Another day in the woods IT’S JUST after 9:00 am. and Richard Krupop’s phone is once again insistently ringing. This time itt just have to keep ringing: Krupop had planned to be on the road 45 minutes ago. ~The “destination today is the Thunderbird area to the. south of Lakelse Lake. While there, het] drop in on an active logging show on a Small Business program cutblock and a - road building operation, In cach case,'he’ll carry out a check to ensure the required fire fighting tools are onsite, And he’ll also check whether the work is being carried out the way it’s Supposed to be. ‘At 10 am: the Forest. Service pick up rolls to a stop al the Small Business Forest Enterprise Pro- gram (SBFEP) cutblock. “It’s being logged by successful bidder and Terrace-based Don ‘Hull and: Sons Contracting Lid. As ‘Krupop was heading in, Gordon Hull was driving out bul - turned around to follow him back - (o the cutblock. The pair now stand at the edge of the logged-off areca, poring over the Pre-Harves! Silvicultural Prescription map and discussing how things are progressing. Then-it’s time for the fire tool inspection. The gear js stored in a 1956 six-wheeler that would not have looked oul of place in the African desert campaign of World War TI, It offers a bizarre contrast to the _Modern grapple yarder working just 30 metres away. - Hull says the grapple yarder Tuns about $800,000 and has a life expectation of about 15 years. “This.one is equipped with arc lights’ so it can work in darkness, a’plus when you consider a por- tion of, this block. can only be logged. in winter because of con- - cers about damage lo the soil. The fire tool inspection com- pleted, : Hull and Krupop each sign off the document, then Hull heads out. Krupop’s job isn't done yet, though. Time to walk the block and ‘check oul whether the log- ging-has'.met the PHSP guidelines. “It’s not perfect, but it’s as close as you're. going-to get and it will be up to'Hull ‘to corect thé: small’ “areas -where they missed the mark. : Krupop is particularly happy with the results of a concession he made. _ The original plan called for a ‘-taller-grapple yarder and use of tree stumps as the back spar, “The back spar secures the other end of the-cable running out from the grapple yarder. That cable carries the jaws that close around the logs, allowing the yarder to haul them in. Hull suggested they could get the job done using a slightly - lower yarder and a machine back spat. In walking the block, Krupop follaws the path used by the me- chanical back spar, checking the ground as he goes. What he’s looking for is evi- dence of the soil being torn up: he finds none. ’ Having made that point, he adds Hull has a lot of experience at this type of operation and there- fore there are occasions when it makes sense to listen to that voice of experience. He also checks what’s been left on the ground and there he finds some problems. The regulations specify the length and sizes of wood that must not be left behind. There a few pieces that look like they Should have been taken off. This is only an interim stage in- spection, however, so he'll check again when the harvest is com- pleted. _At the back of the cutblock he points 1o an area that was originally included for cutting but which he removed. That’s because there were only a few large trees there scattered © among a substantial number of young trees of at least 5 metres in height. Taking the area out of the cut block protected that second growth, he explained. However, he also told Hull that if the big hemlock and cedar could be dropped in such a way they could pulled out without ma- chines intruding on the protected area, that would be okay. With this crew, Krupop doesn’t have a problem giving a little leeway. “‘These guys are sea- soned, they’re good at what they do.”’ His inspection is complete by noon and lunch is eaten while driving to the next stop, the road building operation. Except on the way he comes across a {ree spacing crew work- ing off the Johnstone Road, A quick enquiry as to whether they’ve been checked for fire tools —- they haven’t — leads to a 40 minute inspection, explana- tion of how they’ve failed to meet the requirements and issuing of a non-compliance order. Finally the road builders where _everything’s okay and then it’s a time to head back to the office. -- Where, as soon as he walks through the door, he’s told to go to the conference room to hear a presentation on a new method of clearing logging debris from gul- lies. Krupop stays until he’s got the jist of it,.then goes back to the phones and paper work that end another day. Tomorrow morming he heads out for a two-day tour of the Nass Valley. It’s that time of year, he points out, when 80 per cent of his time is spent out in the bush. Not that he’s complaining. It’s what his job requires and one of the reasons he wouldn’t trade it. INSPECTION DONE, Richard Krupap's pickup becomes an of fica for