INDUSTRIAL LOGGING

It is Changing the Southern part of Our Boreal Forest

Boreal forests are sensitive ecosystems that are easily damaged. This is especially true for the forests on the Canadian Shield where the land is wet, rugged and, rocky, and is very fragile and easily damaged by logging activities.

- Photo by Marv Hanson

Logging has had disastrous effects on the boreal forest in places like Sweden and Finland where hundreds of boreal plant and animal species have disappeared and even greater numbers are now endangered. Here in Saskatchewan, logging is increasing and the implications of extensive timber extraction are largely unmeasured, but of great consideration. The damage that is inflicted on boreal sensitivities may take centuries to repair, or worse yet, may be irreversible.

The rate and intensity of logging that Saskatchewan is undergoing, threatens a loss of critical habitat for wildlife. In particular, the declining amounts of contiguous forests, older forests, and forest types that are difficult to renew after logging, threaten populations of plants and animals that depend on these habitats for survival. Early warning signs in our province, such as declining woodland caribou and some song-bird populations call for caution in the management of our activities.

	Black Burnian Warbler - Keith Hobson

It is s well understood that the boreal forest is a dynamic place, always changing. Mother nature's forces like fire, wind, and insect outbreaks constantly alter what and where things are living on the land. In the boreal, the dominant agent of change, wild fire, is being suppressed as much as possible (in our southern forests) in order to preserve timber supplies and human structures and settlements. As new regions in our province are being opened up to logging, fire suppression is expanding. While it is very important to safeguard people and their communities from fire, it is also important to consider and address the ecological problems associated with widespread fire suppression. It is argued by some that clear-cutting is necessary to replace the disturbance caused by fire. There is little evidence however, that clear-cutting can successfully replace the many services that fire provides. (click here for more on fire vs clearcutting)

Nature is known for its resiliency to change and its ability to "spring back", but the amount of unnatural change that is happening in the commercially-harvested forest is too much, too fast. Warning signs are beginning to appear to show that nature is having trouble coping with the rate of change. No one knows how much damage our human activities are causing. There is much to learn about the forest and its inhabitants.

Click here for some quick facts about industrial logging.

CPAWS and Forestry
Since its establishment in 1964, CPAWS has supported sound, sustainable forestry practices. CPAWS takes the view that forestry companies should invest more heavily in their own future by adopting more sustainable and less damaging practices and replenishing the forest resource. Too many industrial forestry operations, however, currently exact too high a price from Canada's boreal forests.

CPAWS Solutions: Many of our CPAWS chapters are actively involved in forest-planning processes and in defining improved approaches to forestry in concert with governments, industry and community representatives. Much of this work is being done through the Forest Stewardship Council, an international initiative designed to promote third-party ecological certification of forestry operations.

CPAWS believes that one of the key steps in moving toward more ecologically balanced forestry practices is to designate ecologically significant protected areas with functional wildlife habitat connections between them. The protected areas would be off-limits to industrial activities like logging but available for many soft footprint activities like tourism, hunting and fishing. Such inter-connected protected area networks represent an opportunity to protect and sustain landscapes large enough to withstand evolutionary-scale forces such as fire, flooding, windstorms and insect outbreaks. These protected areas networks can also teach a great deal about how nature works, and help ensure biological diversity and natural integrity of boreal and other Canadian forests for generations to come.

In Saskatchewan's forest, large, linked protected wilderness areas are extremely important. Only about 5% of our province's natural forest habitat is adequately protected. Our CPAWS Saskatchewan chapter is working with many people to enhance protection in the forest. Click here for more on CPAWS work in the boreal forest.

LEARN MORE:

Forest Threats & Solutions The impacts of human developments in the forest.

Industrial Logging: Quick Facts Learn more about forestry in Saskatchewan and it's ecological impacts.