Senior BC Foresters’ North Vancouver Island Tour: Part A

September 21 – 24, 2014

Participants: Al Gorley, Don McMullan, Gerry Burch, Tim Ryan, Kerry McGourlick, Dave Mogensen

(guide), Paul Wooding, Alan Fry, Gordon Weetman, Bill Dumont (upper deck) and Steve Lorimer.

Jonathan Lok joined the tour but missed the Holberg Inlet leg pictured.

Local Guides/Presenters: We were fortunate to have a very good group of guides and

presenters for the tour that included: Dave Mogensen, Dave Steele, Brian Scott, Dave Cousins,

Kelly McMann, John Flintoff, Shannon Janzen, Harriett Cadwallader, Ray Robazza, Andy Steinke,

Ralph Wallas, Gord Glover, Brian Scott, Kerry McGourlick, Blair Hunter, Lawrence Hiebert, Dave

Weymer, Randy Boas, Randy Hunt, Larry Knudson, Nick Russell, Andrew Murray, Trevor Egely,

Bev Weber, Annemarie Koch, Annette Van Niejenhuis, Gerry Lambert, Serge Martel.

Sunday, September 21: A travel day for those that drove up to Port Hardy (Bill, Don, Kerry

& Steve). It was a beautiful, sunny warm day. On arrival we checked into the Glen Lyon Inn,

explored around Port Hardy, and adjacent First Nations reserves.

And… Our Noble

Scribe and

Photographer

End of a summer-like day after traveling up to Port Hardy; Don and Kerry

at the beach looking towards Fort Rupert

Monday, September 22: After breakfast at the Glen Lyon Inn, those already in Port Hardy

(Tim, Al, Don, Kerry, Bill and Jon and Steve) went to the airport to pick up Gordon, Gerry, Al Fry,

and Paul.

Bill provided an orientation at the airport prior to us heading off to our first stops of the day:

Cape Scott Wind Farm: Dave Durrant, the Manager for Vestas who have the maintenance

contract with GDF Suez for the Cape Scott Wind Farm provided background and information

about the project, construction phases and energy generation. Dave Cousins the Site Manager

for GDF Suez for the Cape Scott Wind Farm provided a power point presentation covering the

operational nature of the wind farm and as well as some information about the GDF Suez

company and its operations globally and in Canada.

The following information is taken from the GDF Suez web site summarizes the operations

development: http://www.suezenergyna.com/engineering-ingenuity-at-cape-scott-wind-farm/

A view of the wind farm from the water(GDF SUEZ website) and close-up of single turbine

``Engineering Ingenuity at Cape Scott Wind Farm

On the boggy terrain of the northeast coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, the 99 MW

Cape Scott Wind Farm proved to be a civil engineering feat for the building team of site

developer and operator GDF SUEZ Energy North America. Completed in November 2013, Cape

Scott continued the company's commitment to growing its Canadian renewables portfolio and

providing sustainable energy to the country's residents. The company now operates wind

facilities in British Columbia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick.

Dave Durrant, the Manager for Vestas, explains some

of the wind turbine equipment maintenance with our group

The computer graphic indicates each turbine on site and details like the wind speed, direction and

power being generated by each individual turbine and the entire wind farm.

Situated 40 kms (25 miles) west of Port Hardy, the land including Cape Scott soaks in up to 4

meters (13 feet) of rain annually, and accessing the site on the plateau, over steep hills and

twisting dirt and gravel roads is a daily feat.

Much of the early construction focused on clearing segments of the 4,000 hectares (15 square

miles) of land for roads and the turbines, transmission lines and the substation. And before the

55 turbine and substation foundations could be poured, crews had to assemble a small

concrete batch plant on site.

Infrastructure crews installed 33 kms (21 miles) of roadway, 23 bridges, 67 imbedded culverts,

and 500 cross-drain culverts.

Because of the wind park's remote locale, GDF SUEZ also built a 40 km (25 mile) transmission

line to connect the generating facility to the electrical grid and supply its power to customer, BC

Hydro, under the 20-year power purchase agreement.

