Yukon gov’t opens up more commercial wood lots, with more on the way
One harvester says changes may come too late to save his business
Many of Yukon’s commercial wood harvesters have raised concerns this winter about a lack of new wood lots, leading to supply issues.
In response, the Yukon government has announced four new harvest areas are now open with more to come.
Two new areas are located near Haines Junction, one is near Mayo, and one near Dawson City.
Michelle Sicotte is director of the Yukon’s Forest Management branch.
“We’re estimating that there’s about 64,000 cubic meters available between those plans,” Sicotte told CBC News. “And that’s for fuel wood and saw logs and building logs.”
Sicotte said four more projects are under review by the Yukon Environmental and Socio-Economical Assessment Board (YESAB.)
Those projects include harvest plans in Haines Junction, Mayo, Whitehorse and Watson Lake.
Sicotte said each of the projects under review are “all in different stages” of the YESAB process, She said some are near the end of the process and will be available in the “relatively near future.”
Too little, too late, harvester says
The news has longtime wood harvester Bill Whimp feeling a few different ways.
Whimp said he’s been advocating for the territory to open new lots in Watson Lake for years. This winter, Whimp relocated his operation from Watson Lake to Haines Junction because all of the areas open for harvesting in the area had been cut and there wasn’t enough to make his season profitable.
Whimp said it’s good the government is finally trying to open more areas in Watson Lake but it may be too late for him.
Whimp said the move to Haines Junction has drained him financially and emotionally and he isn’t sure what the future will hold for him within the industry.
“I’ve pretty much lost everything,” he said.
himp isn’t sure if he’ll have enough money to transport his equipment back to Watson Lake so he may simply sell his gear and walk away.
“It’s been a tough year, man,” he said. “I’m wore out. I’m beat. I haven’t seen my family in 60 days. I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”
Kurtis Doerfling co-owns Black Sheep Enterprises, a small wood cutting business also in the Haines Junction area. He said he’s glad to see the government open new wood cutting areas.
“They seem to be making a difference and listening to us,” Doerfling said.
Doerfling said while the industry seems to have the territory’s attention, he’d like to see the support taken one step further. He’d like the territory to allow harvesters to access woodlots beyond the winter months because year-round access to lots could drastically address supply issues.
Sicotte said the government is considering that.
“Those seasonal constraints are for a variety of reasons so there’s not necessarily a clear answer to that,” Sicotte said. “But we are trying to looking to try to find opportunities for people to be able to extend their harvesting seasons where they want to.”
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Climate change affecting composition of forests in Yukon, Canada, study finds, CBC News
Finland: Finnish government buys naturally diverse historical island from forestry giant, Yle News
Russia: Arctic national park expands, becomes Russia’s biggest, The Independent Barents Observer
Sweden: Sweden and Finland urge revision of EU’s forestry climate targets, Reuters
