Alberta Forest loss climbs in foothills

[Hot_Flatus]

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/na...481/story.html

As a user of these areas, I've known for years that this has been increasing at an alarming rate but to see the actual numbers is nothing less then shocking.

The worst part is that there's basically no end in sight and the only publicity those areas get are when the long weekends roll around. You can't convince me that the damage a few off road enthusiasts cause on 2-3 weekends a summer is anywhere near comparable to the complete destruction the government is allowing to go on.

What happened to responsible extraction and recovery? Does anyone know of current plans to relieve the pressure on these areas?

[Vulcan]

It says that they are logging at a big rate but it doesn't really say if they are clear cutting or damaging the water resources. Seeing forests disappearing though is a depressing sight.

I grew up in a logging family and my dad owned a camp up the coast (Sonora Island) where I spent my early youth. A few years ago about a dozen of us hired a boat north out of Campbell River to see how it looked today. After 60 years you couldn't tell that there was once a small settlement there. I like to think that in those days they didn't clear cut and were more responsible. Today government regulations seem to be made for the companies profit and not for the needs of the planet.

[GreenLantern]

Alberta: Canada's Merica!

Lee said the eastern slopes are the headwaters of rivers that supply water for most of the province. The Bow, Red Deer and North Saskatchewan rivers all begin there.

AFS did a huge study in the 60's to 80s about the effects of clear cutting on Mountain Hydrology, it basically didn't matter how much or how little they cleared, the streamflow always balances out in the Rockies. There is no danger in this affecting downstream water supply, wildlife and recreation on the other hand..

[habernac]

People that use the trails south of Bragg Creek and in the Kananaskis region know all about this.

[FLAMESRULE]

I know SRD has allowed the forestry guys to log alot more timber than usual because of the pine beetle infestation. Slave Lake area was almost double the yearly quotas the last couple years.

[Hevishot]

For all the people that use the Maclean Creek FLUZ. If you have noticed any new fancy red flagging on some of the main qwad trails its because SLS is starting the next phase in logging out there. Expect 10 more cutblocks to be put in over the next few years.

[octothorp]

Here's my question that none of the news stories I've read on this have answered: the study says that the slopes lost 6.8% of forest that weren't in a protected area. So how much of our eastern slopes forests are in protected areas, and what is the figure when accounting for all forests, not just unprotected area forests?