Cape Scott is located on the traditional territories of First Nations, and GDF SUEZ has worked

closely with the Quatsino, Tlatlasikwala and Kwakiutl communities as well as other residents in

the region during the project.

With a total investment cost of more than $300 million, the project is powered by Vestas V100

1.8 MW turbines and occupies a total footprint of 350 hectares (864 acres) outside of Cape

Scott National Park. Having created 300 construction jobs during the peak construction period

and having a $51 million economic impact on the area, Cape Scott also created 12 permanent

operations and maintenance positions at the facility.

Cape Scott Wind Farm is within the portfolio of the joint venture formed by GDF SUEZ, with

40% interest held by its subsidiary GDF SUEZ Canada Inc., and Mitsui & Co., Ltd. and Fiera

Axium Infrastructure Canada, LP, separately through their affiliates, with each holding a 30%

interest.``

In addition, on the tour we learned that Amec Black McDonald

(http://amecblackandmcdonald.com/ )were involved in the construction and support phases of

the project.

Vestas( http://vestas.com/en/about#! ) transported and supplied the 55 V100-1.8 MW wind

turbines.

Surespan (http://www.surespan.com/company/ ) set up a bulk concrete plant to provide

foundations for the wind turbine towers on the site.

Lunch on the road: after the wind farm stop, we travelled to Holberg and Western Forest

Products (http://www.westernforest.com/ ) TFL 6. We ate the first of two very good and ample

lunches on the way.

Cutblock 61-152: We were met by Dave Steele at a 68.2 hectare cut block. Retention blocks

totaled 8.2 hectares. Some discussion regarding the size of cutblock compared to the ``40ha``

max size usual under the former Forest Practices Code.

Second growth in the area being harvested averaged 525m3 per hectare whereas the average

for Holberg is 825m3 per ha.

The demand for second growth was discussed. Currently the domestic market is paying about

$60 per cubic meter while the export market for same is ~$90. All in logging costs are ~$70, so

it is obvious for success, export is necessary to be above break-even.

Grapple yarding of second growth in block 61-152. Note the tree topping done on

some of the retention trees to promote windfirmness (on the near right side of photo).

A Loaded truck leaves cut-block. Roadside wood waiting to be loaded out, steep terrain

and road system (up into the fog). Also tree toping of leave trees in setting.

LIDAR

Brian Scott provided an overview of the use of LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) by WFP at

their Holberg Forest Operation. It is part of a Pilot LIDAR trial covering a portion of the Holberg

and Port McNeill/Jeune Landing Forest Operations. The data is used to assess and understand

the forest canopy and terrain. While relatively expensive to have LIDAR coverage, WFP has

found this technology to be cost effective in helping with forest management and operational

planning activities.

LIDAR images showing portions of Block 61-152 area for tree height and terrain information

Karst management:

In certain areas of WFP’s tenures on the North Island underlying limestone formations have led

to the development of Karst features. The significance of Karst features can vary, as some may

be substantial caves of interest to spelunkers while others may be more mundane sink holes

that can represent a safety hazard for machine operators and workers in the woods. Where

they are identified, they are marked, and management prescriptions applied. For example,

higher stumps can be left to alert others of their location, both to protect the feature from

possible disturbance and for safety (see photo). In some situations aesthetics can be the

management focus while in others it can be the management of streams and water sources

that influence and create karst. WFP has developed its own Karst manual to guide staff in

management expectations in areas where Karst features are found.

Ribbon and high stumps identify Karst features in the field. The high stumps help to protect the feature and prevent

logging debris from entering the Karst.

Blair Hunter of HAF Forestry Services provided a demonstration of a drone mounted video camera. Drones are being used to get a rapid visual overview of areas that are otherwise difficult to access. It was obvious that the time savings can be significant and we can expect to see more drones used for a variety of forest management applications in the future. Our only disappointment was that the drone failed to deliver the promised beer!

It’s a bird? a plane?.......it`s a drone!

