TWO FRESHLY-CUT and visible logging sites west of Terrace, right beside Hwy16 approximately 20 kilometres toward Prince Rupert will be replanted next year.
“They’re still a work in progress,” said Kim Haworth, the general manager of the city-owned Terrace Community Forest which had the two blocks logged.
He did acknowledge that the two sites, logging on which began last month, are noticeable but said the areas will green up as newly-planted trees begin to take hold.
“What you’re going to see is a brand-new forest,” said Haworth in listing the fir, spruce and cedar species that will be planted. Hemlock will grow there naturally.
And there is a slash pile at one location that’s visible that will cure over the next year when it will then be burned, he said.
“The visual quality objectives were more than met,” Haworth said of regulations outlining how much of an area can be cut so as to minimize visual impact.
In regulatory terms, the visual quality objective for the logging was considered “modification” which means that a maximum 17 per cent of the area can be altered or changed for clear cut harvesting.
“At 60 miles an hour, you’re not going to see it for a long time,” said Haworth.
One of the blocks runs more parallel to the highway than the other and a screen was left between the road and the block.
In relative terms, the blocks are small – one is 5.2ha and the other 3.7ha.
“For the two blocks that’s about 2,500 cubic metres (of wood). About 50 logging trucks, perhaps 60,” he said. “The wood quality is decent. Not a lot of pulp.”
One attribute of the two blocks is their closeness to town, making the sale of the wood to Skeena Sawmills attractive.
Haworth said an original plan to train Northwest Community College heavy duty equipment operator students at the location did not pan out because the college could not find the money.