Considerations for boreal mixedwood silviculture: A view from the dismal science

Since the end of the twentieth century, there have been some notable changes in the economic climate facing forest products companies operating in the boreal mixedwood forest in Canada: low product prices, a strong Canadian dollar, and increasing recognition of the importance of non-timber forest values are major challenges that must be faced by forest managers and provincial governments. In response to these challenges, foresters and governments may need to rethink the objectives of forest management as stated in policy, and to rethink the silviculture prescriptions applied to the forest. This rethinking may well lead to a forest with less annual production (at least in terms of softwood volume), but with greater economic value for timber production. I present results of financial analysis of several alternative management scenarios for the mixedwood component of the Boreal Plains ecozone, and conclude that only very low cost silvicultural prescriptions make sense when silvicultural expenditures are viewed as an investment in future stands. If these silvicultural expenditures are viewed as a cost of current harvesting, they may be large enough to turn a profitable timber harvesting opportunity into a money-losing one.