Pruning: There were several examples of tree pruning and topping during our tour. Because of

the high winds in the area that can cause considerable windthrow in leave trees WFP has employed this practice in an effort to save trees that would otherwise be lost. Spiral pruning (see below) in a newer technique to reduce crown size without actually removing branches all around the tree stem or topping the tree.

Spiral pruning to prevent/minimize wind throw

Holberg to Coal Harbour Boat ride: The group was treated to a boat ride from Holberg to

Coal Harbour, with a side trip through Quatsino Narrows and by the village of Quatsino, with Don Griffiths in a water taxi. We were able to see evidence of some of the original ‘A-frame’

logging along the coast, more recent harvest operations further from the shore, log dump sites, and one of the Quatsino First Nation’s village sites, all on the way to Coal Harbour. Bill had the privilege of driving the van from Holberg to Coal Harbour to pick up the group.

Scene along Holberg Inlet showing a log dump site. Most of the area along the shore

was ‘A-frame’ logged first pass.

Coal Harbour; site of a WW2 amphibious airplane base, and later whaling station.

Ramp going into water was originally to allow plane access out of water; later used to drag whales up out of water.

Quatse Salmon Stewardship Centre: Louisa Clarke gave an excellent tour of the hatchery,

explaining the history and development and the details of the process to gather, incubate, raise and release the salmon fry.

Quatse Salmon Stewardship Centre Albino Chinook fry (11 of millions of eggs hatched)

Louisa Clarke Guides group on hatchery tour, as we observe the first of the pink salmon coming up-stream to spawn in the Quatse River.

Of interest was the albino fry that they had in a tank inside the Stewardship centre which is a very well done educational facility with very good displays showing various aspects of the life cycle and habitat needs of salmon and the importance of this important resource to the local area. More specific information on the Stewardship Centre can be found on their website: http://www.thesalmoncentre.org/index.php.

Reception at Hotel and Dinner: Upon returning to the hotel in Port Hardy, the group

relaxed and enjoyed some very good appetisers from Master Chef Bill and Sous-Chef Dave (Mogensen) and refreshments prior to going for very good dinner at the hotel. Servings were generous and we left having eaten more than enough.

Port Hardy Museum Society: After dinner the group reconvened and enjoyed a very good

presentation regarding some of the local history of the North Island area. Harriet Cadwallader, President of the Port Hardy Museum Society provided a most interesting review with local

flavor, including some information about her own roots to the area, including ties to the Hudson’s Bay Company and local First Nations. “First contact with Europeans occurred in the early 19th century when the steamship S.S. Beaver was sent on an exploratory trip by the Hudson Bay Company (HBC) in 1836. Coal deposits motivated the HBC to establish a fortified trading post at Beaver Harbour a dozen years later. The trading post was named “Fort Rupert” after the company's governor, Prince Rupert, Duke of Bavaria. Though little of the fort remains today, the Kwakiutl First Nations continue to reside adjacent to the former fort site. The current location of Port Hardy was settled at the turn of the century when Alec and Sarah Lyon operated a store and post office on the east side of Hardy Bay. A 1912 land deal promoted by the Hardy Bay Land Co., put the area on the map and increased its population. By 1914, 12 families had settled, built a school, sawmill, church and hotel. There was limited access to the community until the logging road connecting Port Hardy to Campbell River was paved in December of 1979. Port Hardy’s population grew to a little over 5,000 residents during the Island Copper Mine years (1971-1995). “ taken from Port Hardy website. Harriet also talked about the starting of the Port Alice Pulp mill in 1917 and one of the well know loggers of the area Bill Moore, who apart from his logging exploits brought and made an event the ‘Downtown Winter Harbour Music Festival’ for a number of years. We also learned about pioneer electrical wiring and the doorbell that turned the furnace on!

