A6 - The Terrace Standard. Wednesday, November 9, 1994 Kalum awaits woodlot word KALUM FOREST district is waiting to see if it will get the go- ahead to set up more woodlots in the area. ; Provincial Forests minister Andrew Petter announced in late September the government in- tended to double the number of woodiots in B.C. However, district Small Busi- mess program forester Rod Meredith said there’s no word from Victoria yet what that means for the Kalum. Meredith explained the appor- tionment for woodlots is handed down by the minister. Kalum is at present allowed an annual allowable woodlot cut of 4,500 cu.m., all but 400 cu.m. of which is already allocated. . And that will remain the case until Petter increases the AAC. Meredith said there’s been no in- dication when that might happen but he expected word would come down by the end of next March, . At the same time, the district had indicated if the woodlot pro- gram here is to be expanded, it needs a new staff member to ad- minister it, Explaining how the program works, Meredith said the district calls for proposals from members of the public. In that proposal, an individual Woodlots no stroll in the park OPERATING A woodlot is a big responsibility, cautions Rod Meredith. Recalling some of the enquiries he had fielded, he said some people seemed to look on the concept as ‘‘a fun, family, back- yard operation.”? It’s anything but, he added. Although a successful bidder might be able to complete the proposal and tender processes without incurting any significant expenses, they mount up from there on. Like any forestry operation, the woodlot must have an approved management and working plan. While it might be possible. for:. an individual to draw those up, i's more likely professional help would be needed, he explained. And that would likely run around $1,500. ; The Forest Service then has to carry out a timber cruise to evaluate what’s there, prepare a pre-harvest silvicultural prescrip- tion for the block and map out the boundaries and any proposed Toads. Meredith said the cost of that usually works out to $1.50 per cu.m. From there the figures get big- ger, for example road construc- tion which requires laying out a significant amount of money even before any revenue is generated by the woodlot. Therefore, Meredith said, woodlot owners will often negoli- ate with a contractor to put in the roads and fell the timber, Having agreed to carry the costs and to pay the owner a specified amount for the timber, the con- tractor makes his money off what is left of the sale of the wood. And then there’s one final bill to be paid by the woodlot opera- tor, the silvicultural costs associa- ted with establishing a new crop of trees on the block. “It's a specialized niche,”’ Meredith said of woodlot opera- tions. “‘They are taking on a big responsibility.” However, there is also the satis- faction of taking part in forest management and of knowing the trees they see are theirs so long as they carry out their obligations as agreed, he added. The system is also designed to ensure security of wood supply for those who want te become tree farmers, -. YOUR COLLEGE IN. YOUR COMMUNITY identifies the privately owned land plus Crown land —- to a maximum of 400ha — that will make up the proposed woodlot, The Crown land nced not be ad- jacent to the private land and the Forest Service leaves it up to the applicants to earmark the land they want. And technically the land could even be part of an existing Tree Farm Licence, Meredith apreed. Rules prohibit wood- fot holders from owning a share in a timber pro- cessing facility, includ- ing portable sawmills. In that case, he expected the woodlot proposal, assuming it was acceptable, would ~ take precedence and the Forest Service would then probably have find the licencee alternative wood as compensation. He also pointed out the rules prohibit woodlot holders from owning or having a share in a timber processing facility, includ- ing portable sawmills. Although there had been sug- gestions over the years that be relaxed, Meredith said no changes had been made yet. Once proposals are received, they are ranked according to a set of criteria and the best one(s) selected. At that point, the Crown land included in those proposals Is put up for tender. The individual then has to bid on the land but anyone else can enter the bidding at that time. Meredith said the tenders are then re-evaluated on much the same criteria as before plus the value of the bonus bid — much the same as with Small Business program sales, Once the woodlot licence is awarded, it has an AAC attached to it based on what timber is there and projected growth, Meredith said that would trans- late on average to 1,000 cu.m. on a 400ha parcel, or about 30 truck- loads per year, Although the exact timing of cutting is up to the woodlot oper- ator, the five year AAC total must be harvested — give or take 10 per cent — within that five years. Economics generally dictate the cut is carried out in one sweep. “And that’s legitimate,’ said Meredith, ‘‘It makes good busi- ness sense. If the operator fails 10 meet the AAC obligation, the licence could be cancelled, he added. Personalized Hand Drawn Pictures Phone 635-2477 FAX: 635-1477 ‘Debbie Minhinnick * 4834 McConnell Avenue ORDER NOW FOR CHRISTMAS ‘EXPERIENCE THE STRENGTH OF | GMC SAFARI. 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