Protecting the Saskatchewan forest
Above the Prairies, half the province is covered by Boreal forest.
Dateline: Monday, May 15, 2022
by Joys Dancer
Weyerhaeuser has
shut down all its mills in the Prince Albert Forest Management Area
(PAFMA)
and hundreds of mill workers and forest workers
have been left high and dry. In the wake of this crisis, forest communities
find little consolation in their surrounding forests and lakes, which
have recently been decimated by Weyerhaeuser — creaming the cheap
wood close to the mills. Already some people have uprooted and moved
to work in the Alberta oil patch. And while this crisis is playing
out, Weyerhaeuser is threatening to file lawsuits against the Province
of Saskatchewan unless government officials give them concessions,
the main one being continued control of the public forest in this area.
The other option they are suggesting is that the Province "buy
back" the Prince Albert Forest Management Area — which they
received gratis in the sweet deal cut with the Devine government in
1986. People are somewhat shocked to hear that they may not yet be
finished with Weyerhaeuser.
Local people want to know: Is our Northern Forest owned by Weyerhaeuser
or by the people of Saskatchewan? This is the big question the province
has to answer; not who will buy the mill, but how will people benefit
from, protect and sustain their forest. In an ongoing Interview Project,
a wide variety of local people who live and work in these forest communities
put forward many ideas and visions for new ways to work with and take
positive advantage of the big changes that are occurring in the forest
industry. They want to see an end to the monopoly of forest management
by big business interests. Instead, they see local people playing a
primary role in land use decision-making, and major sustainable job
creation through value-added businesses and caring for the forests
they know and live in. The side benefits would be the strengthening
of rural cultures and economies in the area, and effective protection
of the land and the resources for future generations.
Although Weyerhaeuser has closed the mills, it is still making demands
on local communities.
In terms of industrial forestry, there needs to be a move towards working
with the sensitivities of local communities and our forest eco-systems.
We want to engage with companies who operate in a more responsible
and responsive way to our needs and look to Mistik Management and
L&M Wood Products to provide some of the direction we need.
For more detailed information on this Interview Project see the Written
Presentation given to the Premier, the Premier's Task Force on Forestry
Development and the Forestry Secretariat on the Saskatchewan EcoNetwork
Website at the econet.sk.ca site below. Look for the presentation under
the Saskatchewan Treeplanters Association or contact Joys Dancer at
the email address below.
--- --- --- --- ---
Although most people think of Saskatchewan as a land of prairies and
wheat fields, more than half the province is covered by Boreal forest.
[from Econet.sk.ca]
On the Canadian Shield, large-scale commercial forestry is just beginning.
In the mixed wood region further south, much of the land is under Forest
Management Licensing Agreements (FLMA), concessions granted to pulp
and timber companies by the provincial government. The forest fringe,
a mix of farmland and woodland, is an increasingly important supplier
of pulpwood and timber.
Each of these forest regions faces challenges and threats.
In the mixed wood forests, the timber harvest has been increased under
new Forest Management Licensing Agreements. The challenge is to ensure
that commercial forestry is ecologically sustainable.
Under the Forest Resource Management Act, Saskatchewan is committed
to integrated forest management. FLMA applicants must prepare a 20-year
sustainable management plan and an Environmental Impact Assessment
(EIA). All Forest Management Licensing Agreements must be renewed every
10 years.
While industry and Saskatchewan Environment are satisfied that approved
harvest levels are sustainable, both independent experts and conservation
groups, such as CPAWS and Nature Saskatchewan, are critical of the
new Forest Management Licensing Agreements.
Underfunding of the forest inventory process and lack of a comprehensive
ecological assessment of resources make it difficult to access the
full impact of the harvest. Doubts have been raised that harvest levels
in the most heavily exploited parts of the commercial forest are truly
sustainable.
Saskatchewan does
not have a good record for regenerating forests after harvest. According
to
the 1998-1999 State of Canada's Forest
Report, 66 percent of the forested land harvested since 1975 remains "not
satisfactorily restocked". This compares with a national average
of only 17 percent.
On the Canadian Shield, expansion of commercial forestry is in the
planning stage. The challenge is to ensure that fragile ecosystems
in which regeneration is slow will be protected.