Day 2, September 22, 2014

Logger Fundamental Training – Woss Office: We arrived at Woss at 7:30am (or slightly

later) to be greeted by the crew of students (6) and instructors involved in a unique and effective training program being sponsored by WFP. It is provided to young people including local First Nations that are interested in acquiring the skills necessary to become proficient and safe employees. Breakfast was provided and we heard from instructors Lawrence Heibert, Dave Weymer (Dazy), Dave Hamling and Operations Manager Randy Boas. The Englewood Forest operations currently employs 170 and has about 100 contract employees as well, so not all graduates will necessarily be employed there. (see attached for summary information on Englewood Operations) The program also called the New Worker Training Program, has developed its own curriculum based on WorkSafe Logger Safety Handbook and the Switchback programs. Safety first is emphasized. The students spend 3 weeks on a Steel Spar and 3 weeks on a Grapple yarder. There have been 7 classes to date, and 18 students/year go through the program. WFP gets a

first look at the class, although the students can go to contractors or other companies as jobs are available. It costs about $10-15,000 per student for the program, including trainee wages. Some funds have come from the North Coast Sustainability Trust. One of the most important points made regarding the selection of students was that they are selected through an interview process that seeks those most likely to be interested and capable of succeeding. There are no requirements, often found attached to publicly funded employment training programs, that force the inclusion of individuals not likely to continue on in the forest sector. As noted by one of the trainers, “We are not just instructing, we’re setting standards – we have an investment in the students” Currently a survey for the program graduates is being developed as a feedback mechanism for improving future course content and following career paths. WFP would like to see the program franchised, but are cautious at present.

WFP Logging Railroad: Randy Hunt gave us some background regarding the operation of the railway. It operates on 2 shifts with each train carrying 40-55 loads (cars). There are about 16 people involved in the rail operations including the hauling and maintenance aspects. The BC Safety Authority is the regulator of the railway. 20MPH is the maximum speed allowed for this rail operation. The maximum grade they have is 2.2%. Approximately 6000 ties are replaced each year. Operating costs for rail transportation average between $5 and $6 per cubic metre. The engineer, Larry Knudson, demonstrated his experience and abilities in operating the train and gave rides to 4 of the group that answered skill testing questions as there was no room in the engine for more than 2 passengers at a time. Larry has 35+ years working at Woss.

Gerry heads off on the WFP railroad, delivering logs to the reload area for transport to Beaver Cove DLS

Senior BC Foresters’ Tour Report 2014: Part B Silviculture and reforestation issues/Challenges: Nick Russell and Andrew Murray provided an overview of their silviculture planning and reviewed some of the challenges they faced in operations in the area near Klaklakama Lake. Copies of the planning documents including Silviculture Instructions, FRPA Site Plans, Harvest Instructions, maps, and post-harvest assessment forms were provided.

Challenges that were discussed included the deer and elk browsing issues affecting new plantations. Putting cones on trees to protect from browsing is a very expensive proposal and the approach used here is to replant rather than cone the trees. Elk management and the transplanting of elk by MOE has created additional challenges to the foresters charged with meeting reforestation requirements.

Tim and Gordon focusing in the explanation being given

by Nick Russell on reforestation issues for the area.

Meeting target stocking with planted and natural fill in is accomplished where the current minimum is 500 trees/ha with a target of 900 trees/ha. These standards are similar to the BCFS BEC standards, however variations to stocking standards are accommodated through the approved Forest Stewardship Plan. Brushing is an issue on about 22% of the area. Alder is treated with hack & squirt when 11-13 years old at a cost of $650-950/ha. Basal applications are used on Cottonwood. Where there is no PMP in place manual girdling is used and costs are in the range of $1000-1300/ha. 60% of blocks are harvested using Variable Retention. Where hoe-chucking is used, scattered trees can be retained; where grapple yarding is used, reserves patches are retained. Edge effect is used to gauge the level of retention achieved. Operations goals are established using a zonation approach developed by Bill Beese that integrated the strategies used by the legacy companies (WFP Ltd., Canfor, Weyerhaeuser) that make up what is now WFP Inc.

In with i-pads, out with paper maps and fieldbooks, manuals and compasses! The use of i-pads by the staff at WFP has progressed in recent years so that with downloaded maps, emergency plans, manuals and various ‘apps’ including SNAP, Plant wizard etc, each supervisor can easily pack their information they need into the field. The gps function even tells where you are, so no more excuses for being lost or at the wrong site or area.

