MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY — The county's municipal planning commission (MPC) has approved a development permit for selective logging on a parcel in the Water Valley/Winchell Lake rural community.
The move came by way of motion at a recent regularly scheduled commission meeting.
The parcel is located about one kilometre south of Twp. Rd. 292 on the east side of Rge. Rd. 51, at SW 12-29-5-5. The logging will take place on a 87-acre area in a 160-acre parcel zoned agricultural district.
Selective logging within the environmentally significant level 1 area is a discretionary use.
The applicant is Coleman Forest Products Ltd. and the owner is Craig and Jessica Morrill.
“Harvest will include a partial cut of mature conifer and incidental deciduous,” administration said in a briefing note to the commission. “The applicant estimated approximately 60 loads or 3,335 cubic metres of logs will be harvested from the subject parcel.”
The harvest plan, submitted in accordance with the Alberta Timber Harvest Planning and Operating Ground Rules, status immature trees and regenerating trees in the understory will be retained as much as operationally possible for continuous frost management, members heard.
“In addition, planning of approved 50.50 lodgepole pine/white spruce seedlings is scheduled after harvest and will include 1,000 stems/ha with a total planting area of six hectares.”
To reduce the impact on the soil, the applicant has stated the harvesting will take place under dry or frozen conditions between Feb. 1, 2021 and April 30, 2021, and the logging equipment and timber haul will utilize existing all-weather road entering the northwest corner of the parcel.”
The approval comes with a number of conditions, including that the applicant must enter into a log haul route approval and road use agreement with Mountain View County.
The MCP is the municipality’s approving authority, and is made up of county councillors and appointed members of the public.
