. By the year 2008 our population is estimated to hit 2.5 million. One of the major reasons why this place remains a desirable place to live is the fact that wild nature is right in our backyard.
BC government statistics (1991) indicate that there are about 972,000 workers employed in the Lower Mainland. Most of the surrounding forest land is in the Fraser Timber Supply Area (TSA). The TSA currently supports 850 forestry jobs and 1,100 mill jobs - a total of 1,950 jobs.
Oldgrowth forest at Mamquam trail head, Fool's Gold Route, July 1993.
A 1993 BC government commissioned study indicates that on a sustained yield, the Boise Valley is able to produce an average of 9,000 cubic metres of logs per year. That amounts to about 4 logging jobs plus 8 milling jobs - 12 jobs in total. The same study estimates that if the entire 38,000 hectare Pinecone/Burke Study Area was opened to logging theoretically, 53,000 cubic metres of timber could be clearcut every year. This would support about 62 logging and milling jobs in the Lower Mainland.
The same study indicates that over the long term, more jobs could be realised in the recreation and tourism industries by preserving all of Pinecone/Burke than by logging it. Given current population trends, within 3 decades Pinecone/Burke could support over 140 park related jobs.
If we mill the wood which we log in other parts of the Fraser TSA into higher quality products like custom cut lumber, door and window frames and furniture components instead of exporting it as large dimension lumber and if we practise selection forestry instead of clearcut logging we can both protect key wilderness resources like the Pinecone/Burke and we can protect and improve our job base over the long term.
