Alberta’s First New Forest Management Agreement in 12-Years is with Spray Lake Sawmill Affiliate

The first new Forest Management Agreement in 12-years, in the Province of Alberta, has been announced and it is with Crowsnest Forest Products Ltd., affiliate of Spray Lake Sawmills. Forest Management Agreements are the most secure type of forest tenure and are designed to provide companies with rights to establish, grow, harvest and remove timber on Crown land using sustainable forest management practices. Legal obligations are attached to the agreement, including the development of forest management plans. These plans provide sustainable forest management, protecting biodiversity, increasing forest resilience, and reducing the risk of wildfires and mountain pine beetle outbreaks. Under the agreement, the amount of wood the company can harvest does not increase; instead, it provides them with secure and sustainable fiber access for the next 20 years. The development of a forest management plan is designed to honor environmental commitments including reforestation through the requirement to plant two trees for every tree felled. The 20-year term agreement is aiming to see up to $32 million in increased payments to the province in the form of timber dues, holding and protection charge payments and $225 million to Alberta’s GDP.

Ed Kulscar, Vice President, Woodlands, Spray Lake Sawmills, applauded the government’s new Forest Management Agreement because it will provide secure access to wood fiber. Kulscar went onto say that “It gives us extra security. That extra security gives us the confidence to continue investing not only in the forest but in the company here at the mill, in our employees and in the surrounding communities.”