Private Land Tenures

Of the almost 26 million hectares of timber-productive land in Alberta, 5% of this is privately owned. Today, forest product industries are willing to buy many of the tree species found on private land. The private landowners may choose to sell their timber:

  • in order to develop the land for agricultural purposes
  • for the income harvesting provides

Others may be interested in managing their forested land for long-term supplemental income. Whatever their reasons, the landowner needs to be aware of the long-term effects of logging on their land and the effects on the surrounding areas and habitats.

Courtesy Government of Alberta

Some provinces have laws that set standards for forest management practices on private lands. In most cases, however, forestry on private lands is governed by municipal regulations and supported by provincial guidelines or voluntary programs.

Just prior to 1995, there were issues that impacted harvesting timber on private lands. High prices were being offered to landowners to harvest timber that was then going to British Columbia to raise their mill quotas. There was little regard to practising sustainable management of these forested areas.

Therefore, in 1995, a group of 12 landowners, primarily from the Cochrane and Sundre area of Alberta, formed the Woodlot Association of Alberta (WAA). They wanted to represent small landowners and promote sustainable forest management options. The issues of 1995 have disappeared, but the organization, with a membership number of 175–200, continues to advocate for private landowners on different issues as they come up. The WAA acts as the approval agency for the development of Woodlot Management Plans for the Government of Alberta.

Today, landowners and local communities tend to be diligent about monitoring activities in private forests because these forests are important sources of income, employment, recreational opportunities, and ecological benefits, such as biodiversity and watershed protection.