Operations

February 2022 Update

Operations are on-going with 4 different logging companies. 18,000 of the 25,000 target cubic meters have been delivered for the 2022 calendar year. The majority of the the harvesting is taking place in green timber and is being delivered as sawlogs, with a portion of house logs and timber logs separated and sent to the Pioneer Log Homes scale site for distribution.

It is anticipated that about 5,000m3 to be delivered this summer or fall. There are on-going efforts to prioritize harvesting to maximize the amount of house logs and timber logs and to direct those to the many specialty businesses in the area.

Salvage from blowdown and bark beetle was greatly reduced this year due to a reduction in insect populations.

Roads – Approximately 10km of roads were deactivated in the Potato Mountain block to reduce access and re-establish natural drainage patterns. The majority of the roads are planned to be grass seeded and reforested to put the areas back in to the productive land base.

Silviculture is quiet during the winter months, with activities being primarily around reporting and planning. There are approximately 100,000 trees planned for planting in the Potato Mountain area for 2022, and 305,000 seedlings were planted during the 2021 planting season.

Development – the 2021 Beetle Program has shown significant reductions in numbers and with the fall down of those populations, the probing program was minimized.
Additional green blocks are being developed in the Flatrock and Potato Mountain areas to replace the standing inventories delivered over the past few years. Log profiles being targeted are diverse to allow for changes in the markets. Some of the target stands are commercial thinning opportunities, larger profile to produce the log house profiles as well as some lower volume stands in need of a reset.

The recent announcements to defer the Old Growth and Large tree are being analysed to better understand the impacts to our timber availability.

Funded Projects – Our FESBC projects and funding are coming to an end. This funding source was directed to complete Wildfire Hazard Reduction treatments in both the Flatrock and Potato Mountain areas. Completed projects include 9km of Landscape Level Fuel Breaks in the Flatrock Block, Interface treatments in Big Lake around the Community Hall and Elementary School, 17 hectares around the Cave Road Community and Hazard Reduction Treatments, and Mule Deer Winter Range enhancements in the Flatrock Block.

The last project which is wrapping up is located on the Dipping Road above the Fraser River; a 74 hectare area was treated to reduce ladder fuels and help to restore historic grassland ecosystems in the area. Work is being completed by the Williams Lake First Nation through Borland Creek Logging. A coordinated effort is ongoing to work with the Cariboo Fire Center to complete a prescribed burn in the area later in the upcoming fall or as conditions allow.

Other funded projects include CFAWRR (Community Forest Association Wildfire Risk Reduction) project that saw 67 hectares of hazard reduction in the Flatrock Area. Funding for this project was coordinated through the Community Forest Association in conjunction with the BC Government.

We are excited to work with the local BC Government representatives to utilize Forest Employment Funding to enhance hiking opportunities in the Flatrock block off of the Bysak Road. Funding is directed to establish a series of hiking trails in the area as well as to upgrade the Hydrology Trail to allow low mobility users a place to enjoy the outdoors.

Opportunities

Spring 2021 – Upcoming Contract Opportunities.

Hand Treatment work is available for tender in the Big Lake / Potato Mountain area.
Hand treatments in Flatrock’s FR131 will be up for tender soon – check the website often and remember to refresh your browser.

Individual Tender Opportunities are being posted by their Due Date – check our Community Calendar page for upcoming tender due dates.

We are working to develop a comprehensive and current list of available contractors, so check back here frequently as we develop a more robust process.

In the meantime, please be sure you’ve submitted this form-PDF or in MS Word format in order to be eligible for work.

May 2020 Update

We are currently planting 330,000 trees in the Potato Mountain Block. 29,000 cubic meters of harvesting has been completed, and minimal hand-fertilization is planned for Fall 2021.

October 2020 update

Douglas-fir bark Beetle Salvage – Fall 2020

WLCF Crews have been beetle probing throughout the Community Forest and have found that the Bark beetle attack has decreased significantly.

This is very good news. Salvage operations have commenced and we have included adjacent blow-down areas as well. We are expecting to harvest under 7000m3 of beetle salvage and blow-down timber this year.

This is substantially less salvage harvest as compared to last year, and we hope this downward trend in beetle attack continues.

Harvesting – Winter 2020-21

We have scheduled the harvesting of 25,000m3 of timber from Flat Rock and Big Lake areas this winter. These will be a mix of selection and clearcut with reserves. This timber will be destined to local manufacturing plants, and we are targeting 2500m3 of high value timber to log and timber frame builders and back yard sawmillers this season. We are able to hand scale this timber and sell it directly to these customers.

Project Funding

Landscape Level Fuel Breaks – mechanized work is ongoing, the focus has moved to Big Lake, with the Flat Rock and Cave Road areas nearing completion.

Big Lake Lodgepole pine spacing has been completed. This work is funded by the Community Forest and will result in higher value timber for harvest in a shorter time frame, than if the stand was left unmanaged.

Aerial Fertilizer program is scheduled for Fall 2020 – 100 ha are under prescription for the 2020/2021 spray program.

Forest Practices Board Tour – September 2020

WLCF Toured the Forest Practices Board in the Flat Rock Block in September. The Board was very impressed with the Fuel Management work completed, specifically with how the fuel management prescriptions met requirements for recreation, range and wildlife resources.

