About the Vanderhoof Community Forest and the AAC
In May 2016 a Community Forest Agreement with a term of 25 years was granted to the District of Vanderhoof. A proposal and management plan were both prepared in conjunction with L&M Lumber Ltd. The allowable annual cut (AAC) for the District of Vanderhoof Community Forest has been set at 80,000 m³ for the first 5 years, starting in March 2016. Since harvesting has just commenced in February 2017, this has been changed to 100,000 m³/year for the first 4 years. At the end of this 4 year period, the AAC will be reduced to 30,000 m³/year until a new timber supply analysis has been completed and a determination has been made by an authorized statutory decision maker. The AAC is subject to a “non-pine partition” of 20%.
The Community Forest is located north of Vanderhoof, just south of the Stuart River, and is a total area of 23,181 ha. The map shows the area of the designated Community Forest, along with the harvesting areas for 2017. Click the map to enlarge.
2017 | Volume (m³) | Pine | Dead Pine | |
---|---|---|---|---|
CP1 | BLK 1 | 8,000 | 66% | 85% |
BLK 2 | 39,000 | 79% | 90% | |
BLK 3 | 3,000 | 87% | 92% | |
CP2 | BLK 4 | 28,500 | 86% | 93% |
BLK 5 | 20,000 | 79% | 89% | |
Total (m³) | 98,500 |
Recreational Opportunities in the Community Forest
The Vanderhoof Community Forest is a unique area with a variety of recreational opportunities. The Waterlilly Lake trails in the south are beautiful walking trails in the summer and cross-country ski trails in the winter. These are currently maintained by a very committed volunteer group, the Nechako Valley Sporting Association. To the west is the Omineca Trail, which traverses from Streigler Pit Road, north to the Stuart River. Just west of the Omineca Trail is the “Blue Mountain Demo Forest” which surrounds the three lakes: Wonder Lake, Fountain Lake and Expected Lake.