February 7, 1997
(Forest Resources and Agrifoods)

Release of Draft 20-Year Forest Development Plan

Beaton Tulk, Minister of Forest Resources and Agrifoods, is pleased to announce today the release of the Draft 20-Year Forestry Plan (1996- 2015). Under the Forestry Act, 1990, a 20-Year Plan is required to be submitted every five years which would be March of this year. At this time, he is inviting public comment on this draft document.

"While five years is not a long time in terms of forest ecosystems, it does represent sufficient time for a new forest management strategy to emerge," said the minister. "This plan outlines a dramatic shift in forest management in this province from a timber management approach to an ecosystem management approach." Ecosystem management addresses first, the long-term health of our forest ecosystem, and second, the management of a host of other forest resources, such as, wildlife, tourism, recreation, and water resources. This approach allows for ongoing changes to management decisions to be made as the information about the forest changes.

This Draft 20-Year Plan realistically and responsibly addresses the challenges facing the forests and the forest industry in this province. It outlines the results of the timber resource analysis which sets limits for harvest. This analysis confirms that the supply is essentially the same as in the previous analysis. The total wood supply for the island portion of Newfoundland is 2.1 million cubic meters, and for Labrador is 580,000 cubic meters. This represents a shortage in sustainable softwood supplies on the island in relation to demand in the order of 500,000 cubic meters, and a surplus in Labrador.

The strategy to manage the wood supply is determined by the fact that there is an imbalance in the age structure of our forest. This is happening in boreal forests across the country. This province has a lot of timber in younger age (<40 years) and older (80 + years) age groups, but not a lot of intermediate age timber (40-60 years). This imbalance is not soley due to human activities, such as harvesting of timber, but is also the result of interaction with natural development patterns and natural disturbances, such as fires and insects.

To address this age class imbalance will require strong forest management and protection measures. This is where the department sets specific limits on the annual allowable cut (AAC) for the forests managed by the various districts across the province. This limit, or AAC, is applied to all users of the forest. We will have to harvest more selectively and make better use of what we harvest. However, jobs will be created in silvicultural work, development of the forestry value-added sector, and a more integrated approach to sawmilling. Only after the next 20 to 30 years, will we see an increase in a long-term sustainable wood supply.

Both government and industry have been actively dealing with the wood supply challenge. Ongoing initiatives range from:

• establishing sustainable harvest levels and improving wood supply forecast, that is making for precise forecasts;
• ensuring that harvesting does not exceed these sustainable levels;
• doing forest planning at the local level to develop local solutions, ie.,ecosystem teams;
• securing non-traditional wood sources, ie., offshore sources, private woodlots;
• increasing recycled fibre content in the pulp and paper industry;
• harvesting the oldest stands first (80+)
• increasing the efficiency of fibre utilization at sawmills;
• continuing silviculture work, ie., pre-commercial thinning and tree planting;
• continuing to protect the forest from fire, insects and disease;
• continuing a commitment to Certification of sustainable forest management

To date, these ongoing initiatives have been sufficient to meet industry requirements. In fact, both companies continue to invest in the three mills in Corner Brook, Stephenville, and Grand Falls-Windsor, an indication of their confidence in the forest industry in this province.

The challenge is "...To provide a sustainable supply of wood through proper management of the forest without compromising the long term health of the province's fish, wildlife, water and biological diversity..." This will be accomplished through the new ecosystem management approach which establishes Ecosystem Planning Teams for each forest management area. These teams will find local solutions to local forest use priorities. Stakeholders and members of the public are invited to participate on these teams. To date, there are eight Ecosystem Planning Teams working on forest management plans in Lewisporte, Corner Brook, the Avalon, Cartwright, Wabush, Bay d'Espoir, Happy Valley-Goose Bay and Grand Falls-Windsor.

"This new forest management strategy can only succeed with the understanding and cooperation of all forest users and managers." said the minister, "It is my commitment to ensure that the forests of this province do not go the way of the Northern cod fishery".

Comments are to be submitted to Jim Taylor, Director of Forest Management, Forestry Headquarters in Corner Brook by March 31 for consideration in the final preparation of this plan.

Contact:

     Jim Taylor                         Anna Buffinga
     Director, Forest Management        Public Relations
     Tel: (709) 637-2344                (709) 729-3750
     Fax: (709) 637-2403