The amount of wood allowed to be cut in the forests of Mackenzie are under public review.
The provincial government released a report Thursday, profiling the Mackenzie Timber Supply Area (TSA) and now the public is being asked for input. The feedback from the public will be included in the considerations by B.C.'s chief forester before setting the annual allowable cut in that region.
"The current allowable annual cut is 3,050,000 cubic metres," said a written statement issued Thursday by the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations. "The discussion paper describes the geography, natural resources, forest management and land use plans of the Mackenzie Timber Supply Area. It also provides the results of the timber supply analysis, including a base case harvest forecast."
According to the discussion paper, the Mackenzie TSA covers about 6.4 million hectares, with only 1.36 million hectares available for timber harvesting. The area is sparsely populated with most of the population living in the community of Mackenzie. Small settlements within the timber supply area include Germansen Landing, Manson Creek, Tsay Keh Dene and Kwadacha.
Forest workers and companies from the larger region, especially Prince George, are also involved in the harvesting, transporting, processing and silviculture work associated to the Mackenzie TSA.
Comments are being accepted until Dec. 16.