paperwork needed to confirm the interim harvest inspec- tion on’a Small Business program cutblock just south of Lakelse Lake. Then on to the next inspecticn, eating lunch on the way. The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, June 29, 1994 - AS PHSP OPENING NO. 103 1.037-089, Mount Johnstone, Kalum Fores! District, Prince Rupert Forest Region. ‘Licensee; Small Business Forsl Enterprise Program. Licence number: TSL A43537. That’s the official description of a 26.4 hectare cutblock south of Lakelse Lake being logged by Don Hull and Sons. It’s laid out al the top of the five pege Pre-Harvest Silvicultural Prescription Agreement (PHSP) that is the logging and reforesta- tion plan for this piece of forest. Also al the top of the PHSP is a reminder that what follows is ‘‘a legally binding agreement be- tween the government of British: Columbia and the tenure holder.’’ Then comews a detailed analy- sis of the area, the way it is to ‘be logged and what happens once ihe logging crew has done its job. How detailed? Under the heading of Ecology, ihe relatively small arca has been” four . different subdivided into treatment units’. Summary of Critical Site Fac- tors notes the slope in each unit, - what direction(s). they race, the type of humus found there, its depth and soil characteristics. * For example, TU 1 has a 45 pet : cent slope and. faces northeast. - guidelines Thunderbird Integrated Resource CLOSE TO $600,000 worth of equipment (above) hauls logs into the landing at the Don. Huil & Sons cutblock in the lee of Mount Johnstone, It takes Just.two operators, one in the yarder and the other in the machine back spar, to gather up the logs felled by the cutting crew. ‘At left, the quality of wood |s as good as expected and what the Forest Service wants to see from second growth a century from now, Be- . low, Richard Krupop of the local Forest Service surveys the block during his interim inspection and is generally happy with what he finds. A helf hour later he'll be checking out the water pump of a tree spacing crew: all in a day's work. What the heck is that? while southeast facing TU 2 is al- most flat. The types of humus differs be- tween the two and it runs deeper on TU 2. which also has less coarse soils. Management Objectives spells oul the long range plan for the culblock: to produce a century area around Lakelse should be logged. Under Wildlife the PHSP notes the block is a connection to the lower valley slopes and is proba- bly used by moose moving up or down slope depending on the sea- son. Cavity-nesting birds, frogs and There were also beaver dams, “a probable attrac- tion to wolf and bear population”, the plan noted. from now at least 400-450 cubic metres of harvestable timber per hectare with four out of every five trees being sawlog quality. Not an unreasonable objective given the quality of wood being ' faken off by Hull and Sons, Those replacement trees are to be a mix of predominantly hem- lock and. balsam. with a small number of cedar and spruce. -The PHSP also conforms to the laid down - in the Management Plan. That plan was a ground breaker in this région. Two years in’ the |, making, it saw Individuals and “representatives of a number of in- terest groups get together will the - -Foresl Service to decide how. the toads, moose and grizzly were wildlife observed in the area prior to logging. There were also beaver dams — three per. kilometre — in nearby Middle Creck, ta probable at- ‘tractlon to wolf and bear popula- tion’’, the plan pointed out. Move to the Fisk and Water section and the beavers are there again. “Maintain. beaver presence”’, the PHSP says, noting ‘their dams are useful in controll- ing run-off, acting as weirs. That section also specifies any trees brought down in the north- bast portion of the cutblock must ‘be felled away from a tributary of nearby Middle Crock and: ad- jacent wet areas. -. The block was also designed to ensure a 25m buffer was left to protect that tributary. . Inside the block itself, the only “waterway”? is what's called an ephemeral stream, cssentially a dry ditch most of the year but water carrier during spring run off or heavy fall rains. Although not fish bearing, even this must be hand cleared off any limbs and branches once logging is completed, And roads, skid roads and land- ings are allowed to take up only just more than five per cent of the total cutbleck. Broadcast burning is prohibited, the slash to piled and burned when there will te minimal smoke effects on surrounding areus, ‘As for the next crop of trees, Mother Nature will be left to take care of replanting much of the aile while the Forest Service will plant TUs 2 and 3 with cedar, bal- Sam and spruce. There's more, covering road construction, culverts, recrea- tional possibilities, etc, But the above is a shorthand of - what you'll find ina PHSP- if you go: down to the distelet office: and ask to look at one. . : Which you can...