CYPRESS HILLS VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

Saskatchewan Environment has updated its forest and fire management plan for Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park in order to effectively manage the growing risks to the forest.

The plan allows for forest harvesting to protect the park's aging forest from insects, diseases, and fire. Of particular concern is the increasing threat of the mountain pine beetle, which has been detected in the park. An outbreak of the beetle has already destroyed thousands of hectares of forest in British Columbia and Alberta over the last several years.

"For many years, we have used forest harvesting as a tool to manage vegetation and protect values in provincial parks, including Cypress Hills," Saskatchewan Environment's Parks Branch Executive Director Syd Barber said. "There will be an increase in harvesting over the next ten years to address naturally occurring threats and to ensure that its unique lodgepole pine ecosystem will be there for future generations."

The harvesting is part of the park's forest and fire management objectives and is in accordance with the recommendations of the forest and fire management plan. The forest and fire management plan calls for selective logging and other forest management approaches to protect the ecological, aesthetic and other values at risk in Cypress Hills Provincial Park. The park's forest management plans are developed in consultation with stakeholders and the public, including park users, area residents and the Cypress Hills park advisory committee.

A fire in 1885 burned most of the Cypress Hills. Subsequent regrowth and decades of fire suppression have resulted in a forest that is all the same age, and much older than would naturally occur. The historical harvest in the park has been between five and 25 hectares per year. During the next several years, the increase in planned harvesting will restore a more natural balance between young and old stands. The department will use a tender process to award the harvesting rights.

"Although economics is not the primary consideration behind forest harvesting in parks, we still have an obligation to make sure that the people of Saskatchewan get a reasonable return from the sale of their resources," Barber said. "A tender process allows us to respect this principle, while giving all qualified harvesters a fair opportunity to bid."

Timber management fees collected from the forest operators will be administered under a new Parks Forest Management Trust. They will be reinvested in the parks to ensure that park forests are properly managed and renewed.

Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park is located in southwestern Saskatchewan, approximately 30 kilometres south of Maple Creek.

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For More Information, Contact:

Syd Barber Environment Regina Phone: (306) 787-2846

Ken Lozinsky Environment Regina Phone: (306) 787-2854