2012-11-02 AESRD's Decision to Delay Logging in the Castle: An Attempt at Clarity

Dear fellow Castle defenders,

AWA would like to share the following information with all concerned parties. Through late October, we have been in communication with Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (AESRD) in an attempt to dissect the October 10 decision to halt logging within the Castle pending the completion of the SSRP process, the details of which have been at times opaque.

As of our last communication on October 28 with the AESRD ADM for Forestry, Bruce Mayer, we have come to understand that:

1. The decision in question pertains only to logging happening within the Castle Special Management Area PLUZ. All other areas within the C5 FMU are “business as usual.”
   (PLUZ page and maps on AESRD website, for reference:
   http://www.srd.alberta.ca/RecreationPublicUse/RecreationOnPublicLand/PublicLandUseZones/CastleAreaPLUZMapsPublications.aspx)
2. More specifically, the decision pertains to the logging plan set out in Spray Lake Sawmills’ 2011 Annual Operating Plan (AOP) for the CTLC050015 (Beaver Mines) Disposition (which is to say, everything that Spray Lake Sawmills currently has plans to cut within the Castle PLUZ). This plan identifies a total of 51 cut blocks, covering 759.7 hectares and having a total expected yield of 148,423m³. AWA has a copy of this AOP as a part of the material that we obtained pursuant to a Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP) request earlier this spring.
3. From the above total:
• 7 blocks (approximately 65ha with yield 11,600m³) were logged in winter 2011-2012.
• 16 blocks (approximately 177ha with yield 38,000m³) are to be logged in winter 2012-2013.
  This includes 1 block of ~5.5ha with yield ~1,100m3 that does not appear anywhere in the 2011 AOP.
• 29 blocks (approximately 529ha with yield 99,200m³) are now ON HOLD pending SSRP.

See the “download file” link below for a PDF document with excerpts from the abovementioned FOIP materials showing a summary table and a map of all the cut blocks identified in the 2011 AOP, colour-shaded to reflect their status under this decision (i.e.: the three categories identified in point 3. above). In the case of the map, the single block not occurring in the AOP, but identified as being permissible to cut has been depicted with a dashed outline and a question mark (“?”) in its approximate position and size, as best we can determine at this time.

Please note that the map is not intended to be authoritative on the precise location of the cut blocks – it represents a “best attempt” to colour-shade a slightly fuzzy scan of a highly detailed map. However I do believe that it conveys useful information regarding which blocks are and are not to be logged, per the information we were given as above.

I hope this information is of some use to you in your ongoing efforts to protect this shining gem in Alberta’s wilderness mosaic. Best wishes to you all!