This cone picker attaches an empty cone rake to the helicopter which will transport the rake back to the landing site full of branches and cones. Employees collect cones into burlap sacks which will be sent to a seed extrac- tion plant in Surrey for storage. , A Northern Mountain helicopter, under contract to the Ministry of Forests, returns to the forest with an empty cone rake for further harvesting. - Terrace Review — Wednesday, September i6, 1580 At the landing site cone pickers separate branches and cones, then pack them In burlap sacks. Seeds reaped Recently in the Bell- Irving River area, just north of Meziaden Lake, cone pickers were busy harvesting a seed crop that will last approx- imately 15 years. by Carrie Olson Bob Wilson, resource officer for the Kalum Forest District, explain- ed this harvest was im- portant due to the fact the bark bug is eating the balsam and spruce trees. Wilson also pointed out that a good harvest only happens every two to 15 years. The cone collecting process can be done a number of ways, and must be completed when the seeds-are just about mature, Falling a tree or actually climbing the tree are two ways of cone col- lecting, The Bell-Irving harvest was gathered by using a helicopter and a cone rake. How does a cone rake work? The helicopter hovers over the tree and lowers the cone rake down the top of the tree. The helicopter pulls up- wards stripping the top branches into the wire basket that is around the cone rake. When the cone rake is full the helicopter takes it back to the landing area. The pickers then empty the rake and begin stripping the cones from the branches. The pickers pack the cones in burlap sacks which are sent to the seed extraction plant in Surrey, B.C. Next, the seeds are extracted, tested, and then stored. This group of cone pickers gathered 110 hec- tolitres of balsam, and their target goal for spruce is 540 hectolitres. The seeds are re- planted one or two years after logging is finished, said Wilson. Seeds must be planted in an area similar to where they were picked. Wilson noted that the amount of logging done in a region determines the amount of replanting that must be done: There are various ways that cone collecting can be done. The Ministry of Forests recently used a helicopter and a cone rake. Terrace Association for Community Living — !s needing advocates for handicapped people living in Terrace. For mora information please phone Janice at 635-9322 or Carol-Ann at 635-3940. Al-Anon Family groups. Meetings for friends and relatives of alcoholics. Meetings are held avery Mon- day at 8 p.m. at Mills Memorial Hospital, the con- ferance room in the psychiatric ward.