24 TREE planting
would reforest them and at the same time we would seed them for forage.” The proposal had the
Cattle graze at 1,400 meters on planted forage without disturbing tree transplants on Crown range.
support of FLNRO’s district manager but it required discussion and co-operation between the ministry and the forest company that harvested the blocks. The forest company had to agree to let the ranch take over the reforestation obligations. It agreed to a pilot project. Stump’s ranch crew cleared, piled and burned debris to create a suitable seed bed. FLNRO donated grass seed and the crew planted the blocks by hand. Stump estimates his total cost of the project at $200 per animal. When you walk through one of the test blocks, you see grass nearly knee high and
COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • AUGUST 2017 nfrom page 23
healthy seedlings tucked next to rocks, beside logs or cradled in a rotting stump. “It looks like a win-win for
everybody,” says Stump. “And that’s important because we want to achieve success from the forestry side. We don’t want to create a failure.” Being able to replicate the
project on other plots is important to Stump, not only for his own operation but other ranchers. “We have viable range and
there is a future for the ranch down below,” says Stump. “Twenty years from now, this site will be totally covered with timber and hopefully we will have been able to move onto another block to create another forage infusion into this range that will support our business.”
How did it work?
Garnering approval for a
project that could open the door to a mutually beneficial partnership between forest companies and ranchers took government help. “Two government
regulations that forest companies are required to follow were eased for our four test blocks,” Werner Stump of Crystal Lake Ranch in Malakwa explains.
The first is called stocking
rate. The province expects a block will regenerate a certain amount of timber and the forest company is responsible for ensuring that happens. But for the four test plots
Werner Stump offered to replant, the district manager agreed to not hold the forestry company accountable if the required mass of timber failed to grow. “The ministry is not
promoting reduced stocking,” says Stump. “But they are taking the risk and saying, ‘If you don’t get full stocking, we are okay with that.’” The second is inter-tree
spacing, the minimum distance allowed between planted trees to ensure adequate growth. A reseeded block typically looks like a cornfield from the air. Stump’s crew planted the standard number of trees, but carefully placed them where they would be protected. It’s called obstacle planting and is practiced in range areas. It keeps the trees out of open spaces where they could be trampled by cattle. The result is a landscape that looks a lot more like a naturally reforested block, with plenty of variation in the spacing and room for wildlife to move through. Stump, a registered
forester, says it’s also better for the trees, without any risk to the forest companies.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44
