ADAPTIVE FOREST MANAGEMENT IN NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR: Shaping the Future
by David Poole

The forest sector in Newfoundland and Labrador is similar to other jurisdictions across Canada with respect to Sustainable Forest Management initiatives and applying adaptive management techniques within Forest Management Planning. Since logging began on a commercial basis for the newsprint industry in the early 1900s in Newfoundland, there have been many changes relating to business organizations as well as forest management design and practices.

The original Anglo Newfoundland Development Company Ltd. was incorporated in 1905. It went through many changes before it became Abitibi-Consolidated. The International Paper Company of Newfoundland Limited was incorporated in 1927, and after mergers it became known as the Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Limited, a division of Kruger. 

To supply these mills with raw material, the forest sector became active with men, axes, bucksaws, and horses canvassing the landscape in the pursuit of quality pulpwood. The harvested wood was then transported through river systems to the designated mill. Over time, production of pulpwood shifted to more mechanical means as chainsaws, harvesters, forwarders, and haul trucks were introduced.

Forest Management Planning
Over the past century, the forest sector has seen increased demand in the number of users other than the newsprint industry, such as sawmills, outfitting, wildlife, tourism, etc. To accommodate multi-disciplinary demands, managers of Newfoundland and Labrador’s forest sector were required to evaluate their management planning processes. Managers now have to ensure that regardless of the end product, merchantable volumes are harvested at sustainable levels and stakeholder involvement/input is imbedded into the production of sound management plans. 

To do this, managers use an adaptive management approach that “assumes knowledge is provisional and focuses on management as a learning process or continuous experiment, incorporating the results of previous actions and allows managers to remain flexible and adapt to uncertainty.” (Guidelines for Preparation of FEM Plans, July 1995)

This article will review how an adaptive management approach dealt with two primary factors, a wood supply analysis and the public participation process. 

Wood Supply Analysis - A regular wood supply analysis is required to determine ecosystem conditions and productivity in order to allow the development of sustainable harvest levels. The forests of Newfoundland have undergone five separate analyses to determine an overview of the supply of available merchantable timber and incorporate a sustainable level of harvest for all forest users. 

The first analysis was in 1981 under the direction of the Poole Royal Commission on Forest Protection and Management. This analysis indicated a surplus of timber in Labrador; however, a deficit was projected for insular Newfoundland. Recommendations from this analysis included an aerial protection program against the spruce budworm, expansion of the provincial silviculture program, and the imposition of stricter standards upon the utilization of existing timber stands. 

The second analysis was conducted in 1988-89, using up-to-date data on the actual damage caused by the spruce budworm and hemlock looper epidemics. It involved a detailed analysis of the landbase available for timber production in light of various harvesting restrictions. 

The third analysis took place in 1996, using new technologies and information that calculated the sustainable wood supply on the basis of individual management districts. 

The fourth analysis was undertaken in 2001, for the five-year planning period 2001-2006. Again, this analysis was conducted on a district-by-district approach, where operational and regulatory constraints, environmental constraints, and the current state of the forest were analyzed and evaluated in each district to determine the maximum sustainable harvest levels, and ultimately the annual allowable cut levels.

The fifth analysis was conducted in 2005, for the five-year planning period 2006-2010. This analysis was made on a district-by-district basis using both an aspatial and spatial analysis. In this review, operational and regulatory constraints, environmental constraints, and the current state of the forest were again analyzed to produce a sustainable aspatial annual allowable harvest. However, new to this wood supply analysis was the development of a spatial component. Using both Woodstock and Stanley computer models, a 25-year harvest schedule was developed for each tenure in the province, allocating actual stands for harvest.

Public Participation Process - Early days of commercial harvesting did not involve the general public or many other stakeholders (if any). In addition, forest management plans were ad hoc at best. To ensure sustainable forest management practices were implemented and the concerns of other forest users were identified, changes to past management practices were required. In recent years, forest management plans have become more intensively designed with respect to harvest planning, stand tending, and renewal as well as public input.

Today, five-year plans are developed using the most modern computer technology, taking into account up-to-date scientific data. One of the key components of a successful management plan is stakeholder involvement. Within the province, planning teams are established for the respective forest management districts that comprise various government and non-government agencies. In fact, Abitibi-Consolidated’s Newfoundland Woodlands Division started its public consultation process in the mid 1990s. Today, this planning team has grown and remains active into the development of the company’s five-year operating plans. This team consists of representatives from the DNR, municipalities, tourism, Wildlife, Mines & Energy, the Outfitters Association, Fisheries & Oceans, Transport Canada, and the Snowmobile Association. There are also individuals who actively contribute to the team, classifying themselves as concerned citizens.
Abitibi-Consolidated’s Newfoundland Woodlands planning team is very well structured with detailed ground rules established and implemented to maintain productive meetings. The team meets regularly throughout each year to discuss recent and future forestry activity. Elevated concerns/issues from members are openly discussed and mutual resolution is obtained to facilitate continued operations, resulting in minimum disruption to concerned parties.

Summary
Over the past century of commercial harvesting for the newsprint industry in Newfoundland and Labrador, corporations have had to make tough decisions regarding their respective operations, which resulted in mergers and acquisitions to ensure their survival. In order to provide a continual supply of quality raw material to the mills, the term “forest management planning” has evolved from felling and extraction to include aspects of social forestry. Today, responsible forest managers have to account for sustainable forest management initiatives by regularly conducting wood inventory analysis, reviewing environmental and wildlife considerations such as pine martin and woodland caribou habitat, and allowing for other stakeholder involvement.

Although not a simple task at the best of times, managers of the forest industry in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador are committed to shaping a successful future that builds on positive past experiences. Adaptive management techniques and sustainable forest management initiatives are some tools being utilized in the present to build roads from the past to the future. 

The forest sector has been around for a long time and has made significant changes adapting to today’s world. In addition to learning from our past experiences, increased public knowledge and awareness is imperative to the future success of the forestry sector. The concept of adaptive management is a process that is occurring over time. Abraham Lincoln described it well when he said, “The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.”

Dave Poole, H.BSc.F, R.P.F. is the Planning Forester/Certification Coordinator with the Newfoundland Woodlands Division of Abitibi-Consolidated Company of Canada.