¢ Local 1-405 member and professional forester Ken Williams points to vigorous second growth sapling near Nakusp B.C.

West Kootenay union forestry crew
works hard to protect environment

Out in the West Kootenays of
British Columbia there aren’t many
IWA-CANADA members that work in
the bush. Since the industry contract-
ed out the vast majority of the logging
in the 1980's only a handful of union-
ized workers remain in woodlands
divisions.

One such group of workers are
IWA-Canada Local 1-405 members
who work as foresters and forestry
crewmen at the Arrow Lakes Timber
Division of Pope and Talbot Limited.
Currently seven union members work
in the division.

Most of the work they do involves
the planning of road building, logging,
tree planting, silviculture and other
forestry operations on Pope and
Talbot's tree farm license.

It is sizable operation that keeps the
IWA crew busy. In 1993 there were a
total of 20 logging crews in the area
and an annual allowable cut of
619,300 cubic meters.

A great deal of the members’ time is
spent on planning the logging activity,

etting approval from the Ministry of

‘orests, and later monitoring the
rehabilitation of the forests.

In the pre-harvest planning the
crew analyses a number of maps and
does on-site inspections before any
logging takes place. A pre-harvest pre-
scription must be worked out before
any road is built or any trees felled.

Professional forester and union
member Ken Williams says that a
“Terrain, Resources, and Inventory”
Map is analyzed to find out what types
of timber exist in any given area. The
forest type must be fully determined.

~ In addition those maps are overlaid

_ with an “Environmentally Sensitive

_ Areas” map which indicate areas
where special care must be taken.

Environmentally sensitive areas are

which include fragile and unsta-
soils, biotic and regeneration
e severe snow shoot and

nche problems, exceptionally
‘recreation values, and wildlife

There must also be an analysis of
visual impacts of logging. Special
maps are analyzed to determine
whether larger or smaller or small
patch logging should occur in any
given area. In the area near the com-
munity of Nakusp

After logging the company usually
replants within the first year.

“We assess the quality of the regen-
erating forest under Forest Service
guidelines,” say Brother Williams.
“After the first two and five year peri-
od we check to see that the areas
replanted and under natural regenera-
tion are coming back.”

After that the Forest Service
requires that the forests be checked
after 10 and 20 years.

“If we don’t have trees growing well
7 years after we plant them we know
there are problems,” adds Williams.
“And after 15 years we expect trees to
be in a free-grow stage, growing equal
to or above competing brush. After
that stage the trees are likely to take
off and produce become a good sec-
ond forest.”

In the past few years, and not
including this year, the company has
allowed herds of sheep to graze in
second growth areas where the ani-
mals have eaten the competing brush
that can block sunlight to new
seedlings. This method of brushing
has been used in some areas with a
degree of success The sheep will eat
for about 6 hours a day, on two 3
hours shifts before they are bloated
and have to rest.

Kept in check by sheep herders and
border collies, the sheep eventually
learn how for they have to walk along
logging roads before turning into the
forest to brush out another section.

In most of the West Kootenays
there is a pattern of cedar and hem-
lock occurring together and spruce
and balsam growing in the same bio-
geoclimatic zones. In this part of the
Kootenays they get west coast type of
conditions with over 160 cm. rain on
an annual basis. However there are

some sub-climate areas where the for-
est falls in a rain shadow and does not
receive nearly as much precipitation.
In these areas the foresters are
experimenting with ponderosa pine
which is more commonly found in the
drier areas of the interior. This type of
pine is usually found in drier climates

like the Castlegar and Midway areas.
In total the company plants about
25,000-30,000 pine seedlings in an
average year from a total annual plant
of 1 1/2-2 million seedlings.

The IWA crew also looks out for
problems related to fire, pests, and
diseases. They are on the lookout for
the gray spruce llooper which attacks
spruce stands. The llooper has to be
controlled by clearcutting.

Other duties of the forestry crew
include the planning of road building
and the rehabilitation of old logging
roads. There has been road building in

The Pope and
Talbot crew is
one of the few
unionized
presences in
woodlands in the
southern interior

the tree farm area for the past 40
years and there are a lot of repair jobs
to be done says Brother Williams.

The crew looks at the soil near a
logging site to determine which type
of access roads are best appropriate
and which type of harvesting system
is appropriate. They examine soil dis-
turbance on roads and lands and have
set limits on the amount of debris that
can be side-casted.

Machinery can range from track or
tire loaders, high track skidders, to
high-lead logging and other cable sys-
tems depending on soils conditions
and steepness of terrain. ci

The impact that logging has on the
soil is carefully considered. If there is
too much soil disturbance from other
types of logging, the company will go
to high-lead harvesting system or log
in snow pack conditions.

The names of the IWA-CANADA
crew members are Alonzo Stuart
(who is also a Local 1-405 vice-presi-
dent, Ron Palmer, Jesper Nielsen,
Dave Jansen, Ross Case, Warren
Jukes, and Brother Williams.

¢ Forestry technician Ross Case does some map work at P&T headquarters.

LUMBERWORKER/AUGUST, 1994/7