December 2025 General Board Meeting Update

Mission Statement

The Kaslo and District Community Forest Society (KDCFS) will manage the diversity of values of the Community Forest in an ecologically responsible and fiscally accountable manner on behalf of the people of Kaslo and Area D.

Woodlands

CP 55
Timber Ridge is harvesting CP 55, the block located along the highway from the Lost Ledge campground to Lardeau. The timber in this block is almost all Douglas fir and larch. Harvesting will be complete within the next week or two. More information can be found in the Wildfire Risk Reduction section below.

CP 56
This block is located behind the airstrip, up the True Blue Road. Plans for this block to be harvested start at the beginning of January. Depending on the Hemlock market, the plan is to harvest at least 3000m³ in the block. The species mix includes Douglas fir, hemlock, and cedar.

CP 57
Western toads have been found in the large block up Lost Ledge. While this species isn’t legally protected, we are following best management practices and working with a biologist on a strategy that ensures we aren’t distrupting their habitat.

Timber Development
Timber development up Cooper Face continues. We were targeting spruce- and larch-leading blocks, but with spruce currently not marketable, we are shifting focus to developing more larch-leading blocks.

SAFETY

There have been no safety incidents from road work, silviculture surveys, logging, or timber development.

SILVICULTURE

Craig has completed the silviculture surveys for 2025. The data still needs to be reviewed, but numerous blocks have achieved free-to-grow status. This will be finalized early in the New Year.

Internal

The road from the highway up to the Moose Meadows cross-country ski cabin was narrowing, and the ditch was becoming a hazard for skiers descending the steep hill during low-snow years. We graded the road to widen it and reduce ditch depth, ahead of it’s use in the winter season ahead.

The donated firewood load is being processed by students, parents, and teachers for the JVH Outdoor Ed Class.

Wildfire Risk Reduction

There are many piles from the thinning work completed this spring around the Wardner Trail and Buchanan Fire Access Trail. These couldn’t be burned earlier due to warm weather and fire risk. With cooler, wetter conditions, these piles are now being burned and smoke may be visible from Kaslo.

CP 55

The CP 55 project stretching from the Lost Ledge campground to Davis Creek began earlier this fall. Approximately 10 ha will be treated with manual thin-from-below prescriptions, while the remaining 20 ha will be mechanically implemented.

Initially, the plan was to remove all trees that could fall on the power line. After completing this in the southern area, we received public feedback that it looked like a clearcut. As a result, the remaining areas along the power line will now be reserved for visuals from the highway. A heavier removal will occur upslope, centred around the old trails and roads, which have been upgraded for access. Patches, single trees, and immature trees have been retained for biodiversity and visual quality.

The FESBC put out an Expression of Interest call for 2027–2029 projects.

We submitted six proposals, including:

  1. KAS3 Manual Treatment
  2. FMP Development — for a large area of unallocated Crown land above Kaslo.
  3. Planning in the Shutty Bench area
  4. Fibre Utilization — for harvest to break even on shipping pulp
  5. CP 55 Post-Harvest Clean-Up
  6. Brushing Roads — within Kaslo’s WUI to allow for access, including continuation of the access plan started by John Addision on behalf of the Kaslo FireSmart Committee
  7. CP 56 Post-Harvest Clean-Up