Half of the province of Saskatchewan is covered in forested land.
Not what often comes to mind when one thinks of this “prairie” province, but 23.7 million hectares of Saskatchewan is forest. Just over half of this forest area is productive land on which the forestry industry operates.
Ninety-seven percent of Saskatchewan’s forests grow on Provincial Crown lands, with Federal Crown land accounting for one percent of total forest area, and private land comprises the remaining two percent.
Most of Saskatchewan’s timber harvesting takes place in the Boreal Plain Ecozone, a region which covers about 27% of the province. The Boreal Plain Ecozone is heavily used by the commercial forest industry as it is a closed-crown, mixed-wood and coniferous forest; with the predominant hardwood tree species in this area being trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides), and the main softwood species are jack pine (Pinus banksiana), white spruce (Picea glauca), and black spruce (Picea mariana).
However, the commercial forestry industry is expanding north into the Boreal Shield Ecozone. This area occupies most of northern Saskatchewan, covering nearly one-third of the total area of the province. It is an area of relatively low commercial forest productivity. Industrial exploitation in this ecozone has traditionally been limited by a lack of industrial infrastructure development and the extra costs of transportation to plants and markets. Also, due to the rocky and rugged nature of the Precambrian Shield, the cost of environmentally appropriate harvesting techniques has been a confining factor. Within the Boreal Shield Ecozone, most of the planned forestry expansion will take place in the Churchill River Upland eco-district, which is characterized by a mix of rocky topography, thin soils with black spruce as the dominate tree species.
A Saskatchewan Forestry Overview
The boreal forest is a resource of immeasurable value for our province, Canada and indeed, the entire planet, one that must be protected and managed wisely for today and for a sustainable future. Toward this end SES has examined a number of forest issues:
Climate change and the boreal forest
At least one-third of the world’s forests are in danger from global warming. Many climate change models predict a dramatic shrinking of the boreal forest. Studies show that the forest in Saskatchewan may well be replaced by vegetation more typical of a grassland ecosystem by the end of the century. The effects of climate change are expected to create unprecedented levels of insect infestation and forest fire in the boreal forest. The warmer and drier weather in the summer is also expected to reduce tree growth and reproduction.
For more information, see our forest fact sheet, Climate Change and Saskatchewan’s Boreal Forest (PDF).
Prince Albert National Park
For some time now, SES has been contributing to and monitoring developments of the Prince Albert National Park’s management plans. In 2002 and 2003, a savage debate raged over whether or not Parks Canada should spray pesticides in the Waskesiu townsite in order to kill a naturally occurring forest insect, the spruce budworm.
