Rules for logging on private land needed
WCWC File Photo
By Nick Taylor, Alberta Liberal Forestry Critic
Over the past few years high lumber prices and a shortage of timber in British Columbia has led to a rapid increase in the sale of timber from private lands in Alberta. Despite growing public alarm at the number of logging trucks leaving the province, the Alberta government had no accurate figures on the volume of exports until it introduced new scaling regulations in August, 1994. Now we know the true magnitude of the problem.
Cutting on this scale is not sustainable... Fred Bradley, the government MLA for Pincher Creek, expressed his horror at the devastation caused by extensive logging operations by a British Columbia company in the Crowsnest Pass area.
In the five months from August to December 1994 approximately 500,000 cubic meters of coniferous timber and 100,000 cubic meters of deciduous timber were exported from private land in Alberta, or enough wood to build 5500 houses. To obtain this volume, over 30 square kilometers of land would need to be clear-cut. These figures exclude the volume of timber felled on Indian reserves, which, according to the government, accounted for about 30% (not 70%, as the government once said) of total exports during the same five month period.
Cutting on this scale is not sustainable, and raises serious concerns about the impact on both the environment and on timber supplies for sawmill operators who have traditionally relied on private sources. In December 1992, Fred Bradley, the government MLA for Pincher Creek, expressed his horror at the devastation caused by extensive logging operations by a British Columbia company in the Crowsnest Pass area. Although the problem has spread province-wide, successive ministers for the environment- Ralph Klein, Brian Evans, and Ty Lund- have been unwilling to take any action. On March 1, 1995 Premier Ralph Klein appointed a Ministerial Task Force on private logging, but three months later nothing has been heard from them.
Alberta has a strong tradition of private property rights, but large scale logging on private land can have serious impacts on the environment and on the economy. While the current minister of Environmental Protection, Ty Lund, has a problem "when those enviro-cops start poking around my land", some controls are necessary.
I believe that logging on private land should be conducted according to the same rules as timber harvested on Crown land. This means having buffer zones along streams, and limiting the size of clear cuts. It also means reforestation of affected lands, unless permission is obtained for a change in land use. A land owner wishing to log an extensive area should submit a plan. This would allow the government to inspect the land to determine the slope and proximity to watercourses. Inspections should be made prior to cutting, as well as after it is completed. This would allow officials to monitor for logging infringements and regeneration of forest or other vegetation.
... the current minister of Environmental Protection, Ty Lund, has a problem "when those environ-cops start poking around my land"...
States such as Idaho and Oregon make no distinction between forest management on private and government lands. They do not prevent conversion to other uses, but require an alternative vegetative cover "to provide continuing soil productivity and stabilization" or that "only bona fide, established and continuously maintained changes from forest uses are provided for an exemption from reforestation requirements.
A system of notification for proposed logging also benefits the land owner. The government can provide information on its woodlot program, which promotes sustainable timber management and warns about checking the credentials of logging operators. I advocate a bonding system for out-of-province operators, to ensure that logging operations comply with required standards. This would entitle private landowners to compensation if logging is not carried out in the prescribed manner, and prevents abuses which have arisen with "cut and run" operators.
I do not believe that the free market for timber from private land should be curtailed, but the sale of timber should be advertised so that local sawmills could have a chance to bid on it. This would not, however, solve the problem of long-term supplies. The government has already allocated, or perhaps over-allocated, most coniferous timber on Crown land to large companies.
The Alberta Forest Service needs more staff to monitor both Crown and private land to ensure good timber management and to reduce theft of timber. Logs stolen from Crown land are often sold as logs from private land because Crown timber, being sold in a direct and controlled market, commands half the price as that of timber on the free market.
Protection of the environment must be the first priority for all forestry activity in the province.
The environment knows no ownership boundaries.
