The province’s forests minister Rich Coleman said he would be proposing a shift to economic rotation, such as practised on private land by Weyerhaeuser in the Pacific Northwest where timber is harvested after 47 years rather than the present 60-80 years on Crown lands.
He said it was a shift away from harvesting all the coastal old-growth before concentrating on the easier and more uniformed size second growth.
Lack of investment has meant second growth logs are being exported to Washington state where a modern sawmilling industry has grown up to more easily process them. These exports have inflamed BC communities who say their jobs are also being exported.
Mr Coleman said some type of log export restriction would be introduced as well as other changes to stimulate investment.
