MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY - The county’s municipal planning commission (MPC) has approved a permit for a selective logging project in the Harmattan area just off Highway 22.
The approval came by way of motion at a recent, regularly-scheduled commission meeting, held in council chambers and online.
The property involved is located on the west side of Highway 22, about one kilometre south of the Bergen Road.
“The application indicates that the selective logging is being proposed within 37.56 acres of the subject land spread throughout the quarter, primarily for additional fencing and FireSmart purposes,” administration said in a briefing note to the commission.
Approximately 20 loads will be transported from the property under the project.
“As a discretional use the application is subject to the requirements of Section 10.15 of the land use bylaw that includes a harvest plan showing all the features of the property as well as the haul route.”
The proposal is specifically for selective logging of the aged spruce stands on the property where timber 14 inches in diameter and greater will be removed, while maintaining a mixture of mature and immature trees, members heard.
Since the Little Red Deer River and its tributaries traverses the property, the logs removed from the west of the river will be hauled via SW 33-31-4-5 owned by ExxonMobil, to Rge. Rd. 44. The trucks will then head north to Twp. Rd. 320 (Bergen Road) and out to Highway 22.
Any logs removed from the east side of the river will directly access Highway 22 from the subject property.
Since the harvesting is best done when the ground is frozen, the project will take place in the winter of 2025-26.
The approval comes with a number of conditions, including that the operator and/or landowner “shall obtain a burn permit, as required, from Mountain View County for debris disposal from the property as per the county’s fire bylaw.
“As the subject land is located within an environmentally sensitive area 1 designation, measures shall be taken to preserve the integrity of the land, the trees and any wildlife.”
The MPC is the county’s approving authority, made up of county councillors and appointed public members.
