Document Name: Document1 Typist Initials

File: 12450-20/RV TSA FH

April 19, 2011

Robson Valley TSA Licensees

Dear Sir or Madam:

Robson Valley TSA Forest Health Strategy (March 2011)

The Forest Health Strategy in effect for the Robson Valley Timber Supply Area during the fiscal year April 1st, 2011 to March 31st, 2012, will be comprised of the previously-approved March 2009 Forest Health Strategy document, the 2010 Letter of Approval, and this 2011 Letter of Approval with updates as listed below:

1) A change of status was made to one mountain pine beetle Beetle Management Unit (BMU). The Holmes River BMU with a classification of Holding (Containment) has now been downgraded to Salvage.

2) Three spruce beetle BMUs have been upgraded to a Suppression classification. West Kinbasket, East Kinbasket and Hugh Allan Creek BMUs have shown recent spruce bark beetle evidence based on fixed-wing and rotary-wing observations.

3) The Douglas-fir Beetle Management Units remain the same as the 2009 document with several units ranked Suppression in the Valemount and Kinbasket Lake area.

4) An upgraded chart of Beetle Management Units and Classifications is provided as an attachment to this letter.

5) A second attachment notes total hectares of bark beetle attack (sorted by species) in each BMU and provides data on the number of polygons mapped and the total number of red trees within the polygons. Data is from the fixed-wing FH survey.

6) There was an unusual sighting during the fixed-wing flight in the Raush River, where large portions of slide alder were killed in early July, 2010. It has been given a tentative identification as Green Alder Sawfly, which has been showing up in a few scattered locations around BC. The threat in our TSA is that a loss of the alder cover in riparian zones could result in a reduction in harvestable timber due to modified riparian treatments. Field verification of the pest was not possible.

Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Prince George District Location: 2000 South Ospika Boulevard Prince George BC Mailing Address: 2000 South Ospika Boulevard Prince George BC V2N4W5 Tel: (250) 614-7400 Fax: (250) 614-7435 7) The Stand Establishment Decision Aids (SEDAs) are still available at web address: http://www.forrex.org/tools/sedas/ . One new SEDA publication that is particularly suited to the Robson Valley TSA is the Spruce/White Pine Weevil by Robert Hodgkinson, Ken White and Art Stock, listed under Northern BC SEDAs.

The Forest Health Strategy tracks the forest health history of the Robson Valley Area, updates recent research information, provides electronic links to related documents, and suggests tactics available to mitigate pest and pathogen damage. All Forest Health Strategy recipients are encouraged to review the plan and use it as a source for future forest planning.

For your reference, the 2009 Forest Health Strategy document and 3 maps as well as the 2010 and 2011 letters of approval are available at:

http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/ftp/HFP/external/!publish/Forest_Health/TSA_FH_Strategies/RV %20TSA/

Yours truly,

Greg Rawling Greg’s Details HERE

Attachment(s): 1) Beetle Management Unit Strategies – Robson Valley TSA 2011-2012

2) Robson Valley TSA – Area of Bark Beetle Attack – Summer 2010

Cc: Carrier Lumber Ltd. Valemount Forest Products B C Timber Sales – Prince George Hauer Bros. Lumber Ltd. Stella-Jones Canada Inc. McBride Community Forest Corporation Valemount Community Forest Co. Dunster Community Forest Society Woodlots: 201, 213, 215, 276, 277, 1427, 1428.

Attachment #1 – Robson Valley TSA Forest Health Strategy 2011-2012

BEETLE MANAGEMENT UNIT STRATEGIES for the Robson Valley TSA 2011-2012 STRATEGY BY BEETLE SPECIES. Zone BMU Gross BMU Areas/ha IBM IBD IBS

424Page 2 of 4 1 Northern Trench 81,475 Salvage Holding Monitor 1 McBride/Dunster 48,190 Salvage Holding Monitor 1 Rearguard Falls 8,174 Salvage Suppression Monitor 1 Southern Trench 74,154 Salvage Suppression Suppression TOTALS 211,993 2 Morkill River 130,119 Monitor Monitor Monitor 2 E. Twin / McKale 47,500 Monitor Monitor Monitor 2 Holmes River 69,666 * Salvage Monitor Monitor 2 Small River 63,526 Salvage Monitor Monitor TOTALS 310,726 3 Goat / Milk 60,863 Monitor Monitor Suppression 3 Dore River 36,155 Monitor Monitor Monitor 3 Cariboo River 34,344 Monitor Monitor Monitor 3 Castle Creek 50,924 Salvage Monitor Monitor TOTALS 182,286 4 Raush River 93,599 Salvage Monitor Monitor 4 Kiwa Creek 52,447 Salvage Monitor Monitor 4 Camp Creek 41,314 Salvage Monitor Monitor TOTALS 187,360 5 Dave Henry 38,852 Salvage Monitor Monitor 5 Ptarmigan 30,237 Salvage Monitor Monitor 5 Hugh Allan 56,240 Salvage Monitor * Suppression 5 Foster Arm 59,363 Salvage Suppression Suppression 5 East Kinbasket 29,834 Salvage Suppression * Suppression 5 WestL. Kinbasket 40,822 Salvage Monitor * SuppressionMonitor TOTALSL. 255,348 * designates change in status

Attachment #2 – Robson Valley TSA Forest Health Strategy 2011-2012

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