Gerry Burch, our most senior forester getting acquainted with the i-pad and the

wealth of information and apps that today’s foresters at WFP utilize in their daily work (no more soggy maps and debating about where your are!).

Active second growth harvesting was ongoing and in addition to viewing feller-bunching in second growth, we discussed road grades, fisheries issues and the elk highways being created.

Fellerbuncher at work in second growth harvest block. The trees

and total volume were impressive for a second growth site.

First Nations considerations and involvement include the conducting of CMT surveys on approximately 60% of areas, pre-harvest. The ‘Namgis, after consultation are engaged in the CMT surveys in this area.

2014 Trail Project: Bev Webber gave an overview of the Trail and Heritage projects on TFL

37. See attached brochure for information on the history and funding that has supported this initiative including the hiring of summer students in recent years.

Bev Webber, Planning Administrator explains the Trails

program at our lunch stop at Hoomak Lake.

Trevor Egely discussed some of the major influences on planning for the TFL. Treaty settlement for the ‘Namgis, though not yet completed will have a major impact on the land base as approximately 24% of the TFL area has been identified as settlement lands. WFP has a 5 year agreement with the ‘Namgis on logging of their Non-Replaceable Forest License (also within the TFL) through Atli Resources Limited Partnership, the ‘Namgis forestry company. Monthly meetings including providing of operational maps are ongoing. The ‘Namgis

pay WFP for management and logging and WFP has some options on the wood. One of the advantages to both ‘Namgis and WFP of this arrangement, is the retained economy of scale that is maintained, and the ability to piggy-back on the existing certifications and EMS programs that are in place. A large underlying question for WFP is that of Compensation for the significant reduction in TFL area and AAC once treaty is completed.

Arrive in Port McNeill – After the field trip, we checked into the Haidaway Inn, enjoyed

dinner from the Northern Lights restaurant courtesy of WFP. We were privileged to have Shannon Janzen, WFP Chief Forester (appointed July 2013) with us for dinner and she then spent time with the group talking about and reviewing some of the priorities, issues and accomplishments of WFP in recent years. There have been many changes in the company since it was taken out from under court protection by an investors group lead by Brascan (now Brookfield Asset Management) in 2004. Lee Doney is currently Chair of the Board of Directors. The goal of the company is: “To be Globally competitive, operating profitably for the benefit of the shareholders, employees and communities.” They have operating priorities that include working safely, environmental sustainability, product quality, productivity, and profitability. Values are focused around communication, trust through mutual respect and continuous improvement. WFP has 42% of the Coastal Crown tenure AAC and 93% of that is from area based tenures. They also have 8 sawmills and 2 remanufacturing plants and 8 timberland operations. The majority of their tenures are CSA Certified with public advisory groups in Port McNeill, Woss, Campbell River, Powell River and Port Alberni. With a Crown tenure AAC of 6.2 million cubic meters, and 0.2 million m3 from private lands or old temporary tenures, they purchase 1.3 million cubic meters and sell about 40% of the combined total wood. There is more than 1.1 billion board foot capacity at the mills and wood is sold to 28 countries. $165million has been invested in plants over 4 years. About 15% of WFP wood is exported as logs as compared to 42% from BC Timber Sales operations. Of interest, for Port Alberni, only 18% of the wood consumed at their mills there comes from the area, the rest is imported from other parts of the coast. The Huu-ay-aht First Nation in the Port Alberni area has a cut of ~100,000 m3 at present. WFP has 2000 employees and there are about 1400 contractor employees working for the company. The payroll is $190million and the property tax bill is $6.0million. There are over 5000 BC based suppliers to WFP.

The company plants some 9.4 million trees of which 3.2million seedlings are grown in house annually. A basic silviculture budget of about $11 to $13 million/year is focused on getting to Free Growing as quickly as possible. Discussion and questions revolved around a number of topics from Ecosystem Based Management to First Nations and more. One of the challenges Shannon identified was that of working with the ‘dense middle layer of government’.

