Forest management is about to get easier in Saskatchewan, which is good news for Prince Albert. (File Photo/paNOW Staff)

By Rob Mahon

Money for Forest Inventory

Province dedicates $400,000 to forest resource inventory

Jun 2, 2022 | 4:00 PM

The largest sector of industry in northern Saskatchewan is getting a shot in the arm. The provincial government has announced an additional $400,000 from the 2022-23 provincial budget to be put towards an updated forest resource inventory.

New technology makes mapping the forest a simpler job than in years past. They’ve inventoried five million hectares so far, with the hope of inventorying the full province within five years.

“We anticipate that this funding will make it easier for us to do our job,” said Lane Gelhorn, forest inventory specialist with Forest Services, “to provide adequate information for sustainable management of our forest resources.”

According to Gelhorn, the information gained from this investment will help determine not only what levels are appropriate for harvesting right now, but also whether levels can be maintained. The forestry industry involves a lot of scouting and accurate forecasting in order to be sustainable.

“Any investment in a sector requires good information for decisions around which to make investment,” said Gelhorn, “whether that investment is a big investment like the development of new facilities or even just the location of your work camp for a new season.”

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When checking whether a region of forest is good for harvest depends on what kind of wood (and how much) is there now, and what the rate of growth will be. Tree heights, species, and canopy cover are all important as well.

“Whether there is a surplus of older, mature timber, whether there is a deficit of a certain age class that needs to be covered,” said Gelhorn. “From a wood supply prespective, those are kind of the important things, but we don’t just manage wood supply. We manage forests for habitat, for water conservation, for a whole number of other outcomes.”

“There’s a lot of field work that goes into this, a lot of sweat, a lot of wet feet, and a lot of trees are assessed in order to come up with these sustainability estimates,” he added.

Because they manage a region from just south of Prince Albert and up to La Ronge and stretching from the Alberta to Manitoba borders, there’s a lot of ground to cover for Gelhorn and his crews. And because of a cold, snowy winter, their season was slightly delayed.

“Usually we can find areas where the roads are dry enough to drive on but the late snowfall has set us back a little bit,” said Gelhorn. “We’re not afraid of getting wet, but we have to get close enough to be able to walk.”

According to the provincial government, 30 per cent of the provincial timber supply is allocated to Indigenous businesses.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP