Dunkley Lumber Slows Mountain Pine Beetle Spread

VICTORIA – A Quesnel-area forest company is getting high marks from the Forest Practices Board for the way it managed mountain pine beetle, and for the light footprint it left on a recently-audited operating area.

The audit looked at Dunkley Lumber’s operations on Tree Farm Licence 53, about 80 kilometres south of Prince George and 40 kilometres north of Quesnel, just east of Highway 97. TFL 53 consists of about 87,600 hectares east of the Fraser River, in the Prince George forest district.

Auditors examined a wide range of forest practices carried out during the past year, including logging; road construction, maintenance and deactivation; forest protection; silviculture; and planning. This tree farm licence is subject to a severe mountain pine beetle attack, which prompted the deputy chief forester to increase the allowable annual cut by 109 per cent earlier in 2003. The majority of Dunkley’s harvesting activity in the TFL is focused on aggressively containing the spread of beetle by removing affected trees while the beetles are still in them.

In its audit report, the Forest Practices Board commends Dunkley for restoring a greater proportion of harvested land to a tree-producing state than required by the Forest Practices Code – and to a level that stands out for any company. The board also praised Dunkley for focusing its harvesting efforts on those areas hardest hit by the mountain pine beetle epidemic, while maintaining other forest values.

“We commend Dunkley for its intensive forest management practices, in particular regarding soil rehabilitation on cutblock landings and roads, and mountain pine beetle management,” said acting board chair, Liz Osborn. “It was very clear to our auditors that Dunkley is dedicated to, and focused, on maintaining forest values while minimizing the loss of timber.”

The Forest Practices Board is an independent public watchdog, established in 1995, that reports to the public about compliance with the Forest Practices Code and the achievement of its intent. The board’s main roles under the Forest Practices Code are:

• Auditing forest practices of government and licence holders on public lands.
• Auditing government enforcement of the code.
• Investigating public complaints.
• Undertaking special investigations of code-related forestry issues.
• Participating in administrative reviews and appeals.
• Providing reports on board activities, findings and recommendations.

Jacqueline Waldorf
Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250 356-1586 / 1 800 994-5899