Forestry in Northern Sunrise County

While trees in ecosystems like rainforests can live for centuries, the species indigenous to Alberta's boreal forest have much shorter lifespans. They typically reach maturity between 80 to 100 years, and those that escape fire generally succumb to insects and disease before reaching 150 years. Without active management of working forests, old and dying trees accumulate, creating ideal conditions for forest fires or insect infestations. While these events are natural parts of a forest's life cycle, they can have devastating impacts on communities and the forests themselves.

The forest industry plays a crucial role in managing these risks by harvesting trees from mature forests as they near the end of their life cycle, converting them into useful products. This process helps maintain the forest's natural cycle while reducing the risk of fire, insect infestation, and disease.

Active Forest Management:

• Active forest management includes the regeneration of healthy forests. Forest companies are responsible for renewing harvested areas and must monitor these forests until they are fully re-established. Over the past 20 years, more than 2 billion trees have been replanted in Alberta.

Forestry in the Peace Region:

• Forestry is a robust industry sector within the Peace Region, with thousands of acres of timber attracting many forest-based businesses, including sawmills like Boucher Bros. Ltd. and numerous logging and service companies.
• Out of Alberta’s forest management agreements, four are located within Northern Sunrise County, highlighting the region's significance in the province's forestry sector.

For more information on Alberta Forestry Management, visit loveabforests.com.