Public Consultation on Area Based Tenure

The provincial government has appointed former Chief Forester, Jim Snetsinger, to undertake public consultation regarding passing legislation that would allow the conversion of an existing volume-based tenure to an area-based tenure. Dunkley Lumber applauds the government’s decision to seek public input on this issue.

Dunkley has held Tree Farm Licence 53, an area-based tenure, since 1989. Having an area-based tenure has encouraged us to take a longer term view of harvesting and silviculture practices since we will be the ones coming back to harvest and reforest the same area again in the future. That continuity of management is not guaranteed with volume-based tenure.

Regardless of the form of tenure, the forest resources managed under that tenure remain public. Holding any form of tenure puts an obligation on the licensee, and the professional foresters who manage the tenure, to plan and act in ways that support the stewardship of all of the values in the forest.

In addition to carefully managing the timber resource, Dunkley has worked hard on Tree Farm Licence 53 to maintain or improve public access to recreational opportunities including fishing, hunting and camping. We have also taken initiatives that support healthy wildlife populations including aggressive replanting and the rehabilitation of in-block roads to return more of the land-base to forest and to provide addition habitat for wildlife.

While area-based tenures may not be appropriate everywhere or for every licensee, we believe that they can add value to the public forest when thoughtfully deployed and carefully managed.