Spring tree planting and silviculture work will get under way in the community forest around mid-March. Block GH1 that was harvested as a firebreak in the Gorge Harbour/Anvil Lake Area during spring of 2023 will be planted, along with some fill planting in blocks GM1 & VON1. All of the seedlings that have been planted to date will also be tended.
Prior to planting block GH1 the road will be decommissioned and the leftover coarse woody debris along the road will be spread out and cleaned up. The rock from the road surface will be recycled further up the main road.
A second leg of road building in the area is planned for early 2024 continuing on from the first leg that was completed in the fall of 2022. This second leg of road is the next step in the plan to build road access and implement a wildfire mitigation treatment for the area as indicated a priority in the 2020 Community Wildfire Protection plan. The second leg of road that will be built in early 2024 is shown in grey on the following map:
GH Mainline Road Construction Map 20220907
This second leg of road will end just north of the wetland and will include a turnaround suitable for fire trucks and is the only activity planned in the area for the next couple of years. The community forest has orders from local mill for sawlogs this spring and all the higher quality logs from the road building will go to supply those order, while the lower grade logs will go into firewood for a spring community firewood day.
In the longer term, the draft plan is to eventually plant Alder at the western end of the wetland in an area infected with mistletoe Hemlock in order to create a second firebreak. The basic idea is to take advantage of the opening created by the wetland, and plant a deciduous Alder patch that will together act as a natural firebreak.
That project is only in the conceptual phase at this point, and would take place at some point a few years in the future. No date has been set for that project and there will be time for further community input. See the map below for details of the area under consideration, shown as block GH2:
Five Year Plan Next Steps:
The CFGP is planning to host three public tours in areas currently under consideration for harvest operations in the upcoming five year plan. In order of priority, the Larsens Meadow Project will be first as there is a directive from the province to let in more light to the areas harvested in 2015 in order for the seedlings to reach free to grow status. This project will likely take place in early 2025, with the potential for some road work in the fall of this year.
After Larsens Meadow, the next harvest priority will likely be in the Carrington Coulter Bay Area given that the area is a priority for wildfire mitigation treatment in the Community Wildfire Protection Plan, and the harvest will tie in with the proposed treatment.
The third tour will be be in the Green Mountain Area as it a new area under consideration for operations, although the harvest in that area will likely be a bit later in the next five year cycle.
Saturday March 23 at 10am @Larsens Meadow – meet on Larsens Meadow Road
Saturday March 30 at 10am @ Coulter Bay – meet at the entrance to the new community forest road in Coulter Bay.
Saturday April 20 at 10am @ Green Mountain – meet at Green Mountain Road
The map below shows these and the other two areas under consideration for harvesting in the next five year cycle:
THLB Overview map DRAFT 2024 – 2028
Once these initial public tours are completed, the CFGP will host a public meeting to discuss ongoing planning, operations, and next steps, likely in May.
Regarding the five year plan, the operations planning map above is the primary 5 year plan going forward. More details will be incorporated following input from the upcoming public tours, and detailed engineering will be completed for each area as the time comes to work on each project. The GFGP does not expect that the detailed engineering will be significantly different than the areas shown in the projection, given that the planning is focused on staying away from sensitive areas and designed to allow for selective harvesting systems.