NORTHEAST - More than half of Saskatchewan, approximately 34.3 million hectares is covered by forest. Of that, 11.7 million hectares make up the commercial forest zone, an area from the southern forest boundary north to the Churchill River.
Weyerhaeuser Saskatchewan Timberlands and Edgewood Forestlands are holding a series of public engagement and information meetings related to the renewal of the 20-year forest management plan and the annual operating plan.
Meetings will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the following locations:
Wednesday, Oct. 30
Village Hall
Cumberland House
Monday, Nov. 4
RECplex Hanover Room
Tisdale
Tuesday, Nov. 5
Quilly Willy Community Centre Boardroom
Porcupine Plain
Wednesday, Nov. 6
Former School Building Gym
Endeavour
Thursday, Nov. 7
Pioneer Place
Carrot River
Friday, Nov. 8
Parish Hall
Hudson Bay
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Environment said, “In the commercial forest zone, approximately 5.3 million hectares are considered productive for timber.”
The annual allowable cut, measured in cubic metres, is the volume of wood that can be sustainably harvested within a defined forest area, in this case the Pasquia Porcupine Timber Supply Area.
Forest managers collect information about the forest and use computer models to project how much the forest will grow over a 200-year time frame. The calculation also accounts for natural disturbances like wildfire, insects and disease. In Saskatchewan, the forest industry has never harvested the full annual allowable cut. Currently in Saskatchewan, the forest industry cuts less than half of the sustainable harvest the spokesperson from the Ministry of Environment said.
A forest management plan is a long-term 20-year strategic plan for a defined forest area. They take two to four years to develop and typically include three key volumes:
· Volume 1 describes the licence area’s background information and past forest management activities.
· Volume 2 identifies the planning inventory, forest modelling assumptions and scenarios to determine the sustainable harvest level (for the next 200 years).
· Volume 3 presents the forest management strategies and tactical plan maps. The tactical plan identifies the areas where the forest company will likely harvest within the next 20 years.
The meeting topics that will be discussed are:
- â–ªAn update on the 20-year Forest Management Plan renewal
- â–ªDraft 2025/26 annual operating plan for harvest and reforestation operations on the Pasquia Porcupine Timber supply area.
- â–ªKelvington Supply area proposed harvest areas for 2025/26
The Pasquia-Porcupine Forest Management Agreement (FMA) area is approximately 2,000,000 hectares in size and is located in the most south-easterly portion of the Northern Provincial Forest and in the Porcupine Provincial Forest,and to the central Manitoba border. The FMA area surrounds the communities of Hudson Bay, Cumberland House and Porcupine Plain, and is located east of the communities of Nipawin, Carrot River and Tisdale.
The covers the period from April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2035, and will remain in effect until the new Weyerhaeuser/Dunkley Pasquia Porcupine 2025-2045 20-Year FMP is approved. The FMP revision is expected to conclude in December 2025.
A map of the Pasquia Porcupine Timber Supply Area can be found
A map showing all the timber supply areas is available on the Government of Saskatchewan website
Draft documents for the Forest Management Plan can be found at the following .
