Sundre Forest Products (SFP) conducted its annual open house for feedback on operations at the mill in Sundre on June 24.
The company's annual operating plan and 20-year Forest Management Plan were discussed with residents. Herbicide and harvesting plans for the year were also displayed on maps.
Four representatives from SFP were present at the open house, from the planning and civil culture (which is basically reforestation) departments, at West Country Centre.
The company also presented a similar open house in Rocky Mountain House on June 25.
SFP officials are looking for feedback from the public regarding the plans and forest activity.
“Included within a plan like that (the 20-year Forest Management Plan) are not just about where we're going to build a road and where we're going to log,” said Tom Daniels, forestry superintendent at SFP.
“It's also about how we're going to protect other values, whether or not the wildlife values, visual values, spiritual values - there's a whole suite of different values that people are concerned about and interested in,” he explained.
“We hope that people will come in and give us input on those different values.”
The plan was initially looked at about one and a half years ago, he said, adding that the plan covers the 550,000-hectare area in which the company operates.
“A lot of it (the 20-year Forest Management Plan) is centred on a forest inventory, so understanding better about the age of the trees, the type of trees and so on that are growing in this area,” he said.
“So all of that gets developed through forest cover imagery, so planes going over taking pictures of it and then basically we start to look at it and determine is that a pine tree or a spruce tree, how big is that pine tree, how old is that pine tree.”
He said public engagement is important to SFP and has been a priority since 1994, when it started conducting public open houses.
However, the turnout was not high, but he said that's normal. Despite the repeated small turnout, the company still feels it is important to conduct the annual open house for the people that do show up to provide their input.
Daniels said there are people that prefer to have one-on-one conversations and the open house provides the perfect opportunity.
However, he said it is not the only opportunity for people to provide input and encourages people to call the company's toll-free number.
