亚洲天堂 Lake professional forester Cliff Manning has been applying his lifetime鈥檚 worth of accrued industry knowledge to his own personal woodlot, and that especially applies to his deep understanding of wildfire.
After decades of forestry management for others (he was instrumental in starting the 亚洲天堂 Lake Community Forest, now a model for the province), plus silviculture and wildfire endeavours, he now focuses on his own 572-hectare Guyishton Woodlot.
Woodlots are personal-sized forest operations designed to be managed by a family or small group in harvest-regrowth cycles across generations.
He paid special attention to mitigating forest fires. His neighbours appreciate this and his peers applaud it, to the point Manning was just named the northern BC winner of this year鈥檚 Minister鈥檚 Award for Innovation and Excellence in Woodlot Management.
鈥淐ongratulations to the Guyishton Woodlot for its achievement as we celebrate the importance of innovation in promoting the full value of our forests,鈥� said Katrine Conroy, Minister of Forests. 鈥淪everal innovative forest management techniques have been completed by Manning over the past 20 years. Manning was integral to including a diversity of species into the stocking standards of many woodlots in the 亚洲天堂 Lake area. Manning was planting larch trees before it became standard in the chief forester鈥檚 seed-transfer guidelines. Manning has also experimented by planting Siberian larch, cedar, hemlock and Douglas fir in woodlots.鈥�
Most elements of Manning鈥檚 personal woodlot experiment can be summed up in two considerations: how to keep it from burning, and how to keep it growing in a changing climate. These things have to be planned out over generations, not fiscal quarters like some business ventures.
鈥淚 firmly believe everyone should have access to a woodlot, to get an understanding of our forests. It鈥檚 a great way to learn forestry itself,鈥� said Manning.
On the perimeter of his Guyishton forest he intensively cleaned up the potential wildfire fuel - the blowdown and other dry woody debris. He also reduced the amount of trees on the perimeter.
鈥淚nstead of 1,600 stems per hectare, we have 800, and we consider aspen an acceptable species,鈥� he explained, trading per-tree income on the edges for the safety of the entire woodlot鈥檚 potential income if a fire wiped through it. Aspen (aka poplar) could also be considered a sacrifice since many mills don鈥檛 consider that brand of tree very valuable, but Manning knows there is indeed value in those hardwoods, and believes that will increase over time. Same with the rare deciduous softwood, the larch (aka tamarack).
Is it a plan that might catch on provincially?
鈥淚鈥檝e had the advantage over my career to work in many fields of forestry. I know it is certainly an option. I know that planting other types of species, as in deciduous, is a way of reducing wildfire intensity,鈥� he said.
It also mitigates against a mono-forest restoration program that presents other environmental concerns, especially by ignoring pest infestations, changing climate, and evolving markets.
鈥淒iversity in our forest licenses, and woodlots are just small-scale licenses, is a good thing,鈥� Manning said. 鈥淭he point of these awards is to encourage licensees to plant crops that will be sustainable.鈥�
Manning now lives in Vanderhoof, but still only a 90-minute drive from his woodlot. His trees are milled at Babine Forest Products and he is proud that 鈥淚 am supporting my local economy and forest industry.鈥�
