Implementing wildfire-based timber harvest guidelines in southeastern Manitoba

Abstract

The Manitoba Model Forest and Tembec Industries (Pine Falls Operations) are operationalizing the overall goal of sustainable forest management: maintain forest ecosystem health while harvesting timber. Timber harvest guidelines intended to approximate the effects of a large wildfire were developed for spatial scales that span from the operating area down to the site. Operating area issues are addressed through landscape design guidelines that locate cutblocks and other activities (e.g., roads) within an operating area. Cutblock guidelines determine how harvesting, site preparation and regeneration are completed. These wildfire-based guidelines are being tested in four large-scale harvest trials in southeastern Manitoba. This paper describes the rationale behind the approach taken, the landscape design and cutblock operating guidelines that were developed, operational experiences from the harvest trials, and some of the challenges that arose.