Unit 2 - Alberta's Forest Land Issues
Introduction
If you have taken other forestry courses, you may have noticed a recurring theme of sustainable forest management. The Government of Alberta is committed to protecting and managing the province’s forests. They do this through the development of legislation and policies and then reviewing those standards on a regular basis in order to continually improve them.
Image Source: Pixabay
The government requires that forest industries prepare a detailed forest management plan; they must:
- be prepared for a 10 year term
- identify the area covered
- identify specific stands for harvest in the next 10 years
- show the company’s plans for reforestation
- include consultation from all stakeholders
Once a forest management plan is approved by the Government of Alberta, the forest company can then negotiate a Forest Management Agreement (FMA) with the government.
Currently in the province of Alberta, there are 20 Forest Management Agreements; if you are interested in reading the information included in these agreements, visit Alberta.ca.
Although these Forest Management Agreements contain very detailed and specific information, there are still some issues related to the management and protection of our Alberta forests.
In this unit we will discuss these issues:
Although these Forest Management Agreements contain very detailed and specific information, there are still some issues related to the management and protection of our Alberta forests.
In this unit we will discuss these issues:
- Access management
- Herbicide use in timber management
- Fire management
- Age class management
- Biodiversity maintenance
- Climate change
Click image to enlarge.
Courtesy of Alberta.ca
Courtesy of Alberta.ca