Day Three: WFP Port McNeill DLS: Gerry Lambert DLS foreman and truck dispatcher welcomed the group. There are two WFP sorts in Port McNeill: a lower sort on the water where the camp run logs are brought in and stick-scaled, and an upper sort where logs are weigh scaled and some export sorts managed.

Serge Martel explaining the finer points of weight scaling Lower Dry Land Sort, Port McNeill Operations

There are over 40 different sorts, including 8 for cedar. 12 – 15 trucks bring in logs to the sorts which see production of 600,000m3 annually plus some purchase and trade wood and significant volume from WFP’s west coast operations that is rehauled from Quatsino Sound to avoid barging. Total of about 1,000,000m3 goes through the two DLS. Every 7-8 days a 72 section boom leaves the sort (~30,000m3). Logs for export go primarily to China, Korea and Japan, and are shipped out of Howe Sound. There are also local sales to mills in Port Hardy and Port McNeill. Some totem logs are also delivered from the sort at values for purchased logs of $300/m3. Don Waugh explained some of the issues related to waste management from the DLS. They currently store up to 8 days waste at a time. Finer materials are screened and sent to Beaver Cove to be mixed with fish morts to be composted into ‘sea-soil’. The Neucel pulp mill in Port Alice takes material for hog to be used in the mill boiler.

Serge Martel, charge hand at the upper DLS explained the weigh-scaling being undertaken with a platform scale. Only pure species loads are weigh-scaled. The pole sort program provides poles to a buyer in Campbell River. The shortest poles are usually in the 35-45 foot range, but because of excess of short poles, only those 55 feet or longer are being accepted.

Orca Sand and Gravel:

It looked like a lot of fun! Scrapers gathering gravel for processing and shipping to customers as far as California and Hawaii.

Tyson MacKay was our guide at the Orca Sand and Gravel site near Port McNeill. At the site there was an emphasis on safety and loss prevention so the first order of business was to ensure everyone was aware of the safety requirements and had the proper personal protective equipment. Partners in the Orca Sand and Gravel include Polaris Minerals (88%) and ‘Namgis (12%). There is 127million tons of reserve in the ground at present, and there is a permit to take 6 million tons per year. Currently approximately 4 million tons is being processed annually. The production from this area goes to customers including California and Hawaii. The gravel deposits are hundreds of feet deep. Product is shipped with 9 ships per month moving approximately 72,000 tons per ship. The scrapers can carry 40 tons and work on 2 ten hour shifts per day. There is a reclamation plan in place for the site. Basically, the overburden is stripped away before extraction begins and stored. Once the gravel is removed, this material is replaced and re-vegetation takes place.

Wood Debris Salvage: John Flintoft, Operations Forester has worked in the area for a

number of years and employers including MB, Weyerhaeuser, Cascadia and WFP. The wood waste salvage program converts 3500m3 into chips that go to Howe Sound Pulp and Paper.

There is about a 40 kilometer haul to Beaver Cove DLS where material is chipped and then shipped to the pulp mill.

Quatern Joint Venture: Ray Robazza of WFP and Ralph Wallas, QFN representative

explained to the group the Quatern joint venture between the Quatsino Band and WFP which is now a limited partnership. The Band holds a woodlot and a Non-replaceable Forest License and WFP has TFL lands. This partnership has evolved from a long working relationship. Andy Steinke manages the operations on behalf of the partnership.

Quatern Joint Venture logging operation Block 54702

Annual harvest is approximately 40,000m3 with WFP, as the successful services bidder, doing the logging for the joint venture this year. Most of the white wood is exported (75%) with the Cedar going to WFP. Lions Gate Log Brokers have been handling the log exports which have provided an export premium of $25-30 over domestic prices. The joint venture has been self-financing since the first year by banking some of revenue. They have also been able to sponsor 2 students at the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology in Merritt and provide 2 - $1000 scholarships for Quatsino Band members. Quatern has established the model for WFP for future joint ventures with First Nations.

