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May 22, 1998
(Forest Resources and Agrifoods)


The following statement was issued today by Kevin Aylward, Minister of Forest Resources and Agrifoods. It was also read in the House of Assembly:

Today, it is a pleasure to inform Members of the House of the proposed silviculture initiatives from Abitibi Consolidated, Corner Brook Pulp and Paper and the government's own projects. Under these initiatives, approximately 68 projects will be undertaken at an estimated cost of $7.1 million dollars. Once the specific tenders have been awarded, the department will be in a position to announce the particulars of every project. A second program involving both the federal and provincial governments through the Transitional Jobs Fund will be announced shortly.

The province will be directly responsible for 31 of the projects, covering 4100 hectares and involving all aspects of silviculture treatment.

Last year, we participated in a particularly intense program which resulted in over 16,000 hectares being treated and approximately 7.5 million seedlings planted. These projects created over 23,000 person weeks of employment. This translates into numerous direct job opportunities in rural Newfoundland and Labrador.

Throughout the last 20 years, over 100 million seedlings have been planted and over 228,000 hectares have been treated through silviculture projects. It is our intention to continue this path of forest management.

Silviculture plays an important role in the reforestation of our province. There are three primary goals of silviculture initiatives:

  • to maintain ecosystem health and integrity

  • to help alleviate the wood supply deficit

  • to enhance the quality and quantity of the forest products of the future.

Many people believe that silviculture initiatives are simply the planting of trees. This is not the case. In addition to planting, site preparation projects prepare areas for the future plantation of seedlings. In the case of natural regeneration, which is the predominant method of forest regeneration in Newfoundland and Labrador, thinning projects become necessary to increase growth speed and shorten maturation time.

Silviculture projects are an integral part of our holistic approach to forest ecosystem management. To continue this approach, it is necessary for us to take both short and long term actions to address the island's wood supply situation. At the new Forest Resource Centre in Corner Brook, research and development is occurring on projects that will allow us to meet our long term wood supply needs. Silviculture has and will continue to play an important part in achieving this goal.

1998 05 22 10:30 a.m.


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