Saskatchewan Environment is currently preparing land-use plans to
guide commercial development on the Shield. Planning includes public
involvement, and has been welcomed by both northern residents and environmentalists.
But concerns have been raised about the process. Critics believe that
the proposed land-use plans are too general. There are fears that local
interests, including ecotourism and traditional ways of life, will
be scarified to commercial forestry in one of the last true wildernesses
of North America.
On the forest fringe, increasing demand for wood has spurred destructive
harvesting of woodlots on private lands. Conservation groups fear that
a crisis of deforestation is overtaking forest fringe woodlands. Land-use
planning on the fringe has been delayed by lack of funding. The Farm
Woodlot Association of Saskatchewan encourages sustainable woodlot
management, but Saskatchewan has few resources to assist woodlot owners.
BACKGROUND
In the Prince Albert area, local activists have recently conducted
an Interview Project, focusing on current forestry policies and practices,
and the impacts and opportunities created by the Weyerhaeuser mill
closures in Prince Albert and Big River in mid-April. We asked a wide
range of people from several communities in the affected area about
their involvement in forestry decision-making, the impacts of these
decisions on their lives, their communities and the lands surrounding
them; and their visions for truly sustainable economic development,
including forestry, in their areas. We heard from mill workers, large-scale
forest contractors, equipment operators, highway workers, local farmers,
tourism operators, traditional land users, town councillors and administrators,
First Nations, small business operators, and other concerned citizens.
There was a striking similarity of themes emerging from all these
divergent interests regarding the problems in current forestry practices:
All fear a loss of mature trees in the provincial forests if forestry
policy and practices continue as they are now;
All experienced a lack of meaningful input into decisions that affect
their lives;
All expressed strong concern for the very destructive impacts on the
land from current forestry practices, especially riparian harvesting,
spring and summer harvesting, and all season roads;
Everyone spoke of the lack of monitoring and control of big industry;
Most felt that truly sustainable economic development can only happen
with strong local involvement in primary decision-making on land use;
They felt that the main role of government should be to enforce laws
and regulations, particularly with big industry; and
Everyone said that there is an unacceptable amount of wastage.
Clear themes also emerged from the visions people hold:
They want a more respectful, open and inclusive attitude from government
officials, both politicians and civil servants;
The Annual Allowable/Required Cut needs to be revisited and REDUCED,
based on inventories that are agreed upon by all who are concerned;
They want comprehensive Community Economic Development planning in
their communities, and comprehensive Cost/Benefit Analyses on all projects
and developments;
They want authentic and meaningful involvement of local people in
ALL levels and types of primary planning and monitoring of activities
in the forest;
Selective logging would be used wherever possible to minimize waste
and impact on riparian areas;
They want stricter environmental guidelines and monitoring, particularly
on summer logging and the impacts of roads on the land and wildlife;
They want a shift of focus to value-added and non-timber forest products
and businesses;
The selection process
for protected areas needs to be grounded in local knowledge and conservation
science — rather than primarily
on short-term economic interests — to ensure the preservation
of biological diversity;
There needs to be a well-funded arm's-length Environmental Commissioners
Office established to ensure accountability of resource use in the
province.
Local people who have active connection with the land and their communities
have crucial contributions to make in land use planning and practices.
Their voices need to be heard and heeded. And they need to be at the
table working out the terms of any new Forest Management Agreements
and be signatories to any agreements affecting their communities.
Joys Dancer was Manager of the Interview Project and made presentations
to government bodies on the report. She is a concerned citizen who
lives near the Saskatchewan boreal forest, and who has been advocating
for years for healthy forest communities, First Nations cultural rights
and protection of ecosystem biodiversity.
Please add your comments on this or any other story in this week's
edition of Straight Goods in the Straight Goods Cyber Forum.
Related addresses:
eMail 1: joysdancer@sasktel.net
URL 1: www.econet.sk.ca/issues/forest/envorg.html
URL 2: www.se.gov.sk.ca/ecosystem/land%20use/default.asp
URL 3: members.tripod.com/blsaw/index.htm
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Protecting
the Saskatchewan forest