Lack of forest control

“Ye shall reap that which you have sown.”

Never was a truer phrase written.

The seeds of our present destructive fires were sown in 1912 with the establishment of the B.C. Forest Service.

At that time, the sole purpose of the forest service was to generate revenue for the government of the day over good forest management.

In the early days there were opportunities to develop good forest management. Five forest districts were established with associated ranger districts, which covered the major eco-systems of the province.

The research branch was established in 1920, where a few far-sighted individuals recommended that forest research stations be established throughout the province. Aleza Lake was the only one to be created in the mid-20s.

At that time, it was observed that it was virtually impossible to obtain spruce regeneration after logging without exposed mineral soil.

Then, and up to the mid-60s, all logging was done in winter which excluded the exposure of mineral soil. This fact was ignored until scarification trials commenced at Aleza Lake in the mid-50s.

Over the intervening years we have seen a steady erosion of government control over the forests on Crown land, resulting in a massive disconnect between logging for quantity and harvesting for quality.

Harry Coates

Prince George