Lunch at 7 Hills Golf Course: The group enjoyed excellent salmon burgers for lunch and the

following presentations:

North Island Community Forest Limited Partnership: Gord Glover presented a report

on Community Forests and the specifics of the North Island CFA which is one of 57 in the province. He provided a copy (attached) of his power point slides which explain the background and approach taken in the development and operation of this CFA.

Gord Glover explaining the approach taken in management and

operation of the Community Forest Agreement

CSA Public Advisory Group: Annemarie Koch provided the group with some background

and history of her involvement as facilitator for the public community advisory process for the CSA Certification held by WFP for its TFL tenure in the area. Annemarie has been a long term resident in the area having worked for the Regional District of Mt. Waddington and in other positions. The process involved the CSA Z809 Option under which the Public Advisory Groups were established. In 2000, the facilitators engaged the existing NIWAG and established and worked with the standards based on SFM Criteria including;

Conservation of Biological Diversity

Maintenance and Enhancement of Forest Ecosystem Condition and Productivity

Conservation of Soil and Water Resources

Forest Ecosystem Contributions to Global Ecological Cycles

Multiple Benefits to Society

Accepting Society’s Responsibility for Sustainable Development The last bullet includes Aboriginal Rights and did present some issues with First Nations participation and consultation. The establishment of FNFIE (First Nations Forest Information Exchange) helped to address this issue. Other benefits of the Certification include better inventory controls and, good forest stewardship engagement. The recruitment of home grown talent has also been a positive benefit to the process.

SCHIRP – Salal Cedar Hemlock Integrated Research Program: Our final stop of the day and tour was of this most important research site. Annette van Niejenhuis, Tree Improvement Forester for WFP gave a great summary of the SCHRIP research project. She guided us through a few of the plots that demonstrate the effects of spacing and

fertilization on the growth and performance Cedar and Hemlock trees in the cedar/salal sites common in this part of Northern Vancouver Island and similar types of sites in Haida Gwaii. See photos below.

Sign describing the SCHIRP plots

Fertilization and spacing densities clearly affected tree performance when the different treatment plots were visited. Determining cost effective treatments is a consideration as, for example fertilizing with only N as opposed to N and P results in a 35% cost savings.

Annette van Niejenhuis explaining the plot layout and spacing/fertilizer regime at a plot in the SCHIRP Study

WFP has been a major supporter of this research and currently, funding is periodically available from the Forest Lands and Natural Resource Operations, Land Based Investment Strategy account.

Thanks for a great tour:

Bill Dumont thanking Dave Mogensen for all his help and commentary throughout a most excellent tour.

Summary Shortly after getting back from the tour, I received an email from Gerry with his “macro” observations from the tour. In my mind they make an excellent summary. Here are Gerry’s comments: 1. I was impressed on the "booming" nature of North Island, involving forestry, mining operation, fishing, new Municipal Forest, wind farm in operation, etc. 2. The favorable relationship with native bands 3. The value of log exports, enabling all producers to earn more profit, sell more basic log grades, and cut to the AAC 4. I was also impressed with the number of professionals-foresters, engineers, researchers, etc. who were made available for each stop to explain their role in the operations. 5. In addition, the depth of planning that was carried out for all operations, which may be normal in this day, but, it was impressive. 6. Finally, and most impressive, was the presence of new innovative techniques, such as I-pads, aerial gadgets, ambrosia monitors, etc. 7. The importance of big companies. Very seldom do they receive due acknowledgment for the good that they do. In this case, the importance of WFP to the communities, native bands, public enterprises, etc should not be overlooked. I noticed activities, such as salmon hatcheries, trail maintenance, campsites, community forest, training courses, native logging companies, etc. all have benefited from the secure tenure, numerous support departments and staff provided by a large company, such as WFP! Overall, a great tour, and much thanks should go to the Western Group, including their Chief Forester, Shannon. Our thanks go to all tour guides and others that helped to make this tour a success. We especially appreciate the efforts Bill has undertaken to organize the details and logistics to make this tour possible.

Big smiles all around after a most interesting and informative tour!