School Tours:

Elementary and Middle school tours will be ongoing through the months of October and November. These tours introduce kids to various components of resource management including bark beetle management, forest fire management, wildlife, ecology and silviculture.

Operations – April 2020 update

Douglas-fir bark Beetle Salvage – Winter 2020

This year WLCF harvested 15,000m3 of Douglas-fir bark beetle salvage. 5500m3 came from the Flat Rock Block, 9500m3 came from the Potato Mountain Block

This was substantially less salvage harvest as compared to last year, and we hope this downward trend in beetle attack continues.

International Forestry Tour – March 2020

WLCF Toured the UBC International Masters of Forestry Class in the Flat Rock Block in March 2020.

The students were from all over the world and they were very impressed with the Partnerships and Community connections that are made through the Community Forest work.

Pictured with a load of WLCF Sawlogs destined for West Fraser Mills are the International Forestry Students and Beau Mecham of Diesel Cowboy Transport Ltd.

Birch Lane Road Access – April 2020

An unseasonably late spring, coupled with sudden warmth and rain, has resulted in a road washout at the Birch Lane Access point to the Williams Lake Community Forest. We ask that the public not use this access point into the forest until the road has been repaired and is safe for travel.

COVID – 19 – Update

The WLCF office on Yorston Street is currently closed to the public due to the Covid-19 pandemic, however we can still be reached by email.

The Williams Lake Community Forest hopes that everyone stays safe and healthy, adheres to the guidelines provided by the Health Authorities.

January 2020 update

It’s lovely to see so many families and individuals out recreating and enjoying the Community Forest.
Please be mindful that there are industrial users on any given day, especially on the Birch Lane & Bysak Road systems of Flatrock.
Safety is everyone’s responsibility – please have fun but also be cautious.

September 2019 update

General Notes

Fir probing has started in the Potato Mountain and Flatrock Blocks.
The first round of Road Permit transfers is complete from Tolko.
The road upgrades have been completed in Flatrock. The road upgrades into Baillon Lake area have been started.
All decked wood has been delivered from the 2018/2019 harvest season.
Pine Spacing has begun for the Enhanced Silviculture Program – 70 ha completed as of Sept 17th 2019.
Reporting obligations are up to date.

Project Funding

Landscape Level Fuel Breaks – mechanized work is ongoing, the focus has moved to the Birch Lane side and is working North.

The Flatrock Douglas-fir spacing has started and is progressing – the cutting is complete.

Aerial Fertilizer program is scheduled for Fall 2019 – 100 ha are under prescription for the 2019/2020 spray programs.

Looking Ahead and Ongoing work

Winter harvest should begin November / December 2019.

The Log Markets have slowed significantly and the harvest start could be delayed with numerous recent curtailment announcements.

A Total Access Plan first draft is anticipated this winter for referral and comment

Summer – Fall 2019 update

Douglas-fir Bark beetle Management and Salvage Harvest

The Douglas-fir bark beetle population is increasing due to the dry, warm winters and the forest fires of 2017 and 2018. This destructive beetle attacks and kills Douglas-fir timber and is very active on the Community Forest.

Management techniques include the trapping of beetles with pheromones and falling selected trees that attract beetles into areas where the trees can be harvested and the beetles eradicated.

Forestry crews are currently inspecting areas of Douglas-fir forest, marking trees that are attacked by the beetle. These trees will be harvested in the winter of 2019-20, reducing the spread of these beetles into adjacent trees in the summer of 2020.

It is expected that over 10,000m3 of attacked Douglas-fir timber will be harvested on the WLCF between November 2019 and March 2020.

Forest Fertilization Program

Analysis is being done to identify timber stands within the WLCF suitable for aerial fertilization. The analysis identifies stands of Douglas-fir, Spruce and Lodgepole pine that will respond with increased growth when fertilizer is applied. This increased growth will in turn produce more timber volume in a shorter time frame.

Analyses include GIS, field and helicopter recce work that will lead to aerial fertilization application on appropriate stands in the Fall of 2019.

This work is funded by the Province of British Columbia.

Community Wildfire Protection Fuel Treatments

The WLCF has received continued funding to plan, prescribe and implement Forest Fuel Reduction Treatments that will protect the communities of Williams Lake, Big Lake Ranch, and Cave Road residences near Horsefly from forest fires.

This work will include hand and mechanical treatments that will reduce forest fuels in areas adjacent to these communities. The fuels removed will include sawlogs, pulpwood and biomass destined for local and regional facilities.

When the fuels are removed, forest fire intensity will be reduced and treated areas can be included in fire and emergency management planning.

This work is funded by FESBC.

Lodgepole Pine Spacing Treatments

After harvest, lodgepole pine can regenerate naturally with densities of over 10,000 stems per hectare. There are many areas on the WLCF where these over dense stands can benefit from a thinning treatment, allowing thrifty trees to grow with better form, resulting in a more valuable product in the future.

Currently, Borland Creek Logging crews are spacing several of these areas so that the resulting stand is 3000 stems per hectare. These thinned stands are then queued for possible fertilization treatment.

This work is fully funded by the Williams Lake Community Forest